With
the arrival of the Internet, parents are finding it increasingly difficult to
shield their children from pornography. Most school-age children are spending
large amounts of time online for both homework and entertainment reasons. Most
parents will minimize the problem, hoping their son or daughter is simply experimenting.
Internet pornography is the fast ramp to sex
addiction. The fact is that children's minds are still in the process of
developing to maturity, addiction can happen quickly. Authoritarian parents are
not likely to encourage a child to open up and share the extent of their
pornography struggles. Compassionate love and understanding is likely to help your child feel safe enough to disclose their use of pornography. Many addicts will deny their struggle (out of shame). They may even shift the blame and become verbally aggressive. Pornography does many things to teenagers. It changes their way of thinking when they become addicted to it. Here are the ways pornography affects teenagers’ brains:
1.
Cause of Attention Deficit Disorder Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) is defined as a
psychological condition where a person quickly reacts on impulse affecting the
attention span. An addicted teenager may continue searching for new ways to
satisfy his sexual urges, and so this search may lead to websites that he or
she should not visit.
For example, a teenager sees himself as a conservative but
he may be stumbling upon websites that are violent. A teenager’s attention is
disrupted as he or she keeps on looking for satisfaction instead of focusing on
more mundane, everyday things.
2.
Changing Perceived Pleasure The repeated act of watching porn may change a teenager’s
perception of pleasure. This is called a “chemical bath.” In this condition,
the brain will be unable to process the chemicals it needs at a certain level.
The constant surge to bring pleasure disrupts the normal action of the central
nervous system wherein pleasure is reduced so that a simple sexual act is no
longer satisfying.
3.
Encourages Eating Disorders Teenagers are easily influenced by many factors as their
hormones change from childhood to adulthood. Pornographic films feature
well-toned bodies, which can greatly influence a teenager’s perception of ideal
physical attributes. A teenager may take drastic measures to be sexy. Eating
disorders like bulimia and anorexia may occur.
4.
Memory Effect A
short-term memory from a pornographic act moves to long-term memory. It affects
the teenager’s way of thinking in such a way that he or she will consistently
look for the same kind of experience from others. This can be devastating in
the long run.
5.
The Hormone Dopamine This
hormone is responsible for memory, attention, mood, and pleasure, which is
activated whenever a person feels good. Pornography always brings excitement as
it satisfies a person’s sexual urges.
So when a teenager watches it too often more dopamine is
increased, which can be addictive. Their brain will unconsciously activate
dopamine to the point where their body will eventually depend on it. As a
result, addiction to pornography is likely to occur, destroying the teenager’s
way of life.
“The problem of pornography
is that it does not reveal too much of a woman but too little.” (Pope John Paul II) [i]
[i] Sources used:
·
“5
Ways Pornography Affects Teens’ Brains” by
Camryen Walker
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