More and more often we are seeing the mainstream media push a narrative that describes porn consumption as empowering, liberating, and healthy. The messages are everywhere.
Jess buys Nick a subscription to a porn site after losing a bet on New Girl. Joey and Chandler have porn playing on their living room TV for days on end after stumbling on a free channel in Friends. In Jane the Virgin, Jane and her husband are having intimacy problems, then turn to porn as a possible solution at the advice of a friend. Barney in How I Met Your Mother has bookshelves of porn displayed in his house. Later in the show, Barney thinks he has found a sex tape of a friend and gathers all of their friends to watch it. The father in Euphoria goes to jail for mass porn consumption and has sexual relations with a teenager. A man with chronic pain who is allergic to pain medication watches porn in his hospital bed to relieve the pain on Grey’s Anatomy.
Even in these seemingly harmless shows, we are being taught that porn is a normal habit. Then you have movies like Fifty Shades of Grey and 365 Days which popularize and fetishize the humiliation, degradation, domination and even sexual abuse of women—these scenarios are straight out of a porn scene. Yet, women are the main audiences for these films.
But what the mainstream media, TV shows, and movies don’t show you is the utterly devastating impact porn can have on someone’s life.
Nicholas shared with us, “I found it in the 6th grade and still haven’t escaped. I am tired of fighting. It’s been a long battle and I’m sick of this disgusting monster that has overtaken me. I hate how widely accepted porn is in our society and how easy it is to find. You can find it anywhere… It’s been 9 years and I’m still fighting.”
Child Exposure to Porn is an Epidemic
Millions of children are watching porn. With the average age of exposure hovering somewhere between 7 and 13, a typical middle-schooler has likely already seen porn. One study showed that 10% of 12-year-olds think they’re already addicted.
Tragically, millions of young people depend on the unrestrained online world to both learn about and activate their sexuality. But scientists and medical professionals have discovered how porn can essentially warp a developing child’s brain and toxically alter the trajectory of their entire life. And since the majority of parents and schools struggle to provide healthy, ongoing dialogue with children regarding sex, the porn industry has been more than happy to feed their perverted perspective to curious minds.
A 2016 Barna study revealed that over two-thirds of 13 to 24-year-old males and one-third of 13 to 24-year-old females are viewing pornography at least monthly.
According to 2020 research by the BBFC, the percentage of kids exposed to pornography is as follows:
- 51% of 11 to 13-year-olds,
- 66% of 14 to 15-year-olds
- 79% of 16 to 17-year-olds
While kids are naturally and intrinsically curious, it’s not their innocent curiosity leading to exposure—simply being online poses a threat to any child. According to a 2016 UK study, 62% of 11-13 year olds who had seen pornography reported that their first exposure to it was unintentional.
A girl named Kayla told Exodus Cry, “I was exposed to porn super young because my family computer got infected with a virus. I was around 6, the videos were just piling up on top of each other. After that, I thought sex was when a man hurts and humiliates a woman until he gets tired and I think it really messed up the way I view sex.”
But more than any time in history, children aren’t just being exposed to hardcore pornographic content, they’re being raised on it. Because of how porn rewires a child’s brain, this is profoundly shaping their sexual templates.
Porn exposure has become so “normal” we’ve somehow become numb to its crippling effects on a child’s brain.
Porn Alters the Brain Pathways
It’s no secret that porn is a powerful storyteller. Repeated and regular consumption is proven to form deep neurological pathways in the brain. When paired with the strong hit of dopamine that an orgasm produces, this creates a potent message to the mind and body.
Scientists have shown that porn facilitates alarming brain function changes. It does this by triggering unnaturally high secretions of the pleasure-signaling chemical, dopamine, in the brain. This overwhelming surge of dopamine makes our bodies “unresponsive” to natural, healthy sources of pleasure.
RELATED: Billie Eilish Says Violent Porn “Destroyed My Brain” After Watching at Age 11
As Psychiatrist Norman Doidge explains: “Pornography satisfies every one of the prerequisites for neuroplastic change. When pornographers boast that they are pushing the envelope by introducing new, harder themes, what they don’t say is that they must, because their customers are building up a tolerance to the content.”
As a result, the body becomes gradually “numb” to healthy sexual excitement, and thus needs more explicit content and experiences to achieve arousal. This of course breeds sexual dysfunctions, and an addictive sexual pallet that is never satisfied.
Consistent with other research, one study showed that almost half (46.9%) of those surveyed said their porn tastes and preferences escalated to the point of them being interested in more extreme porn that had previously disinterested or even disgusted them.
Children exposed to pornography are literally robbed of a normal, healthy sexual development. In its place, porn instills an aggressive, super-charged sexual appetite that often turns violent.
Marco Lacoboni, a professor of psychiatry at University of California Los Angeles, has associated porn consumption with an increase of sexual violence. He says, “the mirror mechanism in the brain also suggests that we are automatically influenced by what we perceive, thus proposing a plausible neurobiological mechanism for contagion of violent behavior.”
Statistics and exposure stories only solidify his hypothesis. Another sample study from Italy found that 42% of males and 32% of females were watching porn that included violence against women, including extreme degradation, rape, torture, and murder.
And as devastating as this is, it doesn’t stop there. This rewiring of the brain has clear links to substance abuse, sexual addiction, depression, and anxiety. Recent studies have revealed that people who consume porn have poor mental health, a lower quality of life, and exhibit symptoms of depression.
Viewing porn initiates an erosion of the prefrontal cortex—the decision-making region of the brain that hosts functions like morality, willpower, and impulse control. How serious is this? Well, consider that this region of the brain remains underdeveloped during childhood. This is why children are extremely impulsive and have trouble governing their emotions.
Damage to the prefrontal cortex in adulthood is referred to as hypofrontality, which predisposes an individual to behave compulsively and make poor decisions. You could say, it makes an adult brain more childlike.
A 2017 study on the impact of porn on young people concluded that porn can have negative emotional effects on children, that teenagers can view porn as realistic and try to emulate it, and that it can set poor examples of consent and safe sex. Separate studies suggest that watching porn can have longer-term effects such as sexual health problems and reduced relationship satisfaction.
RELATED: Debunking the “Porn is Harmless” Myth
Porn is a drug. The brain responds to it that way. It is addictive and carries many negative side effects on mental, physical, and relational health such as shame, guilt, anxiety, confusion, poor social bonds, addictions, and feelings of dissatisfaction with one’s body. It’s associated with increased suicidal ideation and increased likelihood of either sexually assaulting another person or being a victim of sexual assault.
Porn Promotes Abuse
Porn usage is increasing among children at the same time that the most violent and disturbing categories of porn are increasing in prevalence. And the porn of today is eroticizing and normalizing the most traumatic and damaging acts of violence a person could experience in their lifetime.
A 2020 study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior found that between 35% and 45% of porn examined across 4,000 websites contained depictions of violence, almost always toward women.
Keep in mind, violent porn content is ubiquitous. A content analysis study published in 2010 of 304 of the most popular heterosexual porn films showed that 88% of them included physical aggression by men against women, which included mostly choking, gagging, hitting, kicking, closed fist punching, biting, and bondage.
Porn consumption among children is only adding fuel to the fire of sexual violence that’s already raging in our culture. This porn culture has infected millions of kids, as one study reveals that 10-15 year-olds consuming violent pornography are five times more likely to be sexually aggressive than non-viewers of violent porn.
The professional adult industry is littered with scenes that promote the fantasy of sex with children, rape, and extreme violence—mostly directed against women and children. This content normalizes abusive acts and inspires its viewers to commit these crimes in real life.
RELATED: Barely Legal: Teen Porn Promotes Child Sexual Abuse
In males as young as 14, a correlation was confirmed in several studies between frequent pornography viewing and an accepting stance toward raping a girl. A Swedish study found that 70% of high school boys who were frequent viewers of pornography, including that which features violence and the sexual abuse of children and animals, reported that porn made them want to try out what they had seen.
To be clear, we know that not everyone who watches violent porn becomes a perpetrator of physical sexual abuse. However, studies show that most people who commit sexual abuse watch porn.
Fiona shared, “When I was 11 years old, I had a boyfriend who was 2 years older. It started out as him just wanting to have fun with sex and watching porn, recreating scenarios from the videos. But one day I went over and seven of his friends were with him. My ‘boyfriend’ took me to the other room and told me to trust him and assured me everything was going to be okay and that he loved me. He then walked me out and his friends were getting undressed. My “boyfriend” took out his phone to record and said ‘Y’all can start now.’ His friends proceeded to rape me. After they left, he told me he thought it would be better, and that he saw it in a video. For the next two-and-a-half years, I was trapped in a relationship where he exploited me through the production of pornography and prostitution against my will.”
A UK study found that 80% of teens want to reenact what they watch in porn and a US survey revealed 58% of female college students had been choked by a partner—with nearly 65% of that group saying they experienced it during their first-ever sexual or kissing encounter.
A national probability survey in the US found that adults ages 18 to 29 report engaging in choking at higher rates than older adults, suggesting a generational shift in sexual behavior that is more than likely due to the increase in porn availability and consumption.
It is also a known strategy for traffickers to show their victims violent porn to groom them and also to demonstrate what is expected of them. If this content is being used by predators to groom children, we must acknowledge that violent porn is also grooming children who come across it online. It’s the same content.
Violent porn also creates a more intense sexual appetite, rendering “normal” (non-violent) sex dissatisfying. Through extensive research, the Gottman Institute concluded that porn is a “serious threat” to relationships because “…much more of a normal stimulus may eventually be needed to achieve the response a supernormal stimulus evokes. In contrast, ordinary levels of the stimulus are no longer interesting.” This may be how normal sex becomes much less interesting for porn users. The data supports this conclusion.
Porn Is Detrimental to Relationships
Contrary to the narrative pushed by the media today, porn is, more often than not, detrimental to relationships. The porn industry has deceived an entire generation into believing porn consumption individually and with a partner is a healthy, normal act that increases relational and sexual satisfaction. This is far from the truth.
Sex is a means for intimacy. When someone turns to porn, they are actually rejecting intimacy with their partner and instead opting for a relationship with a screen.
As we discussed earlier, more and more people are learning about sex from porn and this creates unhealthy and unrealistic expectations for sex itself, how your partner should look and the roles men and women play in sex. In the context of a relationship, this sets both the consumer and the partner up for failure.
In porn, it is all about satisfying the man. A woman exists purely to engage in sex whenever and however the man wants. She will never say no and mean it. She isn’t operating for her own pleasure. This is quite the opposite of real life intimacy.
Dozens of studies have shown that pornography reduces relationship satisfaction and couple commitment, and increases the acceptance of cheating. Individuals who watched porn alone reported twice the rate of cheating on their partner in comparison to couples who didn’t watch porn at all. And individuals who viewed porn alone and with their partners reported three times the rate of cheating.
Women who have watched porn or whose partner is a consumer of porn, often feel pressure to act out pornographic scenarios in an attempt to satisfy their partner. This can include having sex in uncomfortable positions, faking sexual responses, and consenting to unpleasant or painful acts. Porn teaches women to desire degradation, humiliation, and abuse in the context of sex. These are not the basis of a loving and intimate relationship.
Additionally, partners of porn consumers report lower self-esteem, worse relationship quality, and less sexual satisfaction as well as a lack of trust. Many partners also experience rejection, loneliness, anger, and shame. Their partner’s porn consumption often spurs thoughts like, “why am I not enough?” This creates insecurity in the relationship.
Over time, these things wear away at even a once strong relationship, resulting in a break-up or divorce. Even after controlling for marital happiness, sexual satisfaction, and other relevant factors, studies consistently show that porn consumers are twice as likely to later report experiencing a divorce or breakup.
Yes, Porn is Harmful
On the surface, porn may seem harmless, and that’s what the industry wants you to believe. But the research is clear—porn is not a harmless, victimless product consumed with no consequences. It carries detrimental consequences for addicts, especially those who were exposed at a young age, as well as a myriad of negative effects on partners of consumers.
Our film Raised on Porn exposes the ways pornography has become the new sex education for children and unpacks the dangerous lifelong implications of this global phenomenon.
Through riveting firsthand accounts, cinematic re-enactments, 3D animation, and interviews with the world’s leading neurologists, sociologists, psychologists, and therapists, Raised on Porn is filled to the brim with raw, compelling insight on how pornography is poisoning us and our relationships.
This film shatters cultural myths about the “harmless” nature of pornography and provides a sobering framework to understand how this graphic genre of media has shaped our world, eliciting a desperately-needed call for change.
You can watch Raised on Porn for free on Magic Lantern Pictures YouTube channel.
Currently, most online hosts of pornographic content do not require age verification to access pornographic images. Kids online can unwittingly and inadvertently find themselves down a rabbit hole of everything from videos of gang rape, to torture porn, to content that promotes incest, all within a few clicks. This isn’t hidden on the deep web. Mainstream sites are infested with it and now pornography depicting malevolent sex acts has become sex ed for children.
Requiring age verification on porn sites is a common sense, critical need. Sign our petition to require robust age verification on all sites hosting pornographic content.
Sign the Protect Children Not Porn Petition
