Hooks, Traps, and Minefields

I attended a paper presentation last Friday at the Mormon Media Studies Symposium and I'm glad I did. Here's what I took away from "Hooks, Traps, and Minefields: The Persuasive Power of Anti-Pornography Messages in LDS Priesthood Conference Talks" by Vauna Davis.

 

{Davis mentioned these two videos as using especially good metaphors}

Stay Within the Lines

 

The Sting of the Scorpion

According to Davis' analysis, there are eight basic strategies or suggestions that church leaders have used to persuade the men of the Church to avoid, or ditch, pornography use (Davis' sample was from 2006-2011). Additionally, social science theories shed light on additional approaches that could supplement the Church's overall anti-pornography message. Ultimately, church leaders' use of metaphors (such as hooks, traps, and minefields) are especially effective in illustrating how porn addictions work. Interestingly, hearing the stories of these metaphors, more so than reading them, has a bigger impact on the target audience.

The Church's Eight Points of Counsel
1. Recognize porn's harmful effects (addiction, harm to relationships, loss of spiritual capacity and divine guidance, failure to fulfill Priesthood responsibilities)
2. Resist the natural man
3. Counteract contemporary moral standards
4. Beware of the power of Satan
5. Exercise agency
6. Live virtuously
7. Repent of using pornography
8. Anticipate the rewards of abstaining from porn

Davis' Additional Recommendations for Delivering an Anti-Porn Message
-Give concrete suggestions for overcoming porn addictions (such as talking to a friend or attending a 12 step group)
-Show successful behavioral models (such as a video of a man sharing his story of finding healing)
-Further emphasize the negative effects porn use can have on families (damage to relationships, lack of respect, etc.)

This stuff matters. A lot. Sometimes it may feel like pornography use and immorality in general are too big of a problem for us to tackle as families and as disciples of Christ and it can get discouraging to feel like we're fighting such a beast. But if we don't continue to talk about the problem and offer people a way out of this trap, the silence will continue to stifle those who desperately want to be freed from addiction.

I hope this documentary comes to fruition...