By: Allie Joy Hudson
3 min. read
Children Exposed
According to a 2016 British study, 94% of 14-year-olds have been exposed to explicit pornographic material online. The average age of children first being exposed to porn is getting younger and younger. (I have seen reports ranging from age eleven to age eight.) Many describe our society’s obsession with pornography as an epidemic, affecting the mental health and wellbeing of people everywhere. As of July 2019, sixteen states have released official statements calling for the recognition of porn as a public health crisis.
Porn rewires the neural pathways in our minds, chemically enforcing and reinforcing our dependence on it the more we watch it. In addition to chemically altering our minds, porn, often subconsciously, teaches us to interpret the world around us in unhealthy ways. And as more children and teens are consuming porn, this means we’re learning to misinterpret our surroundings from an even younger age. Porn drastically alters the way we see other people.
Becoming Sexual Consumers
We are human, so we are broken. Our flesh cries out daily for its own gratification. When we consume porn, we give into the cry of our lust and make it even stronger. Porn creates in us a new sexual ethic, one that thrives in our postmodern society where we are constantly fed the lie that everyone’s individual perspective is truth. We learn to see the world through the distorted lens of the images and videos we fill our minds with. Let’s take a look at how this works:
- Porn teaches us to view others as objects, not as people. According to sexual violence expert Dr. John D. Foubert, “In one experiment, the brains of men were scanned while they viewed porn. When neurologists looked at their brain scans, men’s brains reacted to women as if they were objects, not people. This is important because it is the process of dehumanizing a person that makes violence against them much more acceptable.”
- We become consumers. Let’s not forget that pornography is an industry, and a billion-dollar one at that. Porn quickly preys on people’s desire for novelty; it leads them to constantly search out new content to keep feeding their need for the next sexual high. This transfers to the world beyond our screens. Our eyes are always wandering, seeking out the next person to visually and mentally consume.
As we become more dependent on pornography, it becomes easier for us to view people as objects, there only for our personal consumption and enjoyment.
Related: Sex on My Terms: What is Postmodern Sexuality?
Isolation and Mental Health
Porn darkens our minds and isolates our souls. As we delve deeper into how porn reworks our mental perspective, we see how much influence it can have over the way we view others and even ourselves. An addiction to pornography corrupts our perspective on everything around us. It turns us into constant consumers. We are always seeking a new sexual experience either in the fantasy of an online world, or in the mental fantasy of the next person you see on the street or scrolling through your news feed.
Many of us see connections in our lives between porn usage and mental health issues like anxiety, loneliness, and depression.
Mind Redeeming
On the contrary, a healthy, God-focused perspective goes a very long way in shaping how we behave, think, interact with others, connect with God, and talk to ourselves. It is essential for us to maintain a mindset that prioritizes Jesus. Colossians 3:2 tells us to “set [our] minds on things above, not on earthly things.” When we focus on Jesus, who He is, and all that He has done for us, this is the only way we will be able to access His strength and withstand the groanings of our flesh. When we know that we are both fully known and fully loved by Christ, this is a gamechanger!
Start today. Ask Jesus right now, especially amidst the fear, confusion, and isolation of COVID-19, to help you to have a perspective that honors Him. Invite Him in, for He is truth. He will make you new – all of you, including your thoughts and your outlook on the world. When Jesus begins working in you, be there to help pick others up and point them to Him too.
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” (Romans 12:2).
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Allie Joy Hudson is first and foremost a daughter of the King. She has worked with Proven Men for almost two years and serves as the Content Manager. Allie graduated from Liberty University with a B.A. in English and minors in Spanish and Psychology. She completed her Senior Honors Thesis on the presentation of postmodern sexuality in short fiction. She enjoys reading, writing, playing the viola, running, singing, and photography. Allie is passionate about her ever-growing C.S. Lewis collection, cultivating relationships, and proclaiming truth in the twisted arena of postmodern sexuality. Allie lives in Pennsylvania and is overjoyed to be married to the love of her life.