Earlier, when the times used to be simpler and when there was an aura of innocence surrounding kids, even the thought their children watching something as raunchy as porn was enough for parents to ground their children for, let’s say forever. But today, with internet putting almost everything in the world at an individual’s fingertips, it is quite easy for kids these days to indulge in the vices of life far too early than anyone thought they would.
With that being said, there have been countless surveys on how young teenagers are accessing an inappropriate website through their smartphones since parents are shown to not keep as close of an eye on their child’s smartphone then they do on their computers. It is not because of lack of effort on their part, but it may just be because they are not as tech savvy as the current generation is and do not think that smartphones might be as big of a threat as it is. Unfortunately, the kids know that, which is why they carry out most of their shady business on their smartphones.
According to some research statistics, it has been shown that 1 out of every 5 children that own a smartphone between the ages of 9 and 13 tend to watch porn and similar inappropriate and explicit videos on the smartphones via the internet. The number raises from 1 out of every 5 to 3 out of every 5 when the stoop down to consider children between the age groups of 14 and 15.
And it gets worse…
- 85.9% of young teens today have personally created pornographic films of themselves. By young teens, the statistics mean children ages 15 and younger.
- Amongst that 85.9%, 93% features an underage girl.
- 89.9% of all such content is available for free all over the internet on third party websites and blogs.
- 32% teens, when questioned if they watch porn admitted that they do with 43% going on to say that they do so on a semi-regular basis, maybe even twice a week.
- Furthermore, only 12% parents are truly aware of their children’s online activities involve frequent porn watching while a staggering amount of 82% parents are completely in the dark.
- Before the age of 18, rough estimate of 93% boys and 62% girls have admitted having watched porn without the knowledge of their parents and guardians.
- Of the 97% boys that have admitted to have watched porn at one point in their life or another have claimed that they tried to quit watching porn but couldn’t (23%), 7% seeking out professional help to kick this addiction to the curb with 13% claiming that the content featured on various pornographic websites is becoming more extreme with time.
If that wasn’t enough to make you understand the gravity of the situation at hand here, this chilling fact might just do the trick.
During the month of December in 2013, about 44,000 children who were still in primary school as well as 473,000 children between the ages of 6 and 17 accessed adult website featuring porn in the United Kingdom.
One has to wonder about the state the world is in right now where 6-year-olds are accessing pornographic videos instead of building towers out of Legos.
Sad Implications of Excessive Porn Watching
Not only is excessive porn watching harmful to ones’ own health for obvious reasons, but it can have lifelong effects on the individual addicted to it. Some researchers say that the younger a person is, all the more strongly will be or she is attracted and eventually addicted to porn. A few of the most common implications of excessive porn watching may be:
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Twisted Arousal Centre
While one may imagine that watching porn may not affect their sex life at all since it is an educational tool of sorts that teaches different ways to “get it on” with a partner may not necessarily be true anymore. A writer once said that all the creative (or otherwise) experiences a person, a writer specifically, collects in the first 20 years of their life are enough to him or her a lifetime. This is because our brain is “wired” up the way it going to be for the rest of our lives based on our choices and experiences, kind of like how Youtube and various websites remember our choices and filters advertisements, videos and pages based on those choices and programming.
Similarly, when a young teen’s brain is around using a video, he or she will no longer find a living, breathing person he or she is in a relationship with just as arousing which may seemingly not have an impact on your kids’ life for now, but will give rise to commitment issues later in life and even reduces their sex drive due to their unrealistic expectations.
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“Hard and Rough” is the only way for Sex Addicts
When it comes to sex usually the mantra “whatever floats your boat” is quite adept, yet at the same time it does not mean that it is what your child’s partner is expecting. In recent years, anal and oral sex have gained quite a popularity among young boys and they expect their girlfriends or the girl they are dating to be ready to have porn worthy sex with them. Furthermore, due to the abundance of such videos on the internet, boys have started to expect this to be quite normal and expect it of their girlfriends with or without their consent. Such behaviour has lead to not only severe traumatic experiences for young girls which they cannot share with their parents and neither can they seek medical assistance if they get hurt in fear that they may disappoint their parents and be fairly punished for it too.
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Warped View of Life and Beauty
Since the pornstar your child is watching on the internet is a perky blonde with zero gag reflex, a waist size that can only be received through surgery or being squeezed into a corset and a bra size that could easily commandeer its very own zip code, to him that becomes beautiful and he compares every simple, normal girl he meets with the ideals set by a pornstar. The same goes for the girls who become insecure about themselves and their bodies and give into what is today termed as “Body – image” Issues thinking that having a huge rack and long spidery legs is the only way they are going to be attractive in the eyes of the guy they like. Such definitions of beauty can have a long-term impact on a person’s life which is not so easy to resolve since they are wired into the brain at a very young age.
What is the Right Strategy for Parents to Help Their Porn-Addicted Kids
Parents happen to have a huge influence in their child’s life. Even if their children are estranged and no longer seem to like being in their parent’s presence, they all crave their parent’s love and attention in one way or another. Parental control is quite essential at this point. Thus, if parents try to control their little ones for veering off the right path which may have grave implications on their future, here is what they can do.
- The first one is a no brainer. Parents need to look out for suspicious behaviour that may only rear its ugly head when your child a lot more than it is healthy for a child his or her age. This sort of parental control can only be excised by using monitoring applications as this way parents cannot also put their suspicions to rest but also know for sure what their child is up to at any given time.
- Call them out. If your child I addicted to porn and is repeatedly lying to you about it then it certainly is time to bring out the big guns and use parental monitoring apps to call out their bluff.
- Talk to them. Children need guidance in every aspect of life and if such guidance comes from their own parents, not only is it all the more effective but it also gives them a chance to bond. Thus, talk to them about sex and their porn addiction and emphasize the fact that they should not expect pornstar-like behaviour from the girl or boy they are dating under any circumstances. Furthermore, they should also be explained what real beauty means and how any girl or boy they meet in the real world would rarely ever look like the ones on porn sites.
Hopefully, this would help you raise your child in a better environment where he or she has a rational head on his or her shoulders and grow up to be well-rounded individuals.
