Because of the huge surge in accessibility to the internet over the last 10 years, more and more teens are becoming addicted to porn than ever before. However, the reality of the situation is that most people, including parents, are completely unaware that pornography can actually be addicting. But the truth is that porn, just like an other stimulant or vice, can disrupt and even ruin peoples lives. Many parents are naïve when it comes to teen pornography addiction, and may think that their child is only curious or may be unaware completely.
Is Watching Porn Really That Bad?
This question will always get different answers depending on who you ask, but when it comes down to it pornography can be just as dangerous as drugs or alcohol, especially to a teen. The danger of early exposure to pornography at an early age is that it can often give young people a distorted view of sexuality and relationships in general. Pornography helps to distort what young people view as a normal relationship as well as what constitutes as normal sexual behavior. This can also be damaging to teens as they are just starting to form their first intimate relationships.
Real Consequences
While many teens and adults may not see any real consequences when it comes to watching pornography, they would be surprised to know all the real world dangers associated with pornography. First of all, teens acquire a stronger sexual appetite that can not be easily quenched, like it may have been early on in the addiction. Teens then look for new and more exciting porn sites until not even the most hardcore of pornographic material can satisfy them. This is when many teenagers, as well as adults, look to have their fantasy fulfilled in real world ways. This can lead to promiscuous sex amongst teenagers which can lead to unprotected sex, unwanted pregnancy, or serious sexual diseases that can even be life threatening such as HIV and AIDS.
Teen Pornography Addiction Treatment Options
One of the most important things you can do as a parent is to create an open channel of communication for you and your teen to speak openly about any problems they may be having. They may be resistant at first in sharing this sensitive information, but it is important for you to let them know that this is not OK and let them fully understand the risks involved with being exposed to dangerous pornography. If you feel your child may have a serious teen porn addiction problem there are steps you can take to help your child. One being treatment facilities that available that deal exclusively with teen pornography addiction, that can help your teen to not only understand the dangers of pornography, but how to break away from the addiction.
Parents can also restrict computer access using various adult material filtering programs that will restrict access to sites containing adult material.
