17 Mar Internet Pornography: Addiction Rises as it is now Easier to Obtain
In recent years, internet usage has skyrocketed to over 3 billion users worldwide which equates to nearly 40% of the world’s population. In 1995, only 1% of the population had access to the internet so with the ever increasing amount of people online, mental health professionals have seen a massive rise in the amount of cases of internet pornography addiction.
Anyone who has access to the internet can jump online and within minutes, can watch pornography of almost any genre or category imaginable. It is this accessibility to porn that has seen porn addiction become almost an epidemic.
Porn addicts find themselves feeling obsessed with viewing pornography and this can cause them to neglect their obligations such as work, school, family and their social life. Pornography consumption has become a centrepiece in a sex addict’s life. They may be so compelled to view porn that they call in sick to their jobs or even watch porn whilst at work which can result in being terminated.
Not only that, with the rise in smartphones it is now possible to access the internet and view pornography anywhere, at any time. There are even mobile apps for porn websites with can be downloaded for easy viewing and a vast majority of internet porn is completely free.
When watching porn online, it is not always necessary to ‘download’ a video to watch it. You can now stream anything on your mobile phone or home computer which makes it much easier for sex addicts to hide their addiction. No need to create hidden folders on computers to hide pornography from partners or family, you can simply stream a video and then close it off.
Online pornography is available to all consumers, with about 5% – 8% of users being estimated to addict to porn. The difference between addiction and non-addiction is; the non-addicted user can turn off from porn with no problem while the addict will struggle with withdrawal and mood swings, cravings, preoccupation, relapse, and escalations of porn watching behaviours.
If you think you may be suffering from porn addiction and it’s having a negative effect on your life, seek help from one of our professionals through our contact page today!