Let us rework the cliche: A man's skeletons don't hang in his closet; they lie in the circuits of his hard drive. And considering the statistics, American men have a lot of secrets.

Pornography has been around since human beings developed rudimentary art skills, but today porn is not simply some private enterprise where teenage boys are exposed to nudity and gasp at this new discovery; it's a bombardment of the senses in the most explicit and mind-warping style possible. Wide-eyed innocence doesn't just fade — it's beaten to a bloody pulp.

What's more, it's more widespread than ever before. In 2006, total revenue from the American porn industry totaled $13.6 billion — a mere 15 percent chunk of the $97 billion made worldwide. Family Safe Media claims 80 percent of all teens age 15-17 have viewed hardcore pornography multiple times while 90 percent of kids ages 7-17 have viewed porn at least once.

However, what's most troubling is when this so-called "perverted" form of sexual entertainment actually starts to define sexuality. In his book, "Getting Off: Pornography and the End of Masculinity," author Robert Jensen argues pornography shapes today's men in ways that reinforce misogynistic trends and solidify the brutish he-man image of masculinity. Some may say attacks on pornography are simply anti-sex prudes trying to mandate morality, but Mr. Jensen assures us pornography is indeed a corrupting force.

Certainly, porn is corrupting, but not inherently. The depiction of sexual acts doesn't necessarily place women in a position of servitude, and it doesn't necessarily promote an immoral lifestyle. After all, the Kama Sutra is technically pornography, but it does serve — along with some more recent porn — as a marital aid in times of sexual frustration or inadequacy.

However, there is a major problem with pornography today. British singer Jarvis Cocker may have said it best: "I've seen this storyline so many times before/ Oh that goes in there/ Then that goes in there/ Then that goes in there/ Then that goes in there, and then it's over/ Oh, what a hell of a show/ But what I want to know/ What do you do for an encore? 'Cause this is hardcore."

The problem at the root of modern pornography isn't that it encourages these wild fetishes, adultery and misogyny — it's that it strips down sexuality to a physical response with no meaning. If anything, porn does American sexuality a disservice in that it does whatever it has to in order to get that orgasm and move on. That's not just an inaccurate way to present human sexuality, it's potentially dangerous given the effect it can have.

We've come a long way from "Debbie Does Dallas" and "Deep Throat." They had storylines, characters and plots — these were fictional depictions with real, but staged sex. Frankly, there is a reason pornography's faux-funk soundtrack and absurd situations are still used today as overt comedy punch lines — they're not all that serious. Just as few individuals who watch "Rambo" will run into public place with a gattling gun, it's unlikely many porn viewers will try to proposition their veterinarian.

Furthermore, the distribution process was like any other good: If you want your porn, you have to buy a magazine or a video like everyone else. Individuals had to budget time and money for sexual gratification along with consideration of more basic needs.

However, given recent changes in the American porn industry, its effect on viewers — particularly teenagers — is potentially damaging.

Now, I'm no connoisseur of pornography, but there's something to be said for context. Today, porn films are shot faster than ever because they have no plot, no context. What porn producers have seen fit to deliver are young women (and men, in some cases) who are there simply to be penetrated. Moans are needed, but placing sex in any sort of context or hypothetical situation is considered an unnecessary feature that just gets in the way of the inevitable climax. While pornography has always been more about arousal than plotlines, the method of stimulation makes a huge difference. While character development wasn't integral, it at least gave the viewer some reason for imagination and made them think about what is sexually arousing. It's not "Gonzo" pornography (an insult to Hunter S. Thompson, although he probably would have gotten a kick out of it), it's "drone porn" — an equation that provides the necessary bodily response. Watch, stroke, repeat.

If that wasn't bad enough, then came the Internet — a fountain of images, video and audio with no inclination toward self-censorship or self-control — to provide the veritable "soma" Aldous Huxley warned us about. Even in the earliest days, the marketplace for pornography exploded into a wealth of pixilated debauchery for easier consumption and expansion of fantasy.

This bounty of exposed flesh can do long-lasting damage. Corrupting youth is incredibly easy to do, and one could argue that porn has been doing that for ages anyway. In testimony before Congress, Dr. Judith Riesman noted pornographic images "imprint and alter the brain, triggering an instant, involuntary, but lasting, biochemical memory trail. … And once new neurochemical pathways are established, they are difficult or impossible to delete." Certainly, if it has this effect on a normal brain, a younger developing mind is possibly more susceptible to distortion. While porn already gives adolescents a skewed and misogynistic view of sex, the switch to minute-long clip-based stimulus provides teens with a "whatever gets you off" mentality that not only takes the joy out of sex, but could prove very damaging later in life. Especially given the near instantaneous access to an endless variety of explicit sexual activity.

For those whose porn use comes closer to compulsive addiction, the next high is always a bit harder to achieve. Delving into the variety of amateur porn ultimately reveals the absolutely abhorrent realms of child pornography and rape. Certainly, one researcher at the University of Utah was quoted as saying in the Christian Science Monitor, "I don't think I've ever yet seen an adult sex offender who wasn't involved with pornography."

Of course, there is always the possibility that a person will use porn to release sexual tension, spice up a relationship or simply watch it for comedic purposes. However, when children and teens are exposed to its extremes so easily today, the way they interpret it may be dependent on who they talk to.

That's up to you, mom and dad. Obviously, parents don't want their kids viewing these images at such an early age, but unless every attempt to censor the Internet succeeds, their child will eventually stumble upon porn. While it may be painful (and horribly awkward) to discuss, parents need to explain pornography and how it distorts true sexuality. Otherwise, the body will provide the answers.

And that sort of impulsiveness, at least in this case, is a very dangerous thing.

Jason Smathers ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in journalism and history.