Understanding the Long-Term Psychological Impact of Exposure to Pornography
It’s not uncommon for young men to grow up watching lots of pornography. Unfortunately, for many of these young men, this has become their primary source of sex education. Porn is freely available on the Internet, and young males often encounter it in their early teens, with the Huffington Post putting the average age at 11 years old. As young teens grow into adulthood, this can have a long-term psychological impact.
Author of Wack: Addicted to Internet Porn and self-described former porn addict Noah Church knows all too well about the long-term psychological impact of porn exposure. Growing up in the Internet generation, Church was exposed to porn as early as 9 years old, and has been using porn consistently since he was around 13. When he had his first real relationship at 18 – which led to sex for the first time – he found himself completely unaroused. This led him to feel sexually broken, and it eventually led to the end of the relationship. “Internet porn is very different from any other media or stimulation that we’ve ever seen before," he explains. "It’s unlimited content, accessible as soon as you want it. It became more about the novelty of what I was looking at and always seeking something new than it was about reaching orgasm."
The most problematic long-term psychological impact of porn is sex addiction. GQ spoke to two men and one woman who are recovering sex addicts to see the devastating impact that sex addiction has had on their personal lives. This included loss of relationships and self-esteem, with one male even considering suicide. In a previous post on ‘Out of Control Sexual Behavior’, we talked about how the problem often stems from untreated trauma or abuse, untreated mental health problems, or unresolved relationship issues.
In order to tackle the long-term effects of porn, education needs to start early. There is no doubt that there is a lack of effective sex education during children’s formative years. This is despite the fact that the ages of 12 to 20 are highly crucial for mental development, with Psychology Today stating that this is when the human brain exhibits great neuroplasticity — in this case, billions of new synapses, “wired” by pornography.
Porn is not about to go away anytime soon, which is exactly why proper sex education must be taught at schools. The more we learn about how porn influences mental health, the more we should be concerned about mitigating or eliminating its negative and long-term effects on human mental development. The good news is that there have been some real strides towards promoting mental health as a primary goal in education. Maryville University explains how newly recognized connections between mental health and education have led to a demand for psychology professionals in various fields and industries. This will increase the number of professionals looking into the long-term impact of porn. If we hope to safeguard the mental health of our children, healthy and objective sex education needs to start during their most formative years.
Researchers from Université Laval note that watching porn recreationally is okay at healthy, moderate doses, but a compulsive need to view porn can be damaging to both teenagers and adults. As the long-term effects become more apparent, so too must the drive towards proper education that can help individuals safely explore their sexual urges.
Written for yoursexdoc.com
By Raven James