In this week’s article, we are having a close look at addiction, behavioural addiction to be specific. In an age where billions of people have access to the internet at considerably low costs, access to information is now at our fingertips. It is estimated that there are about 1.7 billion websites on the World Wide Web. Websites that offer varying solutions to its explorers. Both the good and the bad. Though the internet is not the origin of today’s topic, it has by far facilitated access.
Today we are having a look at three behavioural patterns that have plagued our generation, their impact and if there is any hope of freedom from them. To get things into perspective, the following is an excerpt from covenant eyes statistics on porn consumption. For a detailed and comprehensive analysis, have a look at the site via the link above.
In 2006, estimated revenues for sex-related entertainment businesses were just under $13 billion in the US. These estimates included video sales and rentals, Internet sales, cable, pay-per-view, phone sex, exotic dance clubs magazines, and novelty stores.
Statistics Don’t Lie
- 28,258 users are watching pornography every second.
- $3,075.64 is spent on porn every second on the Internet.
- 88% of scenes in porn films contain acts of physical aggression, and 49% of scenes contain verbal aggression.
- 79% of porn performers have used marijuana, and 50% have used ecstasy.
Unfortunately, these habits also extend to Christian circles. The number of Christians held captive by this habit. The statistic still from covenant eyes gives a close look at the killer that’s facing our brethren in the face. Though the study was conducted in the US, it gives a vague outline of the extent to which porn has affected Christianity as a whole.
- 1 in 5 youth pastors and 1 in 7 senior pastors use porn on a regular basis and are currently struggling. That’s more than 50,000 U.S. church leaders.
- 43% of senior pastors and youth pastors say they have struggled with pornography in the past.
- 64% of Christian men and 15% of Christian women say they watch porn at least once a month.
Though the statistics seem farfetched, the gravity of the situation cannot be taken lightly. Even though communities across the world are embracing these habits as a norm, it doesn’t make it right nor does it reduce the damaging impact it has on society, if anything it has only made it worse.
So what harm does watching porn do ? Well, words might not give an accurate description, but we’ll try anyway;
dopamine acts like a hobby hormone. Sexual activities on the other brings about a flood of this hormone.
The mind – rewiring the brain
Dopamine is the reward hormone that leaves you craving more. Dopamine plays a huge role in how we make decisions. Being the reward hormone we are inclined to lean towards habits that stimulate release of dopamine, the more rewarding an activity is, the more likely we are to lean towards it.
Some people are excited by watching games while others like cooking, watching a film etc. In other words, dopamine acts like a hobby hormone. Sexual activities on the other brings about a flood of this hormone, with a combination of other hormones sexual experiences are different from other hobbies. The brain can develop a resistance towards the hormone, meaning it would take a higher amount of dopamine for the reward effect to come into play.
Continued exposure to pornographic content makes the brain resistant to normal levels, thus people end up consuming more porn for gratification. This leads to the consumer developing a taste for more graphic and probably violent content.
As the brain is basically being rewired, the habits of the consumer are affected. Since the thrill found in porn cannot be found in normal ways of living, their work and social life is impacted.
Addiction to porn is just as bad as substance addiction, it’s crippling and hard to recover from.
Continued consumption of porn could have some of these effects
- Distorted perceptions of the opposite gender. Men and women addicted to it have said that to a large extent, they see other people as just sexual objects and not people with a life nor dignity. Any interaction outside sex is not satisfying. Most rapists and paedophiles have prior exposure to pornographic content.
- Aggression, as most of the pornographic content is a fantasy which involves aggression, consumers are more likely to be aggressive with their sexual partners in an attempt to mimic their desires.
Social life
- Consumers are less sensitive to the needs of others, which may cause difficulty socialising and could lead to isolation.
- Infidelity is high among porn consumers. As they interact with a lot of characters in the explicit content, a single sexual partner is simply not enough. This leads to divorce, unplanned pregnancy and exposure to sexually transmitted diseases.
The Spirit
- In God’s plan sexual gratification should be met in the confines of marriage with consent, respect and in a bond building environment, but for many. Both single and married, it is an image on a screen with a stranger.
- Porn consumption and any other form of sexual sin hinders the work of a believer to effectively live as God intends.
- Porn consumption is not less serious than adultery or fornication. It is a slow death, slowly sucking the life out of the consumer. It is slavery and a corruption of what is intended for good. God’s plan is for us to dominate and not be dominated by habits or addiction. We are light, a light that should be free of darkness, and sexual sin is the embodiment of darkness.
