When Bronwen Reed went to the library to study, her only expectation was to do her homework like the other students. But he saw a man watching porn on his library computer. “I was surprised and shocked. I didn’t know what to do,” she says.
The 21-year-old Manchester student says he saw the same man watching porn again in the same library a few weeks later, although he thought it was a one-off event and moved on with his life.
Bronwen is not alone. Those who come across people watching porn on buses or trams have been saying this more loudly recently.
In the UK, a Conservative MP recently resigned in the House of Commons for watching porn on his phone.
Speaking to the BBC, the politician said that he accidentally entered the porn site while trying to access a tractor site.
Half of the adults in the country watch porn, according to Ofcom, the UK’s media control agency.
But to understand why some people do it in public instead of in private, Dr., who studies sex and pornography addictions. We applied to Paula Hall.
DEPENDENCE
Dr. Hall says one possible cause is addiction:
“We know that as people become addicted to something, they lose impulse control.
“As alcohol, gambling, and computer games become addictive, urges become increasingly uncontrollable.”
He says his “desire and need to watch porn” is stronger than the will to say “No, I’ll watch it when I get home instead of watching it now”.
He states that when people become addicted, “the thinking part of the brain starts to turn off.”
SELF-AWARENESS AND PRESSURE
Callum Singleton, on the other hand, saw someone watching porn in the car on his way home by bus in Glasgow.
The 19-year-old says he doesn’t understand why someone would watch porn in public, which is why he feels “disgusted and confused”:
“It seems to be a common occurrence. It’s like it’s been part of their daily life. But it’s clear it shouldn’t be.”
Dr. Hall adds that those who watch porn in public “may have low self-awareness.”
“They can switch to watching porn by clicking a link while browsing Facebook.”
He says that the “normalization” of pornography in mainstream culture could also affect people:
“Pornography is so prevalent compared to a few years ago that the line between what is porn and what is not is blurring.
“Some of the people who watch porn may think that everyone around them is watching porn. Something has become more normalized lately is pornography.”
Hall thinks that “few” men see viewing porn in public as a strength:
“There’s also a misogynist side to thinking ‘it’s my right to watch’.
“Those who are uncomfortable with it think it’s not their problem.”
HABIT
Dr. Hall believes that exposure to pornography at a young age can also affect this:
“The age at which we start doing something is an important factor in the automation process for us.
“Furthermore, if you don’t accept that something has become a habit, it becomes harder to deal with it.
“If they’ve been watching porn from an early age, it will become automatic for them.”
Thinking that public spaces belong to everyone, Bronwen says she is worried about this situation:
“The most important thing is that everyone feels comfortable and safe in public spaces or on public transport. But this is not always possible.
“This can make a lot of people feel extremely uncomfortable.”
Dr. “Low self-awareness can also contribute to the fact that others don’t understand how uncomfortable they are,” Hall says.
“They may even have forgotten that other people might be uncomfortable with it.”