Most people routinely use the Internet as a primary source of information and as a means of communication and socialization. Over the past decade, the use of pornography on the Internet has become popular (Mayer, 2011), making pornography addiction an increasingly relevant problem.
For most people using pornography is fun, but for others it becomes a habit that leads to addiction and uncontrollable behavior (Gola, 2016), which can lead to addiction.
- We talk about pornography as audiovisual material that explicitly presents sexual and genital activities without hiding anything and aims to excite the viewer.
The arrival of new technologies has caused an increase in its use, intensifying the dependence on pornography, since we now have much easier, faster and apparently anonymous access.
According to Joyce (2008), the regulation of pornography on the Internet has proven to be a particularly difficult task for legislators and the international community, largely due to its volatile nature and the highly scalable electronic environment in which it resides.
“Legend has it that each new technology was first used with something related to sex or pornography. Does this seem to be the way of humanity?
Peter and Valkenburg (2010) define pornography as sexually explicit material produced professionally, the main purpose of which is to sexually excite the viewer.
Those addicted to pornography can spend long periods of time watching images, videos and other pornographic material, a situation that can lead to social isolation, severe depression, as well as unpredictable neuroses and mood swings.
Online pornography use is so widespread in Western society that many children start using this type of material around age 10, although this does not seem to be a problem in itself, the truth is that substance abuse has been shown to have harmful effects on the brain.
There is no user profile; it is a widespread behavior that can have its positive aspect (for some communities, for people with fewer social skills, to bring their sex life to life) and its negative aspect (addiction, loss of control, relationship and family problems). It’s comfortable sex, no apparent complications.
Pornography on the Internet allows voyerism, the visualization of any type of practice, the use of real non-professional models and the espionage of our behaviors through IP codes. These sexual activities on the network appear to be fueled by three aspects: accessibility, anonymity and low cost. .
“The dependencies come like birds. Do they visit us as guests and stay as masters? . – Confucius-
The person addicted to pornography gradually degenerates because he wants to practice everything he sees, as is the case with Ted Bundy (Michaud and Aynesworth, 2000). People who do not have a partner and are dependent may have difficulty building relationships with people of the opposite sex May experience severe depression, feelings of guilt, and social isolation.
For these people, in general, it is difficult to recognize their addiction, to the point that they justify and even hide their behavior, making it difficult to seek professional help.
Dependents who have a partner, when they realize that their loving partner doesn’t have the same attitudes as the actors in the scenes they’re watching, may be disappointed to find no satisfaction in the relationship.
Research conducted by Velasco, A. et Gil, V. (2017) has concluded that pornography addiction can cause physical and psychological problems comparable to those caused by addiction to cocaine, marijuana and other psychoactive substances.
For non-dependents, especially children and adolescents, strategies that can help prevent and combat pornography addiction include:
In any case, the first recommended measure for people to improve their pornography addiction is to seek the help of a professional (psychologist/psychotherapist), this will be the best way for them to find a solution to their problem.