Recovering from Porn addiction
I had a topic in mind to write about this week, but after reading an article on porn and sexual abuse I decided to point you to that information instead.
It’s about porn and our kids.
Porn use greatly increases the likelihood of violent behavior – particularly sexual assault – and it often starts at a young age. To highlight this fact, Ted Bundy (an infamous serial killer of the ’70s) enlightened the world with a startling observation during his interview with Dr. James Dobson the evening before his execution. He said:
“I’m no social scientist… but I’ve lived in prison for a long time now, and I’ve met a lot of men who were motivated to commit violence. Without exception, every one of them was deeply involved in pornography – deeply consumed by the addiction. The F.B.I.’s own study on serial homicide shows that the most common interest among serial killers is pornographers….There is no way in the world that killing me is going to restore those beautiful children to their parents and correct the pain. But there are lots of other kids playing in streets around the country today who are going to be dead tomorrow, and the next day, because other young people are reading and seeing the kinds of things that are available in the media today.”[1]
Young people are being influenced to commit atrocious acts due in part to what we allow them to be exposed to in the media today. Children are built to imitate that which they see. It shouldn’t be a surprise that a child who views porn often acts out what he or she sees. But what might surprise you is that one of the largest groups of sexual predators today are children themselves.
In her article “Sexual Assault Expert Warns of Heartbreaking Trend Among Children,” Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Heidi Olson warns:
“The biggest age range of perpetrators that I see in my hospital are children. In fact, for the third year in a row, our biggest age range of people committing sexual assaults are children ages 11-15 years old.”
We hear more and more about how sexual abuse is often perpetrated by trusted adults and how we need to be careful about who we leave our kids with. But our culture has a bigger problem than watching out for creepy adults. Porn is destroying our kids, who are then turning around and abusing other kids! And, because those who have been abused are more likely to abuse… the cycle will continue.
I get asked often why I talk so freely about pornography. We need to talk about pornography because it is literally EVERYWHERE, and it is taking people down darker roads than most can imagine. Our young people are seeing it. Not only are they seeing it, but they’re acting on it. It’s our job to prepare our kids for how to handle pornography when (not “if”) they see it, and how to speak out if someone – anyone, no matter the age or relationship – violates them.
Read the rest of Ms. Olson’s article and find tips on protecting your kids HERE
[1] “Fatal Addiction: Ted Bundy’s Final Interview.” Focus on the Family. www.focusonthefamily.com/media/social-issues/fatal-adiction-ted-bundys-final-interview (accessed September 25, 2018).