Safety Net

How does Pornography
Affect Teens?
by Allen Warner, ContentWatch
In a recent news story, two teenagers came
clean of their addictions; both suffer from
pornography addiction.
One was a young man from Utah, 17,
who said his experience with
pornography addiction was a lonely
time in his life. He began viewing
pornographic images at a young age and
couldn't stop throughout his high school
experience until now. He felt isolated and
trapped, as if he couldn't confide in anyone.
He would lie to his parents, his relationships
began to fail, and he felt alone. He said he
felt he couldn't improve or even start new
relationships with others because he felt
he was lying to them by not being honest
with his addiction.
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The young woman, 22, from Texas
revealed that her addiction to
pornography, like many others, began
when she was young. She said she
would isolate herself because she hated
what she was doing and hated that she
couldn't stop viewing it. To many, porn
is a man's problem. She discredits this
idea with her personal experience with
addiction. Her story is one of
empowerment and courage for all
addicts but especially for female
addicts.
Both teens are advocates for an anti-
porn campaign called “Fight the New
Drug.” The campaign seeks to educate
teens on the effects of porn.
For many teens, porn is a way to deal
with negative emotions. It provides a
europhic high that numbs away painful
feelings. It's a “de-stressor” for many.
Yet Matt Bulkley, a psychotherapist,
believes we are just at the front end of
the porn problem. He hypothesizes that
in the next 5-10 years, a surge of porn
addicts will appear. When the rising
generation moves into adolescence,
there will be a tragic epidemic of porn
addiction, Bulkley says.
Both of these stories have common
themes: pornography addiction
affects teens in dramatic ways. It
causes addicts to isolate themselves,
become depressed and lonely, have
poor school performance, and