What do you think is dangerous? Substance abuse/addiction or drug addiction? When we are of the opinion that both are harmful for us, in this article we will understand which of these addictions creates intense severity to our brain.
Why is porn more dangerous?
Why is porn more dangerous than drugs? Have you even thought about it ? We have the internet at our fingertips, the world is in our hands, and there is a more significant amount of liberty and independence when it comes to internet usage and search. It is startling to know that one of the powerful addictions is watching porn.
Pornography can be addictive, and viewing it excessively can damage relationships and interrupt daily life. Compulsive watching of porn is as problematic as other behavioral addictions.
We have to understand that pornography addiction can be equally or more dangerous than the addiction to illegal drugs.
What is an addiction?
Addiction is dangerous. Several types of addiction change the physiology and psychological structure of individuals. Those addictions are harmful and have been negatively impacting the people who use them and the people who are the family, friends, or colleagues of those who are addicted.
When it comes to addiction, the first thing that comes to our mind is substance abuse or drug addiction, and we all know these are illegal. Illegal drugs like cocaine, methamphetamine, LSD, DMT, and in some areas, marijuana can get you in a lot of trouble with your health and the law.
According to the World Health Organisation, nearly 31 million people worldwide have a drug problem that they’re actively dealing with. Statistics have found a correlation between drug abuse and unemployment, health problems, and general dissatisfaction in life.
The repeated use of drugs affects a person’s self-control, and those who are vulnerable to drugs go through some significant disasters in their personal and professional life.
Porn addiction Statistics
It is a little horrifying to see as the porn users’ statistics is getting exponentially high:
- Forty million adults in the U.S. visit internet pornography sites regularly.
- 1 in 5 internet searches on a mobile device is for pornography.
- Men who are happily married are 61% less likely to look at porn.
- 20% of men admit to viewing pornography at work.
- 88% of porn scenes contain physical aggression. 49% have verbal aggression.
Signs of Porn addiction
How do we know that someone is addicted? Well, there are a few symptoms and signs that can be considered as a cue:
- Excessive viewing of pornography (please note that there is always a threshold of what we call healthy or luxury watching). Post-pandemic surveys and statistics show that watching pornography has increased.
- Affects the daily behavior or responsibilities of the individual as the mind is always occupied with the visuals captured in the brain while watching porn. There is also a threat of objectifying of
- Sense of emotional distress or withdrawal behavior when not watching porn. An individual addicted to porn will feel void and is always in restlessness which leads to watching the porn again.
- Effects the personal relationship. It affects partners/family as the equation with everyone associated with the individual drastically changes.
- Excessive masturbating; is because of the frequent arousal due to excessive watching.
- We are experiencing premature ejaculation and impotence, leading to sexual dysfunction.
- Emotional dysregulation: There is always a feeling of guilt and shame associated
- Sensation seeking behavior
- Personality disorders/anxiety/ depression/Performance anxiety
- Social abandonment issues
Porn addiction and the internet
While a law prevents an underage individual from watching porn, it’s near difficult to enforce. The chances that your local law enforcement will know that an underage boy or girl is watching porn while using a VPN is so tiny that it’s negligible.
Lately, there have been advancements in stopping child pornography from being produced, shared, and watched, which is fantastic, but more effort is required to eliminate it.
This is the #1 reason porn can cause more problems than illegal drugs—the sheer availability. Anybody can easily log on to a porn website, and it’s not hard at all to do.
Even if you didn’t know the exact URL, you could google it, and a few results will surely come up. Within no time and almost no effort, you’re stimulating your brain to levels similar to that of hard drugs.
How we can protect ourselves?
It’s easy not to let porn consume you. Never allow the habit to start so that you can never get addicted to it. However, we understand that this is an ideal situation and reality is often very different. You can come across porn, even if you have all the intentions on the contrary. It can happen if you click an ad by accident or by an annoying pop-up that happens to appear out of nowhere while you are surfing the web.
There are a few approaches that can work out for many individuals:
- Individual/Group Therapy: This will allow the people to stay in touch with the community facing similar experiences. The group will be moderated by a mental health care professional.
- Cognitive Based Therapy (CBT ): This will involve structured assignments self-observation/critique exercises for the path of recovery.
Other forms of therapy include:
- Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
- Dialectical Behavioural Therapy
- Acceptance and Commitment therapy
- Counseling
In any form of therapy, it is always advised to be in the stage of acceptance for the patient and the family with whom the addict is staying. The support of family/friends is essential as the porn addict should not be engulfed with shame and guilt.
While we treat our minds, we need to think of possible digital solutions to recover from porn addiction.
The Best Solution
The best way to ensure this never happens is by installing a porn blocker. Don’t let yourself fall victim to the harmful effects of pornography. A great app to install is BlockerX, a fast, effective, and easy-to-use solution to ensure that you never have to fall victim to erotic content even by accident.
It’s available on Android, iOS, and Google Chrome, so go ahead and install it on all your devices. It even comes with great features like ‘Talk to Peers’, which helps you network with other users who may be struggling with a porn habit.
By installing this application, you remove the #1 reason porn can cause more harm than illegal drugs – its sheer availability. Today porn is more available than ever before sometimes; it feels like it’s around every other link you might click on.
We must protect ourselves from its harmful effects so that we’re not at risk of all the dangerous side effects that come with it, making sure that we remain happy and healthy and can function to our maximum potential, allowing us to become the best versions of ourselves.
Is Internet Pornography Causing Sexual Dysfunctions? A Review with Clinical Reports
Resource
Porn Statistics are taken from Psych Guides
