Pornography Addiction

Pornography addiction has become a problem in the last 30 years due to the rise of X-rated magazines, then VHS and DVD material, and more recently the video streaming sites on the internet to which over 50% of websites now hold X-rated content of some shape or form.

What is Pornography Addiction?

Pornography addiction is a classic example of how the addict can repetitively for low cost, and with minimal chance of being caught, focus their sexual charge and impulse into an image-based, objectified set of images. The addict is in control and does not have to be emotionally available to the object.

At this level of sexual addiction, there is often a tie-in with chronic masturbation as the addict sees fulfilled his or her fantasies with often graphic and humiliating images of the sexual image being viewed.

This denotes the power and sexual aggression aspect of this type of addiction and may reflect a real-life fear of the type of people being portrayed.

Pornography addiction is increasingly being a gateway to internet addiction developing in the same individuals as the internet becomes the gateway into the pornography material. The addict usually requires fresh material each time to become aroused, which can result in developing sexual addiction.

Effects

The secrecy that is noted with online affairs, and the internet usage patterns that are found with some forms of internet addiction, also are found with pornography addiction.

A Centre for Sexual Addiction typically lists the following behaviours in addition to those other types listed above, which may indicate a problem with pornography:

• Are they deleting history and their logs of activity from the computer after using it?
• Do they have password protected files on the computer where there is no valid reason for this?
• Are they spending more and more time on the internet?
• Do they refuse to discuss your concerns or react with anger and defensiveness?

In Conclusion

Pornography has been dubbed the “crack cocaine” of the internet for its ability to seduce viewers into compulsive and addictive behaviour. If you or someone you know is struggling with a pornography addiction, take action now and reach out to Energetics Institute for specialized Addiction Counselling in Perth today.