Research conducted on a group of Polish students showed that as many as 12.2% of them consider themselves addicted to pornographic content. The increasing number of people who use pornography compulsively has several causes. Understanding them is very important, as it allows you to effectively support addicts and prevent the further spread of the problem.
Easy access to pornographic material
Addiction is facilitated by the widespread availability of pornographic content. In the past, it took some effort to reach them, such as visiting an adult movie rental store or paying for pay TV channels. Today, all you have to do is turn on the Internet.
Unfortunately, pornographic materials are available here even for minors. Most often, it is enough to manually confirm that you are over eighteen years old. Internet portals do not verify the age of viewers in an effective way, which poses a huge threat to the youngest.
Young people shape their ideas about sex on the basis of pornographic films. Therefore, they will face difficulties when they decide to start intercourse.
Increasing social tolerance and ignoring the threat
It is not uncommon to come across the opinion that everyone watches pornography and there is nothing wrong with that. Some even add that everything is for people. The situation is therefore a bit similar to that of alcohol.
This is a good comparison, if you take into account the findings of the scientists. Studies show that both pornography and alcohol strongly stimulate the reward system. They lead to structural changes that are similar to those caused by psychoactive substances.
This is proof that pornography is a threat and we should always think about what we are reaching for it for.
Emotional difficulties and the risk of pornography addiction
There is still a myth that pornography serves to satisfy sexual needs, especially among single people. Meanwhile, it is often an escape from emotional problems. Pornographic materials are popular among people who live in relationships. Not at all because it allows you to diversify your sex life. On the contrary – it often disrupts relationships and leads to conflicts.
Pornographic films are sometimes seen as a quick way to relax and take a break from worries. For people who have difficulties in establishing contacts, they mistakenly appear as a substitute for contact with another person. However, in reality, escaping into the world of pornography only intensifies loneliness and lack of self-confidence.
Summary: why is pornography one of the problems of the 21st century?
In therapeutic offices, patients sometimes admit that for a long time they did not notice the negative impact of pornography on their lives. They were convinced that they were able to end it if they really felt the need. Unfortunately, there are many indications that such situations will be even more frequent. Pornographic content is widely available even to minors. We have started to treat using them as a norm and we often do not think about why we are actually doing it.
