Porn addiction. An uncomfortable and taboo topic, but very important to address. Porn, although not normally thought of as a drug, is highly addictive in nature. In fact, it is the easiest drug to get a hold of due to the computers we carry around in our pockets. 

According to troubledteens.com, “Teen pornography exposure is becoming more and more common with almost 87% of teens now online on a regular basis. Only 3% of boys and 17% of girls have never watched pornography. The average age that youth are exposed to pornography is age 11”.

This growing rate is highly alarming. Even though most people think that the use and exposure of porn is specifically a male issue, there is an exponential rise in the number of women and teen girls watching in the past few years. This is most definitely due to the ease of access on everyone’s phones. Statistics directly from Pornhub claim that 71% of its female users access their website using their phones. 

An issue noted in an article by axis.org is that “the pornification of culture (i.e. softcore and hypersexualized imagery) is widespread and evident everywhere, from the grocery store checkout lane to advertising, popular entertainment, unsolicited email, and beyond. It’s becoming increasingly difficult—if not impossible—to live a porn-free life.” This highly sexual imagery is becoming the new normal, and the sheer amount of it that people are exposed to now is what has the scary ability to shape today’s culture.

As stated earlier, porn is a very addictive drug, and it is everywhere. Prolonged exposure and use can have physical consequences such as erectile dysfunction. Porn can also change the chemistry of your brain. 

An article by neurosciencenews.com states that “some scientists have drawn parallels between porn consumption and substance abuse. Through evolutionary design, the brain is wired to respond to sexual stimulation with surges of dopamine. This neurotransmitter, most often associated with reward anticipation, also acts to program memories and information into the brain. This adaptation means that when the body requires something, like food or sex, the brain remembers where to return to experience the same pleasure”. 

Because of the amount of dopamine one can get from porn, this can lead to addiction—which is what makes it so similar to drug use. It causes surges of “good feelings” because of this dopamine, which can lower overall mood and cause people to fall into depression.

A shocking statistic from bevilandassociates.com is that 56% of divorce cases are because one party is addicted to porn.This is detrimental to marriage, and relationships because it shows less commitment to one’s partner. Addiction starts now, and gets harder to break the longer it goes on.