Access to porn is easier than ever, unlike the old days when it had to be accessed from a computer, now we can access it from our phones whenever we want. With porn being so easy to access, it’s no surprise that many people have developed an addiction to it.
Unfortunately, the symptoms of addiction can be easy to overlook.
Before we look at the symptoms, we have to dig into the source of the problem…
How common is pornography addiction?
According to statistics, more than 40 million adults in the U.S. regularly visit porn sites, a minimum of 10% of these adults are considered to have a pornography addiction (source).
Pornography is a multi-billion dollar industry and it has been suggested that because so many people are using porn today, the porn industry is making more money than all of the professional sports combined (source).
The normalization of strip clubs, sexually orientated magazines like Maxim, and sexually suggestive images at almost every turn on the internet, makes porn addiction almost expected of men.
Experts agree the digital age has spawned an enormous increase in sexual exploitation; today anyone with access to the internet can easily make a “date” through online postings, escort agencies, and other suppliers who cater to virtually any sexual predilection. The burgeoning demand has led to a dizzying proliferation of services so commonplace that many men don’t see erotic massages, strip clubs, or lap dances as forms of prostitution. “The more the commercial sex industry normalizes this behavior, the more of this behavior you get,” says Norma Ramos, executive director of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW).
Porn addiction often escalates into more insidious behaviors, such as cheating and engaging with prostitutes. As such, many of the symptoms seem to crossover.
According to a study published in Newsweek, Comparing Sex Buyers With Men Who Don’t Buy Sex (source), there are 3 symptoms to watch out for….
1. Lack of emotional connection with their partner during sex.
Farley found that sex buyers were more likely to view sex as divorced from personal relationships than non-buyers, and they enjoyed the absence of emotional involvement with prostitutes, whom they saw as commodities. “Prostitution treats women as objects and not … humans,” said one john interviewed for the study.
2. Requests for unusual sex acts.
Farley’s findings suggest that the use of prostitution and pornography may cause men to become more aggressive. Sex buyers in the study used significantly more pornography than non-buyers, and three quarters of them said they received their sex education from pornography, compared with slightly more than half of the non-buyers. “Over time, as a result of their prostitution and pornography use, sex buyers reported that their sexual preferences changed and they sought more sadomasochistic and anal sex,” the study reported.
3. Aggression or anger around sex.
“Prostitution can get you to think that things you may have done with a prostitute you should expect in a mutual loving relationship,” said one john who was interviewed. Such beliefs inspire anger toward other women if they don’t comply, impairing men’s ability to sustain relationships with non-prostitutes (all excerpts from The John Next Door).
It’s important to note that these are only possible symptoms of porn addiction, and don’t necessarily mean that there’s an addiction. When these symptoms appear, the best thing you can do is to seek advice from an expert who is well versed in pornography addiction.
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