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Addiction to Pornography

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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