With the central government going ahead with its decision to ban porn websites, psychiatrists and sexual medicine experts say regulation on pornography is a must.

The department of telecommunication, in its July 31 notification, had asked Internet providers to disable 857 websites that carry adult content, particularly those dealing with child pornography.

Dr Rajan Bhonsle, head of the department of sexual medicine at KEM hospital, said it was long overdue. "Porn is addictive and should have been banned a long time back. As much as 80% of the porn material out there is perverse porn. The content is not normal or natural. Such exaggerated content tends to spoil many students' career, relationships, etc," he added.

He also said that watching porn is rampant among teenagers and youths. "It makes you emulate it, affecting the person's normal life and sexuality. I have seen many people who have harmed themselves and their relationships because of this addiction," said Bhonsle.

Agreeing with him, Hiranandani hospital psychiatrist Dr Harish Shetty said that across the world there are regulations on porn-watching. "Accessibility to sensuous content needs to be regulated. We have seen the ramifications of easy accessibility to porn and how teenagers have ruined their careers and gone for unnatural experimentation. It has had a psychological impact on these people."

The directive has sparked a raging debate on social media and other platforms, with the government being accused of indulging in Internet censorship.

Dr Pratibha Naitthani, a political science professor who had filed a public interest litigation in the Bombay High Court in 2004 against the broadcast of all adult films and programmes on different television channels, said she is happy with the government's decision.

"I am aghast with the uproar over porn website ban. Porn has nothing to do with right to freedom. It objectifies women. It only portrays women as sex objects who can be beaten, abused, etc. It only teaches disrespect and disregard towards women and shouldn't be viewed as a source of entertainment or education," said Naitthani.

She added that it is high time everyone accepted reality. "Studies have shown that porn-watching is addictive. It has a detrimental effect on one's persona. We had instances where porn-watching led to brutal sexual crimes.

Earlier, porn was accessible via video cassettes and CDs. Now, it is freely and easily accessible even to teenagers, making it even more important for the government to regulate it," she said.