“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness,
but one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet never sinned.”
(Hebrews 4:15)
What is Internet pornography?
Internet pornography specifically refers
to sexually explicit material
available to consumers on the Internet
accessed for the purpose of arousal
Cybersex refers to a consensual sexual
discussion on-line for the purpose of
achieving arousal or an orgasm
Internet Pornography Statistics, accessed January, 2010
(unless otherwise indicated, the statistics were accessed from: Jerry Ropelato, Internet Pornography Statistics; available from Top Ten Reviews)
Sex is the number one search topic on the Internet
372 million pornographic websites are currently available (in 2003 the
number
was 1.3 million)
100,000 websites offer illegal child pornography
2.5 billion e-mails per day are pornographic (Pornography Statistics, Family
Safe Media, 2003)
More than 100 million individuals accessed a pornographic website in 2008 (23
million in 2003)
• 72% were men
• 28% were women
70% of Internet pornography traffic occurs between 9 am and 5 pm (Retzlaff,
Eric, Pornography’s Grip tightens by Way of Internet, National Catholic
Register, June 13-19, 1999)
The most common ways people accidentally reached pornographic
content on
the Web are pop-up windows (55%), misrepresented links
(52%),
misspelled URLs (48%) and auto links within e-mails (23%) (Fifty
Percent of
Workers Spend Nine Days a Year on Personal Surfing at Work,
Cerberian Inc. and SonicWALL, July 20, 2004)
More than 70% of men from 18-34 visit pornographic sites in a typical month
(ComScore media Metrix)
48% of families said pornography is a problem in their home (Focus on the
Family Poll, October 1, 2003)
The Internet was a significant factor in 2 out of 3 divorces (Am. Academy of
Matrimonial Lawyers in 2003 – divorcewizards.com)
Average age of first Internet exposure to pornography is 8 years old
Boys ages 12-17 are one of the largest consumers of pornography
• Pornographers target them for that reason
• 90% of them view on-line porn while doing their homework
1 in 25 youth who use the Internet have been sexually solicited where the
solicitor tried to make contact offline (phone, mail or meeting in person)
(Covenant Eyes, 2009)
29% of 7-17 year olds would freely give out home address
2 in 5 abductions of children ages 15-17 are due to Internet contact (San
Diego
Police Dept., 2005)
Rape statistics are proportionately higher in those states with higher
pornography sales and lower in those states with lower pornography sales
13,585 hard-core pornographic video/DVD titles were released in the United
States, up from 1,300 titles in 1988 (Sex on TV 4, Kaiser
Family Foundation, Menlo Park, CA., 2005)
Worldwide sex industry sales for 2006 are reported to be $97 billion, more
revenue than Microsoft, Google, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo!, Apple,
Netflix, and Earthlink combined.
Every second $3,076 is being spent on pornography
Every second 28,250 Internet users are viewing pornography
Every 39 minutes a new pornographic video is being created in the United
States
Addiction —an unanticipated concern
Psychiatrically, "addiction" refers to the presence of:
• Tolerance which occurs when the same amount of a substance elicits less of
a response
• Withdrawal symptoms
• Affective disturbances including:
o Depression
o Irritability
o Impulsivity
o Impaired concentration
o Disrupted sleep
o Aggressive behavior
• Interruption of social relationships
Criteria for an addiction to Internet pornography
Experts in addiction disorders describe five successive and interdependent
stages through which individuals progress into an addiction to Internet
pornography:
• Discovery
• Experimentation
• Habit
• Compulsivity
• Hopelessness
The progression of these stages may be gradual or may occur rapidly after
discovering pornographic websites
Why has Internet pornography viewing become so popular?
Accessibility
Affordability
Anonymity
What underpins the emergence of Internet pornography addiction?
While it may appear that addictions are pleasure-seeking behaviors, the roots
of any addiction can usually be traced to an effort to wish to suppress or
avoid some kind of emotional pain
Addiction is a way to escape from an experience that is either too full of
sadness (such as an abusive relationship) or too devoid of joy (an
emotionally empty life)
Emotional trauma in early life may be at the root of some addictions
Addiction to pornography offers a fantasy world in which there are endless
people who appear to be interesting to – and interested in – the person
By fantasizing, the person addicted to pornography is able to create idealized
images of sexual partners whom he believes will meet his every impulsive
need
Sister Marysia Weber, R.S.M., D.O. "Internet Pornography: An occasion of sin for our time." Sacred Heart Mercy Health Care Center (March 1, 2010).
Published by permission of Sister Marysia Weber, R.S.M., D.O.
