Teens Inundated by Porn

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SAN FRANCISCO (ChurchMilitant.com) - A majority of American teens are bombarded with pornography, and more than half of boys who use it are becoming addicted.

A report, Teens and Pornography, released Tuesday by Common Sense Media, found porn use pervasive among teens.

Common Sense CEO James Steyer commented on the report: "I was pretty shocked to know that 73% of all teenagers in the United States are exposed to pornography. Online pornography is everywhere, and kids are accessing it early."

According to the report, more than half of young people surveyed — 54% — said they were first exposed to porn online by age 13. Fifteen percent admitted they were 10 or younger when first exposed. Slightly more than half of those who've seen pornographic material online revealed they stumbled upon it accidentally. Just under half claimed they intentionally sought it out.

Males appear to be the ones most lured in by porn. The report showed that over the past year, 59% of boys watched pornography at least once a week. Slightly more than 40% of girls confessed they watched less than once per week during the same time frame.

A surprising find is that 1 in 3 males and females revealed their pornography consumption occurred while at school.

Since 2014, porn use has increased by an astounding 31%. According to Catholic chastity speaker Jason Evert, a catalyst behind porn's explosion has been the cell phone.

"There's no question about it. I mean, the acceleration of the addiction to pornography for both males as well as females is exacerbated by how much time they're spending on social media instead of living in the real world," Evert expounded during last week's SEEK23 Catholic Conference in St. Louis. 

Devastating Effects

As pornography engagement skyrockets, so do the problems it creates. The Common Sense study cites existing research that points to pornography's devastating physical and emotional effects: 

• Increased sexual aggression (Wright, Paul & Herbenick, 2021).
• Anxiety, depression and reduced well-being (Kohut & Štulhofer, 2018).
• Interpersonal relationship problems (Wright et al., 2021).
• Dangerous sexual behaviors (e.g., choking, name-calling, etc.)

Pornography has long-term personal and even societal effects because it literally changes the very nature of man. Evert, while appearing on Victory with Matt Fradd last fall, proclaimed: "What porn does is it just emasculates us. I mean the best understanding is what Aquinas gave us of effeminacy. It's just that inordinate attachment to the good you know, and it's a refusal to let go of what is pleasurable in order to do what is arduous."

Evert further remarked, "And if that's what makes a man effeminate, then we literally have a pandemic of effeminate men in the world who might be exteriorly really machismo, but inside, like they're deeply effeminate." 

Evert regularly appears as a guest on Matt Fradd's online program to help instruct people how to fight porn addiction. Fradd himself overcame an addiction to pornography and wrote The Porn Myth: Exposing the Reality Behind the Fantasy of Pornography.

Section 2354 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church warns against pornography, saying, "It does grave injury to the dignity of its participants (actors, vendors, the public), since each one becomes an object of base pleasure and illicit profit for others. It immerses all who are involved in the illusion of a fantasy world. It is a grave offense. Civil authorities should prevent the production and distribution of pornographic materials."

Some authorities, like the United Kingdom's government, have introduced legislation that would require companies that distribute pornography to include age verification measures on their sites to prevent access from minors. 

Common Sense Media said results from its study confirm caring adults must talk to teens about pornography in the same way parents and caregivers broach the difficult topics of sex and drug use. Children, the report indicates, will inevitably be exposed to pornography, and only trusted adults can instill healthier attitudes about sex.

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