There’s no denying that viewing pornography has grown exponentially in popularity in the past decade. While the video tape industry is arguably ‘dead,’ A recent Google Analytic report cites that 12 percent of websites on the Internet are pornographic in nature. Eighty to 90 percent of these sites are free, have no age restrictions and even offer Smart Phone Apps. These dramatic changes literally put porn in the hands of adolescents and teens, and unfortunately, many youth are accessing these sites as a substitute for sex education.

While many are naturally concerned to discover their children are viewing porn, it may be easy for some parents to dismiss this behavior, believing it’s just ‘natural curiosity’ and that it’s ‘harmless.’ However, there are a number of potentially long-term repercussions that beckon for immediate parental intervention in these circumstances.

Unrealistic Expectations of Sex and Sexual Partners

The sexual situations that occur in pornographic films and images are predominately ‘staged’ situations that will likely never happen in real life. They feature two or more people encountering one another and delving right into sexual acts, which is not particularly the impression that teens or anyone should have about such personal, intimate acts. They often feature unrealistically ‘perfect’ actors and actresses that have been surgically enhanced and don’t represent the average person’s appearance. This can lead to higher expectations and dissatisfaction with ‘real life’ sexual partners, performance anxiety and foster feelings of low self-esteem or depression in self-critical adolescents who feel they don’t ‘measure up.’

Loss of Intimacy and Emotional Connections

Another risk of teens using pornographic websites for sex education purposes results from the lack of intimacy between featured sexual partners engaging in sexual trysts. Romance, kissing, caressing and a sense of caring between the actors is practically non-existent in today’s porn industry. On the contrary, porn has quickly escalated to intentionally desensitizing the act of sex by predominately promoting promiscuity, aggressive sex, multiple partner scenarios and rarely is any form of STD protection utilized during intercourse. Teenagers and adolescents are impressionable and can easily come to view this as ‘normal’ sex, losing their ability to emotionally connect within their future or current relationships. They may gain aggressive tendencies that border on sexual boundary addictions, making success in partnerships challenging.

Development of Sexual Addiction

One of the most concerning risks for impressionable youth concerning pornography is that many individuals quickly become addicted to the rush and release often experienced while viewing these materials. Pornography and cybersex addiction can dominate one’s life and can escalate into other obsessions such as downright sex addiction, risky voyeurism, fetishes, and compulsive masturbation. It’s not uncommon to notice that addicts may begin frequently passing up participating in social gatherings, missing school and scoffing at activities they once loved in lieu of having time ‘alone’ to imbibe in their cravings.

These are just a few of the very real risks of youths utilizing porn as a substitute for sex education. If you’d more information or suspect your child suffers from a sexually related addiction, gives us a call at 800.584.4629. Our innovative programs and caring staff are pleased to assist you and your loved ones.