Pornography Addiction: A Case Study

This article is about a case study of a pornography addict who is still in the process of self-rehabilitation. Pornography is a bad and unacceptable act because it is not only prohibited in terms of moral ethics but also in religion aspects. Pornography is also one of the trafficked forms of sexual exploitation. Other than that, law enforcement and internet filtering software seem to be not an absolute solution to the pornography issue. A module or intervention is needed to be built to guide a pornography addict rehabilitating independently on their own with the help of professionals. The methodology and the research design in this study is a case study and qualitative respectively in which the interviewee is an ex client of researcher’s previous counselling session. This study forms several themes which are the causes, effects and interventions of pornography addiction. The analysis of the study also found that there are still effects of pornography addiction that disrupt the respondent’s thoughts in her dai ly life. These factors can assist counselors in formulating effective Islamic approach to tackle the issue, whether at the level of protection, prevention or rehabilitation. The future researchers are ought to focus more on finding an intervention that relates to the conventional counselling and the perspectives of Islam which is called Islamic Cognitive Behavioral Theory.


Introduction
A discussion of addiction should be preceded by a description of some related terms. Addiction is a situation of brain disease in which the occurrence of cravings and desire for a stimulus even if it causes harm. Pleasure and satisfaction are sought at the initial stimulation, but eventually become something necessary to ensure the body functions normally. A person with this problem is called an addict where he or she experiences physical or psychological dependence on a stimulus. Examples of substance and action addictions include alcoholism, drug addictions such as marijuana, nicotine, cocaine, food, video games, internet, sports, idols, spending, gambling, self-harm and sex (Norman & Othman, 2020). Pornography is the depiction or narration of a treatment in a sensual manner or any material intended to arouse sexual desire. Laili et al (2018) describe pornography as any form of act or action that contains sexual conduct or sexual exploitation that violates moral norms in society or acts of exposing the aurah in an excessive or extreme way. Meanwhile, according to the Ministry of Health Malaysia, the term "pornography" comes from the word "porneia" which is a Greek word used to refer to prostitutes and this term carries the meaning of writing about prostitutes (Official Portal MyHEALTH Ministry of Health Malaysia, 2012). It can be understood that pornography is a bad act and is not accepted in daily life because the act is not only prohibited from the point of view of moral ethics but also prohibited in terms of religion.
Thus, pornography addiction refers to an individual who frequently views pornographic pictures or watches pornographic videos as his or her daily consumptions. Pornography addiction is something done in silence without the knowledge of others. Pornography addiction can bring passion (increase lust) to those who watch it. Pornography addiction is getting worse as cases of rape, murder and so on are on the rise. This issue is actually very much related to this pornography addiction. Critical level pornography addiction can cause bad things such as rape and murder. The desire to try an individual when overly addicted to pornography has been seen to invite problems and victims are hunted down to satisfy the feeling of wanting to do the sexual act.

Literature Review Pornography Addiction
There are several studies related to pornography addiction that have been conducted. One of them them is a study conducted by Zakariah & Baharuddin (2011), entitled Cyber Sex Addiction: The Experience of Counselors in Malaysia. This study discusses the challenges faced by counselors in helping patients to quit cyber sex/cyber pornography addiction. This study was conducted in a qualitative form and there are some important findings that were successfully obtained by the researchers such as the effects of cyber sex, knowledge requirements (understanding the case) and approaches to treating cyber sex addiction. This study also focuses on the approach of maintaining recovery from cyber sex addiction to ensure that those who are stuck with pornography issues can developed with better morals while leaving the act forever. This is because pornography only has bad implications in life, including in family relationships.
In a study conducted by Mass and Dewey (2018), entitled Internet Pornography Use Among Collagiate Women: Gender Attitudes, Body Monitoring, and Sexual Behavior explained that internet pornography is a form of oppression against women, where pornography is indirectly able to make women as rape victims and sexual tools for men. It is found that there is no large gap in behavior between women who watch pornography and those who do not watch pornography in this study. However, women who watch pornography are found to be more likely to engage in free sex and even change partners. In addition, this study also explains that pornography also has a positive effect on adolescents, especially knowledge related to sex. Although this study is a good study, but this study is not suitable to be adapted to the lifestyle, religion and culture of society in Malaysia which considers pornography as an immoral act and can only bring harm in one's life and society.
In a study conducted by Vaillancourt & Bergeron (2018), entitled Self-Perceived Problematic Pornography Use: Beyond Individual Differences and Religiosity was conducted to look at the effects of pornography on the self of a person who commits it. The results of this study show that pornography can cause extreme addiction to a person to the extend that it affecting in aspects of health such as causing lack of self -control, infertility, loss of respect, dangerous sex (violence) and many more. Researchers explain that understanding and appreciating religion is the best method to control sexual behavior in a person. This is because the appreciation of religion can directly increase the moral value in a person to control oneself to commit destructive acts. Therefore, this study clearly shows that the appreciation of religion is the best method for a person to control behavior in himself, because no religion tells its followers to commit immoral acts and bring evil within themselves.
According to Reisman (2008), who is the president of the Institute for Media Education in Pennsylvania, for children and adolescents, pornography has a detrimental effect on the brain. The brain believes whatever is displayed and this is what will happen to the minds of children and adolescents. This is because pornography can cause the brain to be covered with a false picture of the real reality of sex as follows: Health-based neurological observations about the instinctual brain-imprinted response to pornographic sights and sounds indicates that viewing pornography is a biologically significant event that overrides informed consentand that is harmful to children's [moldable] 'plastic' brains because it compromises their grasp of reality and thus their mental and physical health, their well-being and their pursuit of happiness.

Pornography Addiction In Islamic View
From the Islamic point of view, the relevant legal status of conduct is as formulated from an article on the website of the Federal Territory mufti by Noor (2015) that any sexual activity outside the syariah is illegal. Every Muslim is obligated to know the laws in Islam which include five things, namely wajib, sunat, haram, makruh and mubah in order to not fall into the valley of iniquity. Immorality endangers human beings in this world and in the hereafter. Sin hinders knowledge, for knowledge is the ray placed by Allah S.W.T. in the human heart while immorality extinguishes that ray. Wickedness also causes anxiety and loneliness in the heart. Anxiety and alienation are felt by people who commit immorality from the group of good people and do good things.
According to the view of Abdullah (2005), a person who performs an activity that is makruf actually does not need to allocate other activities to avoid evil. This is because when the individual performs makruf, at the same time the individual is also leaving the munkar. Users who leave pornographic websites are actually abandoning their wickedness and at the same time doing what is good and rewarding in the sight of Allah S.W.T. If being seen from this perspective, it is not a difficult thing to leave browsing pornographic websites, just by not clicking on ads who promotes it and does not search the website is the first step in doing good, leaving the wrong and also the first step to get the reward of Allah S.W.T.

Methodology
The researcher will describe the research framework (refer to figure 1) used by the researcher during the study period such as study design, samples, sample procedures, pilot studies, data collection, data analysis procedures, and measuring tools. The researcher also emphasizes the aspect of confidentiality in collecting information provided by the respondents because this is one of the ethics when conducting research.

Figure 1: Research Framework
The methodology or the research is qualitative and a form of case study in which a respondent has been interviewed as a result of a counseling session that has been conducted before becoming a respondent of this study. Data and information required to meet the objectives of the study were collected through interviews. The interview questions are provided in general without giving guidance to the answers for example, "how do you feel and behave when faced with a situation of pornography addiction". It is to provide an opportunity for the respondents to explain and describe their experiences and feelings (narrative). Interviews were conducted to better understand the experiences of the respondents. However, these questions are not too binding and need to be flexible based on the responses given by the respondents and their willingness to continue the conversation. This is because the first meeting is often more to the respondent's emotions that will be expressed through interviews with the researcher.
Some interview guidelines that the researcher has prepared before the interview are: 1. What motivates you to engage in pornography? 2. How are you doing emotionally, mentally and physically after your pornography addiction? However, this question guide is not too binding and needs to be flexible based on the responses given by the respondents and their willingness to continue the conversation (Ali et al., 2018). Freedom should be given to the respondent because during the interview period, sometimes the respondent is not able to continue the conversation due to the embarrassment and fear when recounting the experience.
According to Lebar (2015) interviews conducted in studies are not to answer the research questions, test hypotheses or make assessments but rather, to deeply understand the experience in life or a past event. Written consent from the respondent is required to record the interview. If the respondent does not allow the interview to be recorded or feels uncomfortable using the recorder, jotting down notes will be used during the interview session. In fact, the advantage of taking notes compared to using a recorder, the researcher will pay more focus and attention to what the respondent told than relying on the recorder alone. Apart from comprehension through verbal communication, respondents 'feelings also need to be understood through non-verbal communication shown.

Respondent's Background
The main respondent in this study is Puan Sarah binti Ahmad (not her real name). She was 29 years old during the interview and already has four children consisting two boys and two girls. Mrs. Sarah was interviewed over a period of two sessions lasting two days on separate dates. The interview session went smoothly using Google Meet. In the process of preparing this report, the author had a phone line and whatsapp to ask the respondents for additional information or some clarifications.
Mrs. Sarah has now returned to obedience to Islamic law, and is active in imparting knowledge related to religion and keeping her mind and herself healthier. He has given permission to record and disseminate the contents of this interview for the purpose of education and community preaching, especially towards the youth today.
The respondent has been involved in pornography since before she got married, that is when she was 17 years old by accessing sex videos or recordings due to her high curiosity. The moment she got married around 19 years old is also became the cause of her high curiosity about sex. She is embarrassed to ask her friends nor family about sex and has started looking for her own alternatives which have been a major problem for her until now. She received religious guidance since continuing her studies at a private IPTS in the field of Islamic Studies. After she got married, she still watch the pornography for two to three years before she tried to return fully to the life of holding to Islamic by not to watch pornography again. However, she was tested when her husband worked away from her thus causing her to continue watching the pornography everytime she is away from her husband. When her husband returned to live with her after having 4 children, she began to focus on self -change to remove all the bad elements by reaching out to a counselor to help her. Then she has started to not accessing pornographic videos because she wanted to change into a good servant of God. Viewed from the public, she also chose to maintain her identity as a shariah -compliant woman, as she is more comfortable accepting herself as an individual with high knowledge -who strives to be fully compliant with the shariah.
According to the respondent, the awareness and feeling of wanting to change into a better woman and the fear of God's punishment became the cause of the changes in her appearance. She wears purdah to subdue her gaze and always held tasbih and al Quran everywhere to control her behavior. The respondent stated that what she did helped her not to do things she should not do. She felt ashamed with God. When she went out she would see all the men passing in front of her with an oblique look, she added. Imagining the action in the video as she saw another man in front of her. This matter at the same time disturbed her thinking and she felt very dirty.
According to the respondent, the respondent's condition worsened when her husband was away for many years as she was aroused with sex but the husband was not there. She had to masturbate by herself instead of committing adultery with another man even though she knew that masturbating was still a sin. Her rationale for masturbating was because of her sense of satisfaction and suffering as a result of her estranged husband. According to respondents, not everyone wants to have such sex intrinsically, but more to the purpose of self -expression satisfaction to have sexual attraction. She felt desperate to do so because of the effects of the pornographic videos she watched.
According to the respondent, she has a supply of religious knowledge as well as experience in practicing duties based on her family education and studies in the field of Islamic Studies. Respondents narrated her reactions while trying to forget her guilt. She knew that she was in a state of sin and wondered how her ending of life would be.
Respondents also said that, they use the necessity of self -satisfaction and sex to rationalize themselves why they must watch pornography. According to the respondent, she felt the culture of living was pretentious. She was always being praised and get appreciation for her kindness when dealing with society. However in behind the scene, she will commit those sins in silence without the knowledge of others. She reiterated that an extreme danger awaits for anyone that involves with pornography.

Data Analysis -Formation of Themes and Sub-themes
Based on the table 1: Data Analysis -Formation of Themes and Sub-themes can be seen where the three themes have been formed and sub -themes are obtained for each themes mentioned. There are three sub-themes for the first theme, six sub-themes for the second theme and 14 sub-themes for the third theme. Sub-theme 1.1: Curiosity Such a situation occurs because most people, especially young people are seen as less intelligent in decision making due to having a high curiosity in doing something new (Abdullah & Saemah, 2015). The respondent's curiosity about sex also caused him to become involved with pornography addiction. She married at a very young age while still pursuing his studies in Islamic Studies. She is a shy person to ask friends or family about sex education. So this prompted her to access pornographic sites herself to find out what to do when being in a relationship with her partner. The following is the respondent's statement in an interview: The development of technology is very important to a country because the purpose technology is to facilitate human employment to be faster, more efficient and easier. However, the uncontrolled use of technology also has negative implications on human life when used by interested parties for wrong purposes such as online fraud, spreading false news, hacking and dissemination of pornographic material. The negative implications of technology nowadays can be seen in terms of the behavior of children and adolescents who are easily influenced by what is seen especially through shows that display violent and immoral elements (pornography) thus causing their souls to become hard and rough which eventually leads to the occurrence of problems when interacting in life because they are unable to distinguish between the world of reality and the world of fantasy (Nahar, et al., 2017). Unsurprisingly, many teenagers nowadays are stuck with pornography addiction. This is because the available technology makes it easier for them to share and store pornographic videos, pictures and writings without being detected by anyone especially parents (Norramazonizni & Haninah, 2016).
Look at the current situation PKP.. and now everyone is learning online.. whether you like it or not we still need to buy one… need to go to the website that all, like parents need to go to work.. children will stay at home, they need to go secondary school, the parents will give freedom for their children to stay at home.. we work from morning and go back in the evening.. Its not like the children will do their homework the whole day, they will surely want to go and play games.. its better.. they will gather with gamers..
Theme 2: Effect of Pornography Addiction Sub-theme 2.1: Driven then Get Dwelled According to respondents, the world of pornography addiction is very dangerous and challenging because once you have seen or started looking at pornographic pictures or videos, it will causes individuals to continue watching and eventually addicted to disturbing thoughts and self-harm.
Once we already clicked, definitely we will click again. One time we watch feels like we want more.
Sub-theme 2.2: Sex Before Marriage In the teachings of Islam, pornography is one of the acts that is strictly forbidden because this act is one of the zina (zina of eyes). This is because pornography is able to provide a strong stimulus that arouses lust in those who watch in order to have sex by imitating the action found in pornographic videos. Based on the statistics displayed, it is clear that pornography can cause a person to engage in adultery (sex without marriage) which ultimately has a damaging effect on the individual and society such as the birth of children out of wedlock and sexual crimes. In addition, according to statistics of a study conducted in Malaysia, as early as 13 to 18 years old, adolescents in Malaysia have become involved with pornography addiction that causes them to behave rudely or exceed the boundaries of social interaction without marriage such as holding hands between men and women, kissing, groping, exposing the body in public and getting caught up in sexual intercourse (Ahmad, et al., 2008: Abd Ghadur & Abd Kadir, 2009). Based on the statistics, it was found that individuals who were caught with premarital sex were found to have watched pornographic videos with their partners until eventually they were also involved in this immoral act (Abd Ghadur & Abd Kadir, 2009: Zakaria & Zulkifli, 2017 . This is all because of porn. So when we remember our husband, we will watch the video, our lust increasing ... We will follow that feeling of desire.

Sub-theme 2.3: Mental Health
The results of previous studies have found that pornography can have a negative impact on human mental health. Reisman (2008), in his study explained that pornography adversely affects the brain of adolescents causing them to easily believe false images (pleasure of having sex) compared to the reality of real life where the act is not only causing the disease to spread but also affects mental health. This is, because pornography is capable of causing emotional disturbances such as loss of shame, humility and loss of judgment (Norman & Othman, 2019). Based on studies that have been conducted found that most teenagers who are addicted to pornography have a similar characteristic that is like being alone. The most significant effect of pornography can be seen in men especially, this is because pornography is able to cause a man to imagine the body shape of a woman without clothes or to imagine himself with others having sex. According to Siti Fatimah, pornography addiction has a negative effect on the development of the human brain of various ages such as loss of shame, humility, depression and so on (Berita Harian, April 1, 2018). Such a situation occurs because pornography causes disorders to the brain due to the habit of pornography addict which is prefering to be alone instead of living socially with the surrounding community. Norulhuda, et. al. (2020), explained that watching pornography is one of the methods often used by most adolescents to get rid of the loneliness and stress they face. The results of the study also found that most teenagers who are addicted to pornography are teenagers who do not have many friends and do not have good social skills.

Sub-theme 2.4: Weaken the Memory
The effects of pornography addiction on the brain were also found to have similar effects to the consumption of illegal substances such as the consumptions of drugs and alcohol (Reisman, 2008). In addition, the results of health studies also found that pornography causes nerve damage in the human brain that can weaken the body's control function and affect a person's memory (Reisman, 2008).

Theme 3: The Path of Self -Helping Solutions -The Journey of Recovery
According to respondents, the main factors for recovery and migration are the feeling of bored or fed up with the existing lifestyle as well as worries about death. As she grew older and had children, she felt that she could no longer run away from facing the reality of death and return to God.
However, the journey towards God requires strength that is not not exist in herself, so she continued with the existing lifestyle. The respondent attributed that the trigger to the migration was from her own efforts by meeting a counselor and applying the knowledge she had learned.
Triggers to her awareness are from programs and activities organized by the University. They had asked the respondent to deliver a talk related to religion and she began to dare in delivering her knowledge for the talk. The first step in migration is to initially establish a prayer of repentance. Despite having kept the prayers full time, the prayer of repentance circumcision is the first point of commitment in migrating. At the time, she was still involved in accessing pornography in a fantasy through individuals who confronted her the effects of past videos she had browsed. However, she always performed the prayer of repentance and for strength from God. Arriving at the point of strength, she has resolutely chosen to keep herself busy by pursue her studies and working as well as volunteering.
This migration is driven by the opportunities that comes. Indeed as an aging individual, she worries of her old age which might still continues to commit sin. The opportunity came when she furthered her studies at the Masters level. At the same time, the husband has moved his place of work closer and can live with her. She felt so great that the help from God gave her the strength to move out of the path of sin.

Subtema 3.1: Parents Knowledge on Technologies
Parents should also equip themselves with the latest technology-related knowledge to ensure that they are always aware of the use of technology among their children. Good knowledge among parents of the latest technology indirectly allows them to take proactive and effective measures against the use of technology among children such as by blocking websites that are not beneficial and check the sites or applications used by children.
Nowadays students are exposed doing their schoolwork with the internet and computer. According to her, she still feels that she need to be strong to fight her desire in watching pornography. Only she will always do good deeds, pray for strength and obey the commands of Allah and desire the pleasure of Allah, then she will obey the commands and prohibitions and do good deeds as a supply of the hereafter.
I read the Quran, Yaasin, Al Mulk, Zikr and salawat. Like that… I always seek for Allah's help. (Respondent)

Sub-theme 3.3: Packing the Daily Routine
Respondent tried to do other activities when she felt the urge to look at pornography. She will try to keep herself busy so that she would not entertain the video. There are many activities that can actually be done to not to get caught up in pornography such as doing daily hobbies like cooking, gardening, cleaning the house, painting, writing, vacationing with children, studying, reading books, listening to talks and so on that are beneficial.

: Religion Approach
Respondents have a realigious background in when pursuing studies in the field of Islamic Studies. According to her, the religious approach is very important for the recovery process because the religious approach helps individuals aware of the law of hakam in Islam, the commands and prohibitions of Allah and so on. Religion is the foundation of building a house and the foundation of our life and if there is no such foundation, the house that is built will collapse, let alone when committing immorality. Therefore, this religious approach as our direction when we stray from the true path.

. (Respondent) Sub-theme 3.5: Taubah
Repentance is allign with the practice of outward purification however, the term repentance here is the practice of purifying the mind or heart from all sins. Muslims are obligated to repent and truly repent of the sinful nature of browsing pornographic websites and indeed Allah S.W.T. cursing human beings who have eyes used to commit immorality. Al-Ghazālī outlines several methods to seek forgiveness in order to remove the sins committed, namely by repenting nasuha, doing good deeds whether obligatory or circumcised, giving alms and paying zakah.

Sub-theme 3.7: Al-Quran Recitation, Istigfar & Zikr
Reading the Quran and accompanied by an understanding of its meaning are among the ways to get this fear. When there comes fear in the heart, it will get rid of the addiction to sin, repent, repent and be devout and return to Allah S.W.T. (Najar, 2004 The respondent applied positive thinking to help herself when the recovery process began to be more positive and able to deal with the situation. The main appropriate strategy for the problem of pornography addiction is through the method of changing negative thoughts and behaviors to more beneficial thoughts and behaviors.
Sub-theme 3.11: Technology Control In addition, through this study also explains that one of the best methods to control the use of technology among adolescents from being involved with negative influences is to install control panel software on computers to limit or block websites that can give negative influences to children such as blocking sites web video games, pornography, violent programs and so on.

Conclusion
The issue of pornography addiction poses a challenge for the preachers and families to overcome with. In fact, those who are involved with this pornography addiction have also basically been proven through suffering and experience which at the same time is a powerful influence for them to continue to dwell in the addiction. The issue is exacerbated when society does not take it into account because this addiction occurs in silence and can threaten greater harm to self and society. This article has provided an explanation of each of the experiences, factors and effects in pornography addiction as well as suggestions that can be done by preachers or counselors to help them return to their good life.
"The Internet is not the problem, but the problem is actually the contagious disease in society itself ." This is an excerpt from Dr. Mohamed Awang Lah when asked by Utusan Malaysia reporters about cyber crime in Malaysia (Utusan Online, 2004). His words are synonymous with society's craze for pornographic materials. The Internet and all sophisticated communication equipment are just a medium of communication. It is the user who determines the direction when using the facilities. Therefore, it is the users who need to be educated in order to utilize technology in a way that is pleasing to God.