With the advent of the Internet the issue of pornography went even
further underground because people who were addicted could now
experience this addiction in the privacy of their home without ever
leaving. And because behaviors no require movement outside
the home some people are confused as to whether their behavior is
considered an addiction to pornography.
Behaviors that might indicate that a person is addicted to pornography
have to do with their sexual thoughts and behaviors. These
can include the sense that these thoughts cause problems in their life,
have interfered with the ability to function at school or work or when
people worry that the thoughts can be more powerful than they
are. Concerns about specific sexual behaviors, failure to
meet obligations because of involvement or struggling to control or
stop thinking about or viewing pornography are also indicators that the
individual may be struggling with an addiction.
Others have suggested that formal criteria should be developed to
determine if a person struggles with a pornographic
addiction. Lists of behaviors that are similar to alcohol and
other substance abuse addictions have been developed which seem to
characterize an excessive and uncontrollable involvement regardless of
the particular behavior.
Online pornography appears to be more addictive than ordinary
pornography because of the availability, explicitness and privacy of
the viewing in the home. People addicted to online pornography are
reported to spend more and more time in front of the computer to
satisfy their addiction finding new or increasingly hardcore
photography.
Many parents are concerned about the exposure that their sons and
daughters face now ñ in their own homes. What used
to be a problem that was limited to those who could purchase movies,
magazines or mail order content is now freely exposed to an
inexperienced and exposed population of children. And there
is good reason to be concerned. In 2006 the Internet Filter
Review reported that the total revenue in the porn industry reached 13
Billion dollars in the US and 97 Billion worldwide.
The number of pornographic websites continues to grow each
year. In 2003 it was estimated that there were 1.3 million
websites and over 250 million pages. According to comScore,
an internet metrix company, more than 70% of men age 18 to 34 visits a
pornographic site in a typical month.
The consequences of this addiction is also far reaching. At a
2003 meeting of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers 2/3 of the
350 attorneys who attended said that Internet pornography played a role
in divorces in the past year. And, according to those who had
been practicing for more than 10 years the role of porn was almost
non-existent just 7 or 8 years ago. In a Focus on the Family
poll in 2003 47% of families said that pornography was a problem in
their home.
These numbers and consequences are staggering and have consequences for
both the individual families and society as a
whole. Parents who recognize the dangers
investigate the installation of filter software and keep computers in
public areas in the home. But even with the gateways that
parents attempt to put into place the London School of Economics
reported in 2002 that 9 out of 10 children between 8 and 16 had viewed
porn on the Internet, and in most cases unwittingly.
Pornography is an addiction that never goes away however.
Unlike an addiction to alcohol, nicotine or street drugs once the
pornographic images have been burned into the minds of the addict they
are impossible to erase. Recovery from this type of addiction
is also more difficult and is a life long struggle for the addict.
The argument of some that addiction to pornography is without
consequences and shouldn't be classified as a problem is
riddled with holes and problems that is supported by the reams of
statistics gathered by several agencies and companies.
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