Some people might think that pornography is a harmless way to get aroused, but the reality is that it can become an addiction very quickly.
What is porn addiction? It’s a disorder described as a progressive-compulsive and habitual behavior of watching pornographic content and getting satisfaction from it. This can also involve downloading and storing sex videos, magazines, and photos.
Pornography is easily available to people of all ages 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Viewing pornography can be very addictive and lead to people wasting a lot of time. This can then affect their relationships, sex lives, and more.
This blog post will discuss the causes, signs, and treatment of pornography addiction.
Porn Addiction Statistics in the United States
- Statistically, 24.5 million people visit pornographic websites every day
- 90% and 60% of boys and girls respectively have viewed pornographic content before the age of 18
- 68% of religious men and 20% of Christian women have confessed to porn addiction
- Men are 543% more likely to develop a porn addiction than women
- 270% of individuals who watch porn regularly will consider paid sex to perform sexual fantasies
- 79% of men ages 18 to 30 watches porn monthly, including 67% of men ages 31 to 49 and 49% of men ages 50 to 68 as well
What Causes Porn Addiction?
This behavioral disorder is a problem that is growing. It is not just something people are making up. People with this disorder have a habit that cannot be explained by one cause. The habit is similar to an addiction where the person feels good after doing it.
People can easily find pornography. You do not need to go through a lot of trouble to get porn content like you would for drugs. This raises the question, what makes someone want to watch graphic and degrading material?
Some evidence says that someone who is addicted to porn doesn’t need to be high on drugs because their brain starts to produce similar effects after seeing extreme content.
Keep reading to see the factors that contribute to these physiological addictions that provide a temporary but very destructive high.
Biological Factors
- The innate personality of being impulsive toward pleasure-seeking behavior
- A high level of sex hormones such as testosterone (male) or estrogen (female) increases sexual desire
Psychological Factors
- Victims of childhood sexual trauma, which may include violent acts such as rape or incest
- Pre-existing mental conditions such as anxiety, depression, personality disorders, and impulsive behavior can affect a person’s ability to control mood and behavior.
Social Factors
- Lack of healthy sexual gratification from an intimate partner
- Rejection from a social peer groups
- Social isolation increases the likelihood of developing negative emotions that propel a person to seek unhealthy rewarding behaviors or act out sexually
- Peer pressure and influence: If a person is surrounded by friends who have the habit of watching sexual content, that person is exposed to a high risk of acquiring the same behavior
- Pornography addiction is comparable to substance addictions and individuals who often feel bored, lonely, anxious, or depressed may simply watch porn as an experimental “release”
Are You Addicted to Porn? Here Are The Signs
Porn addiction can have negative impacts on the individual and the people around them. Although pornography addiction and substance abuse addiction present different health risks, there are similarities in their corresponding behaviors. Behavioral therapy and other psychiatric interventions can help addicts to recover and start healthier relationships.
Here are some signs that someone might be addicted to porn:
- Inability to stop watching pornographic content following several failed attempts
- Viewing sexual content even in public areas
- Compulsive masturbation
- People who check out pornography a lot are more likely to avoid human contact and ignore important obligations.
- Getting angry and defensive when cautioned to stop viewing pornographic content
- Porn addicts have a harder time relating to their significant others because they would rather watch porn than be sexually active with their spouses.
- Some people use pornography to help themselves get excited about sex with a partner. This is because they cannot get aroused or have an erection with a real person.
- Hiding the damning extent of watching porn content by lying or deleting site logs
- Losing track of time when watching porn videos and spending too much money to fuel the behavior
- Developing a growing need to watch more graphic pornographic content to get a more pleasurable feeling
- Feeling guilt from doing this behavior
- Watching sexual content to “cope” with negative emotions
- Developing an addiction to pornography where you need more and more extreme material to satisfy your sexual desires.
- Porn addiction can often lead to individuals acting out violently or dangerously to fulfill their sexual fantasies on someone not willing to participate.
What are the Negative Effects Associated with Porn Addiction?
Pornographic content gives a temporary pleasurable feeling but its negative effects outweigh these things. Knowing the adverse consequences of this behavior allows porn-addicted individuals to take decisive steps toward stopping this habit.
Below are the problems one can expect to experience:
1. Physical effects like erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation may occur because porn addict finds it hard to gain sexual arousal from their partner as a result of the mental conditioning of watching pornography.
2. Social Effects include decreased sexual desire with a human being due to the preference for watching porn. A person may also have the urge to fulfill sexual fantasies with strangers even with the risk of contracting diseases.
3. Psychological Effects include depression. People who watch a lot of porn may develop depression because they are not getting the interpersonal relationships they need. They may also become sexually impulsive and focused on sex, lose focus on other things, and neglect their responsibilities.
Available Treatments for Porn Addiction
Pornography addiction is like other behavioral addictions. It can be managed with the right tools if someone is aware and accepts that they have a weakness and recognizes the presence of the addiction.
Choosing the right treatment plan is important because it can help people with porn addiction to stop their bad habits and have a good life with fulfilling relationships.
Here are the available porn addiction treatment options:
- Individual or Group Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Mindfulness-Based Therapy
- 12-Step Recovery Program
Individuals who suffer from preexisting mental disorders can receive a combination of cutting-edge treatments such as neurofeedback, one-on-one counseling, and non-addictive medications to address their behavioral addiction.
