With technology and the internet now available in almost every household, pornography has never been more easily accessible to children.
According to the Institute of Family Studies, 93% of boys and 63% of girls report being exposed to internet pornography before the age of 18, with the first exposure occurring at around 12 years old.
Sadly, only 57% of children reach out to someone after being exposed to pornographic material, leaving many to grapple with the experience alone.
Their young minds cannot process such content, often leading to addiction over time.
Dopamine, the “feel good” chemical released in the brain, makes porn enticing. We quickly build tolerance to dopamine, requiring more extreme content to achieve the same excitement, leading to darker and more severe sexual addictions.
This exposure distorts the very idea of sexual activity. When porn becomes the first source of sexual education, individuals may believe sex is merely about fulfilling lust rather than communicating love.
This can lead to unrealistic assumptions about what a partner may enjoy, resulting in short-lived or unfulfilling physical intimacy in relationships.
There is a very thin line between acted scenes and reality. Some of porn content portray gender based violence, rape, and children pornography is even worse.
A child growing up watching such content grows up thinking it is okay to rape, or beat up a partner, or engage in sexual activity with children.
Unfortunately we end up with a generation of rapists, pedophiles, drug and substance abusers.
Since LGBTQ are also featured in such sites, a child who was born straight may end up gay. Young people are very curious andalways want to try new things.
Without the right guidance on what is acceptable and what is not, parents lose their children to the world.
Pornography also lowers self-esteem. When individuals cannot replicate what they see in videos, they may feel less confident and resort to masturbation, which feels like a safer option than risking embarrassment with a partner.
It is advisable for parents to monitor the content their children access.
More importantly, parents should build strong, friendly relationships with their children, as kids can still encounter such material outside of parental supervision.
above all, a parent must pray for their children.