Canadian TV show, W5, recently ran a story on today’s hardcore internet porn and its potential impact on children.
And it’s primary interviewee was 12 years old.
This young boy, Joseph, was first exposed to internet porn at the age of nine. Pornographic pop-ups on gaming websites, and the easy ability to find more images through Google searches, gave way to a full-blown addiction. He described his experience, stating: “It felt like my stomach was rotting from the inside out.”
He began to realize that he was becoming desensitized to the explicit images, and that he was developing an escalating need for more extreme material. As research shows, pornography can change the brain like a drug, so that a larger or more extreme dose is necessary to get the same “high” as before.
“It’s an addiction, for sure. You get trapped in it, you crave it, and when you don’t have it you get side effects,” Joseph said, soberly.
The average age that children are exposed to porn is 11, and some experts suggest it could be as young as 9, which means that Joseph’s story is far from unique.
“Tell your parents, definitely talk to your parents and say ‘that pop-up happened, please help me’…” Joseph said, when asked what his message to other kids would be. “It’s definitely a world of secrecy, and a lot of the time I would feel like this is just me… [like] I’m the only one who has the problem, when really it’s the complete opposite…Deal with it as soon as you can, because it will eat you like an acid.”
If you, or a loved one of any age, is struggling with pornography you can find resources here.
*Trigger Warning: Short Descriptions of the Violence in Porn*
