FIJI has been ranked in the top 10 countries in the world in terms of the percentage of searches for the word “porn”, according to figures compiled by Google Trends.
Google trends is a public web-based facility of Google.Inc based on Google Search that shows how often a particular search term is entered relative to the total search volume across various regions of the world, and in various languages.
Each country’s total Google searches are calculated by Google Trends and then the number of times each country searched for the word “porn” is recorded and calculated as a percentage of the total searches.
Fiji is ranked fourth in percentage for searches of the word “porn” and ninth for searches of the word “pornography”.
But while Google Trends does not show the exact numbers of people searching for the term, it does show which areas of a country recorded the highest number of searches for it.
Google trends statistics show internet users in Nadi recorded the highest number of searches for the word “porn” while Suva internet users are second.
Speaking to The Fiji Times, psychologist Selina Kuruleca said the results suggested a number of different things.
She explained people could be curious and also use pornography as an outlet for them to learn about something that traditionally would not be talked about.
Ms Kuruleca said the high number of searches could also point to the wide availability of internet, no supervision or the lack of it, and people having too much time on their hands.
But she also pointed out some people use porn for positive purposes.
“Some people use porn to research and better their sexual life, better the sexual performance between two consenting adults,” Ms Kuruleca told this newspaper.
“If it is being used for purposes other than that, that is a problem.”
She said a person’s mental state could be affected if they watched more pornography than that which would be deemed appropriate or normal for their particular age.
“For example, it is reasonably expected that a 20-year-old male may have access to and hence watch more pornography than a 60-year-old male, their location, culture and upbringing also plays a part in determining levels of appropriateness.
“As a society, however, most social groupings place a judgement on anyone who watches pornography, citing reasons like it is in poor state, makes the actress look like meat, etcetera.”
And while the direct correlation between pornography and the onset of sexual violence remains a contested topic, the Fiji Police Force said there could be a link between the two.
“While there has not been any study to link the issue of porn and sexual offences from the Fiji police perspective, it cannot be ruled out due to the nature of some of the cases that are received,” ACP Henry Brown said yesterday.
