On this question, I am admittedly biased. I have never had a drug or alcohol addiction, although I did occasionally try different illegal substances when I was in my 20s; but it was always to increase the power of the sexual experience. Therefore, from my own life: I would state that porn addiction is the worst form of addiction on Earth. And, here are my reasons: First, porn is often introduced to the victim at a very young age. The average male’s first exposure to pornography is at age 11. Therefore, as the addict matures, the addiction follows him into adolescence and then adulthood. Like a drug addict, as they consume more and more porn, their tolerance level increases, but they also need more intense material in order to achieve the same high. Contrariwise, there are very few pre-teens who shoot-up heroin, but there are countless numbers of boys watching the most hardcore forms of porn. Second, much of the stigma that once was attached to porn has been lifted; especially in terms of the softcore market; i.e. Playboy and Penthouse. This is somewhat similar to the growing widespread acceptance of marijuana as a recreational drug; though smoking grass, the smell alone alerts everyone around, is far more difficult to conceal than watching porn. Now, kids blatantly sext pictures of themselves during their school day. Also, shame is no longer attached to porn viewing, as it has overrun and taken over the neighboring entertainment spheres of film, television, music, advertising, and fashion. While drug dens are often banished to the shadowy and sleaziest parts of town, porn is a glamorous form of celebrity self-expression. Third, is the issue of access. Porn is everywhere. In the mid-1980s, when I became an independent pornography consumer, you had to still go into some seedy or ugly neighborhood in order to visit an adult book store. Yet, you could buy softcore at a local liquor store, but if you wanted hardcore magazines or videos; you had to make the drive to a dump at the edge of town; take the chance of being seen walking into a porn shop; and then deal with the perverts who loitered about these places. Then, it took a fuller cooperation of the will. Now, all you have to do is turn on the computer – while the hapless drug addict is still stuck in the 1980s: schlepping to some ghetto street sidewalk, trying to score; praying a cop isn’t around the corner, or that the deal doesn’t go bad. In the world of 21st Century porn, everything is safe, clean, and tidy. Forth, the physical and psychological effects of porn are not as visibly apparent as that of drugs. There are no stained and rotting teeth, no track marks, no dazed look or hacking cough. It’s all sinisterly hidden just below the surface. Lastly, and most effectively, porn is free! No one has ever stolen from their family, pawned their belongings, or robbed a house to finance their porn addiction. It’s a silent killer. And, in those terms, it has more in common with alcoholism than with other street-drug or narcotic addictions in that the user is often, more than not, perfectly functional in outward appearances. But, in the alcoholic, the vital organs will eventually begin to breakdown and fail. With the porn addict, it’s a slow, quiet, and progressive deterioration of the body, mind, and spirit. Only, in more subtle ways: the body becomes reliant upon the release of masturbation and climax inducing hormonal stimulants; the brain craves the escape from reality afforded within the fantasy which porn provides; and the soul twists and turns until the victim accepts all and any forms of sexual deviancy. In some, the violence is unleashed: women are abused and raped; children are kidnapped and murdered; and the devil smiles.
Which is Worse: Drug or Porn Addiction?
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I have not experienced an addiction to either. To me, you could just as easily be describing drug addiction. Hmmmm. I am told most heroin users started out abusing pain killers. Heroin is dirt cheap so it makes sense for them to switch. Sex is a biological “need” because we must have that desire in order to procreate. I use the word need loosely. I am not disagreeing with Brother Joseph. I know he has more wisdom and understanding than I. I totally see his point. T. W.
I work at an addictions center and I recently attended s “Fundamentals of Addictions” 3-day course and we learned how the part of the brain, ventral tegmental area (VTA), stimulated by cocaine is also the area stimulated by pornography. They both consume the person and it becomes a “need” more than a “want” . “Just to get rid of the craving, nagging, pulling feeling I'll do it and get on with my day” Some people can't function without porn in their daily life, on a frequent basis. People don't understand though. It's incredibly difficult, I know this from personal experience. The cravings come and go but some days they are stronger than on other days. Addiction is harmful to the body, mind and spirit regardless of what the substance, action, behavior is. Mine happens to be porn / masturbation. Thank-you for your articles Joseph, God bless you. -JR
Thank you JR for sharing your story with us. May God bless you always. T. W.