SECOND OPINION: The Judge Curtin affair is one of a long litany of cases where the public have been shocked by the darker side of the internet, typified by the downloading of child pornography, writes John Sharry.
What has particularly disturbed many people has been the large number of apparently respectable men from ordinary walks of life who are alleged to be involved in this terrible crime. These have included teachers, lecturers as well as celebrities such as Tim Allen and public figures such as Judge Curtin.
None of these men has been arrested for previous crimes and many are well-loved family men and respectable members of the community. The disturbing question becomes: How is it that apparently respectable men go down the path of downloading child pornography from the internet?
While there has been much outrage in the media, there has been little attempt at understanding the psychological processes that will lead to this crime. The answer lies as much in the nature of the internet as it does in the psychology of the men. The internet has been heralded as a triumph of modern life, providing instant access to all types of information from all over the world at a touch of a button.
Through the internet you can find information on whatever special interest you have and be put in touch with people who share your interest no matter how rare this is. While this is true for laudable causes - such as people suffering from rare diseases who can find a support group online - it is also true for more disturbing causes such as terrorism, nazism or pornography.
The internet is about freedom of information flow and there are currently few controls; we have access to all information, whatever its quality, good and bad. All the peculiar and darker sides of the human psyche are catered for in abundance within the World Wide Web and are only a 'few clicks away' on a button.
The instant accessibility of the internet allows people follow their darker curiosities, however remote and deeply buried. And, of course, once such interests are highlighted and people are put in touch with one another - these interests grow and are cultivated, both within the individual's mind and collectively within society.
In addition, it is the nature of the 'once removed' quality of interaction with the internet that contributes to the problem. As people generally access the internet alone and privately via the apparent disguise of a screen on their computer - it can feel secret and anonymous.
Viewers do not have to stand face to face with someone and ask for what they want; via the internet they can even pretend they are someone they are not. The internet encourages a kind of passivity and voyeurism on the part of the viewer.
When reading the horrific details of a crime in the newspaper, though enthralled, the reader does not feel responsible for the crime. This 'detachment' can occur even to a higher degree with viewing on the Net. Psychologically, viewers can become emotionally detached, becoming spectators, believing their viewing has no impact and no consequence.
Finally, spending time on the internet in general and viewing pornography in particular can be addictive for many people. In a similar way to drugs and drink, men view pornography as a means of sexual gratification to help them escape from depression and personal problems. And just as in drug abuse, when addicts often start out 'being curious' or 'experimenting' with softer drugs before progressing to more serious drugs and more serious criminal activity, many men follow this path in their pornography addiction, leading them to view over time more extreme and more serious forms of pornography and finally to go over the line into child pornography.
All these reasons give rise to the massive problem of pornography on the internet generally and the problem of child pornography specifically. By its very nature, the internet cultivates special interests however dark and sinister, encourages voyeurism and unaccountable viewing and in itself can be addictive.
So given these problems that are inherent in internet use, what can be done? First, there needs to be more accountability to create a wider sense of being responsible for what we view. If the secrecy and the feeling you can 'get away with it' is removed, the crime will be reduced (as is happening with the recent arrests and new workplace monitoring policies).
Second, there needs to be greater control and policing of the internet. Though an anathema to proponents of a free internet, who believe that policing might lead to 'big brother' censorship (as it does in China and other states), there is a growing consensus that a special case needs to be made for child pornography. For example, British Telecom is considering developing an 'intelligent' filtering system that will exclusively block sites linked to child pornography.
Finally, we need to do more to understand the addictive nature of the pornography on the internet and to provide support services to help people overcome this. The internet has the potential to bring out the best in our human nature but also the worst. It should be used with care and with much more individual and collective accountability.
• Dr John Sharry is a psychotherapist, author and research consultant at Media Lab Europe.