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What is Pornography Addiction?
Pornography use is a trap: the question of addiction should be framed not in terms of "if" but "when." Viewing pornography will result in addiction and puts one at serious risk for suffering from a wide range of adverse consequences.
Read More About Pornography Addiction
Concerns for Parents
The possible effects of porn addiction include
- increased tendency to participate in dangerous or illegal sexual activity
- increased attitudes of violence and objectivity towards women
- increased risk of divorce among married couples
- employment termination
- development of unhealthy attitudes towards sexuality--including the belief that sex with children is ok, rape is not a big deal, and that only the "perfect" woman is worthwhile
How Can I Keep My Child Safe?
- Keep communication lines open. Talk with your kids about what they do online. Be sure they know what is and is not acceptable in your family. However, be sure to let them know that you will not be punishing or judgmental if they come to you with concerns about something they see or do on the Internet. Willingness to talk about the dangers of pornography will go a long way in preventing your children from having problems with porn.
- Keep your computer in an open, trafficked area. Don't allow your kids to have computers (including laptops) in their rooms or in other secluded areas. If your kids know that the computer screen is in plain sight, they will be less likely to wander into sketchy areas of the net. Privacy only increases temptation.
- Set up appropriate content filters and parental controls. You can outfit your computer with filtering software that will block sexually explicit or otherwise inappropriate Internet material from your child's computer. This will prevent anyone who uses your computer from accidentally or intentionally viewing inappropriate material. Protecting your family from the dangers of pornography doesn't have to be tricky or expensive; many great filters, such as K9 Web Protection, are free.
While filters do a lot, remember that they aren't a cure-all. Objectionable content can slip through even the best filters, and children can sometimes dodge their way around the toughest parental controls by figuring out passwords. Check your child's web history often and be aware of what sites he or she frequents.
Monitor All Types of Media That Enter Your Home
Interest in pornography doesn't always start on the Internet. Evaluate the kind of movies and TV your family watches. Is there sexual content that might spur a curious child to explore the darker corners of the net? What about the magazines and newspapers in your home? Do any of them contain stories, images, or advertisements that could be considered pornographic? Set a good example for your kids by being sure that sexuality is presented to them in a healthy way.
Support Pro-Decency and Anti-Pornography Organizations
You are not alone in opposing the filth that is flooding the Internet--a rapidly-increasing number of organizations and groups are speaking out against pornography in all forms by contacting government officials, picketing adult media distributors, and educating the public about the dangers of pornography. We encourage you to seek them out and see what you can do to help.
Where Can I Learn More?
Click here for a table of websites and organizations that can help you or someone you love overcome pornography addiction.
You may also want to seek the counsel of local professionals and/or religious leaders for help in overcoming your addiction. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provides free material dealing with recovering from addictions through their Provident Living - LDS Family Services program. In many locations, there are confidential, ongoing, and free addiction recovery support groups sponsored by the LDS Church.
How Do I Protect Myself From Myself?
All of the suggestions on this page and the filtering software page are great for keeping yourself from accidentally stumbling onto offensive material. However, if you are suffering from an addiction to pornography, a web filter that you control doesn't do you much good. It is too easy to enter your password and bypass the restrictions. If you find yourself in this situation there are several things that you can do:
- Give your password to a friend. This can be a parent, spouse, roommate or other person that you trust and that can get you the password if you ever do need to adjust the controls.
- Split your password in two. You may not trust your friend to have control of the entire password. Splitting your password into two parts is sort of like having two keys to launch nuclear missiles. No single person can bypass the controls. Should you ever need to adjust your controls, you simply enter your half first and then have your friend enter their half.
- Don't have a personal computer at home. This suggestion may sound ludicrous in this day and age, but you may find that you can do everything you need to do with a PC and the Internet at school or at work. An added bonus with this suggestion is that you will probably have more free time to devote to other pursuits like socializing or carpentry.
