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Pornography – A Harmless Teenage Rite of Passage or a Dangerous Addiction?

By Stephen C. Schultz

There is an increasing dialogue happening behind the scenes among parents and educators. Over the past few years, I have had more conversations with parents expressing concerns about their daughters "sleeping around." Many also worry about their sons viewing pornography on the computer.



Are these just "uptight" parents? No. These are parents who have struggled with competing thoughts about what is "normal" and what isn’t. Thoughts like, "Oh, I fooled around a little bit when I was a kid. They will grow out of it." Or, "Aw... every kid looks at dirty pictures when they’re a teenager." These parents instinctively recognize that something is different about what is happening today compared to the "shenanigans" of the past.

Here is some information I hope you find interesting. Dr. Jeffrey Satinover, a physician and psychiatrist at Princeton, discusses the physiological effects of pornography on the developing brain. He challenges the idea that pornography is merely a form of artistic expression, stating:

"Pornography is mere 'expression' only in the trivial sense that a fall from the Empire State Building is a mere stumble—since it’s hitting the ground that’s fatal. Or that cigarettes don’t cause cancer; it’s the burning smoke that’s the problem."

Dr. Satinover goes on to say: "Like cigarettes, that particular form of expression we call pornography, unlike all other forms of expression, is a delivery system that has a distinct and powerful effect upon the human brain and nervous system. Exactly like cigarettes, and unlike any other form of expression, this effect is to cause a powerful addiction. Like any other addiction, the addiction is both to the delivery system itself—the pornography—and to the chemicals that the delivery system delivers."

(From Dr. Jeffrey Satinover’s testimony before the U.S. Senate on pornography, in 2004.)

I’m interested in your thoughts related to pornography as an addiction:

  1. How do you think pornography consumption compares to other addictive behaviors, such as drug use or gambling, in terms of its impact on the brain and daily life?

  2. What role do you believe modern technology and easy access to explicit content play in shaping addictive behaviors related to pornography?

  3. Do you think society adequately addresses the potential harms of pornography addiction, or is it often dismissed as a non-issue? Why?


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Comments

Eileen Antalek, Ed.D. said…
A generation or two ago, some young people viewed Daddy's Playboy magazine, maybe even a few times, and put it away. The problem is not looking once or twice--it is the ubiquitous prevalence of pornography, the acceptance of images of near naked people, mostly women, pandering to the salacious appetites of individuals who yearn for something different (outside of mainstream social connections). And the images are not real anyway--airbrushed photos of young men and women who can afford personal trainers, teeth whitening, etc. People don't just kiss each other in movies, they grope. Sanitizing sex is not the answer, of course, but limiting exposure and/or providing a conversation about the images is.
April 6, 2015 at 7:07 AM
Stephen C. Schultz said…
Thank you Eileen for your comment and insight. So well said! They are not only air brushed pictures but full video now. Many of the students we work with have been exposed as early as four years old. How does a four year old have the developmental capacity to manage that kind of information at an age appropriate level? The answer...they don't!
April 6, 2015 at 9:38 PM
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