I Can Stop Whenever I Want; An Analysis of Pornography Addiction

CW // Discussion of 18+ content.

No one wants to hear the words “we need to talk”. In this case I was the one saying them and I can assure you it was just as horrible to say as it is to hear. Sixteen-year-old me had had little thought about the world of addiction and in particular pornography, except that both were “bad”, and I was now on Bus 1 towards a relationship with a young man affected by both. He was funny, he was kind, and we connected over music, faith and future aspirations. One day as we sat and talked like we usually would, I got a text from one of his friends who was living with him at the time. It turned out that my partner had been watching pornography until just a few years ago, and when I confronted him about not telling me about this he confessed that he was still an active consumer of pornography.

This all cascaded into months and months of back and forth between us on whether or not he really wanted to quit watching pornography, whether he was trying to quit or whether he even could. I naively thought that because we were both people of Christian faith, pornography was a clear no go, and this had been true for the most part. We both agreed that he should have stopped, but it seemed that it wasn’t just a matter of merely wanting it to stop. There was talk of both withdrawals and the yearning for a pornography fix.

What was this? A drug addiction?

To try my best to support him (and to try and clarify everything for my own sake) I started researching the world of pornography, pornography use, and pornography industries, and it dawned on me that addiction and pornography use, two separate things for me at the time, could actually be very inter-connected. The relationship fell apart in time mainly because of the pornography addiction. I told him to address the issue for us to move forward and he was not obliged. We were mutually annoyed that the other would not budge and he ended up losing interest in the relationship and finding someone else. I was no longer, even indirectly, affected by the negative effects of pornography, yet the questions towards pornography addiction remained. I continued to research.

One study done on university students in Ohio, United States of America, showed that regular pornography use varies between 40.0-79.0% in males and 19.0-78.4% in females, that the primary years of initial exposure are 9-13 years (male) and 14-17 years (females), and that 17.0% of students had “severe” or “extremely severe” levels of depression, 20.4% had “severe” or “extremely severe” levels of anxiety and 13.5% had “severe” or “extremely severe” levels of stress, all significantly affected by compulsive pornography use (Camilleri). This means that there’s a clear correlation between pornography use and mental health struggles. Another article argues that anything leading to addictive behaviours or to main components of addictive symptoms, these are “including salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict, and relapse”, can be “operationally defined as an addiction” (Griffiths 334). Referring back to my own story of seeing an addiction in action, these were the cravings, the highs, the withdrawal and the relapses that were affecting both my partner and in turn our relationship.

With this, I believe addiction to pornography should be recognized by the influential American Psychological Association - APA, and in extension the widely used Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - DSM, because pornography addiction presents itself similarly to other well known and studied addictions such as addiction to substances and behavioural addictions etc. and can be effectively treated as these other addictions. Failure to acknowledge this condition has and will continue to result in a plethora of negative social, cognitive and psychological effects.

Let’s take a step back and first look at the definition of the concept of addiction. Addiction is defined as “a pathological love between the person and the addictive object” (Fatayer). Operationally defined, it includes “salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict, and relapse” (Griffiths 334). Be it to a substance, a feeling or an experience, addiction is a phenomenon that occurs because of a natural biological system. The human brain, and other species’ brains for that matter, are wired to seek out pleasurable experiences and to minimize painful experiences (Restak 204). Dopamine is released in the brain’s reward center during pleasurable events to encourage these. This system is what makes us want to do enjoyable things like eat food and reproduce offspring, all important things for survival. When we engage in these activities our brain reinforces us to continue doing them, which is a good survival mechanism with things like aforementioned food and reproduction. However, this system can also cause an addiction to occur for what it understands as “survival” while simultaneously creating triggers for this towards stimuli in everyday things (Fight the New Drug).

A question that may often come up is that of how one gets addicted to something when the body isn’t in need of a certain external substance. Behavioural addictions reflect patterns of a certain behaviour to achieve an outcome, different from substance use addiction through substances (Camilleri). This happens through a process of normal biological reactions to certain stimuli being overwritten with artificial stimuli. This is known as “supernormal”; a larger-amount-than-normal, unnatural amount of something naturally occuring (Fight the New Drug). In easier terms, the body’s natural sexual arousal reaction, through hormones and the like, are unnaturally more than it should be because it’s easily, repeatedly accessible through pornography. Because of our brain’s tendency to want pleasurable things it learns to seek out these more attractive stimuli, resulting in this case in a tendency for regular and compulsive pornography consumption (Fight the New Drug). Referring back to how the brain seeks pleasure and wants to minimize pain, some addicts will fall into addiction accidentally while some seek it out as a distraction or coping mechanism because of a different issue such as stress. Addiction is often both because of a chemical imbalance and need for a substance and a troubled or ill person in this (Fatayer).

Some people are of course more susceptible to addiction in general, and sexual addiction is often tied with other addictions alongside (Restak 191, Phillips). While this may be true, it does not take away from the fact that addictions should be officially recognized, rather it supports this. Understanding what addiction is and how it presents itself makes it so much more apparent to be of equal importance to other such conditions, e.g. substance abuse. Recognition of an addictive condition leads the way to recognition of needed intervention and the urgency of this.

Pornography addiction, as mentioned, presents itself like other behavioural addictions. Looking back at the definition of the operational definition of addiction, it included “salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict, and relapse” (Griffiths 334). Addictions can be defined as alpha (physical), beta (body to mind), gamma (mind), and delta (mind and body), with pornography addiction categorized under gamma. Gamma addiction affects relationships, personal management, lifestyle, responsibility, evaluation and decision making with “highs” being emotional and cognitive rather than physical (Fatayer). Camilleri describes that excessive pornography use reflects addiction aspects such as preoccupation, dependence, risky behaviours, social impairment and isolation (Camilleri). These would present itself as cravings and yearnings for a “pornography fix” with bodily and emotional discomfort if not fulfilled. This would be followed by consuming pornography to then trigger a bodily and emotional “release” and a “high”. The addict would develop a tolerance, needing more and/or stronger stimuli in the form of pornography to get this same experience of a “high” and “release” (Restak 190). Trying to address the addiction by reducing or abstaining from pornography would result in withdrawals, seen through symptoms such as stronger cravings and mood changes, and possible relapses would occur (Phillips).

Looking outside of Griffiths’ and Camilleri’s defining symptoms, pornography addiction also causes hypofrontality, a condition affecting the frontal brain matter in addicts. Humans’ prefrontal cortex helps make decisions against the “wants” from the reward center. Hypofrontality occurs, causing lessened control over impulses and sometimes shrinking the frontal brain matter. A study done on pornography consumers showed that they were less capable of considering long-term rewards, and that this skill bettered after abstaining from pornography (Fight the New Drug). Referring back to the concept of “supernormal” and tolerance, tendencies for pornography consumption can lead to a sense of boredom with normal or average relationships and sex. Pornography consumption is repetitive and pleasurable, and becomes more attractive by habitually rewiring the brain from “normal” arousal and sexual expectations to that of the pornographically presented stimuli  (Fight the New Drug). Along with these effects, pornography addiction may also impair other aspects of life such as within social connections and contexts (Krueger). Referring back to triggers in daily life, pornography consumers may also start developing sensitivity to every-day things as triggers. “Normal” things like a bikini model poster or a certain explicit movie scene may trigger a sudden urge and compulsion to consume pornography (Restak 191). Addicts may also develop unrealistic and harmful views of themselves, sexual and non-sexual gender roles, and body image. Negative factors also include higher participation in risky sexual behaviours, e.g. number of sexual partners, permissiveness, extramarital sex and paid sex, and negative effects on relationships, intimacy and sexual satisfaction (Camilleri).

All these effects are reversible and it is possible to rewire and “heal” the brain back through neuroplasticity, in short “the ability of the nervous system to change its activity in response to intrinsic or extrinsic stimuli by reorganizing its structure, functions, or connections” (Fight the New Drug, Puderbaugh). All of this to say that pornography addiction is very real. It bears clear indication of the negative effects on the brain, yet these are reversible to some or full extent.

Though pornography addiction has clear indications it is still quite prevalent and growing steadily alongside increasing access to pornographic material through the internet. The shift of accessing pornography through printed magazines that were both age restricted and at a certain price to the internet and our ready-at-hand mobile phones has made pornography “free” of cost and far more accessible than ever before (Camilleri). This means that both consumption and production of pornography has skyrocketed during the modern age. The National Institute of Health stated in 2023 that they “conclude that there has been a 91.10% total rise in pornography consumption (...) since 2000” (Irrizary). Several other things factor into this.

When presented with the term “pornography”, many may visualize a male, probably between sixteen to thirty years old, reading an 18+ magazine or watching something sketchy on his computer. The study on university students found that males are more likely than females to be exposed to pornography earlier and before the age of 18, and males are more likely to view it alone. Females were often exposed unintentionally while males were exposed through personal curiosity (Camilleri). While video pornography is the primary medium for both genders, higher levels of women than men consume written pornography (Camilleri). Males are often visually driven while females are emotionally driven. Pornography usage is therefore often “relationally motivated” for females (Camilleri).  This is often a neglected aspect of pornography as it affects both genders and all ages. Males also have a tendency to view usage as more acceptable while in a committed relationship than females (Camilleri). Females are more likely to be inclined to pornography use together with their partner for their partner’s sake (Camilleri). With ready availability and interest or inclination from all ages and genders, it’s no wonder that pornography consumption and in turn addiction has become so widespread. It's no longer an active effort to gain access, rather an active effort to avoid pornography in general.

Given all this, it's easy to wonder why pornography addiction is not recognized as an official addiction. The DSM-5 currently has no official diagnosis for pornography addiction or otherwise ‘problematic’ compulsive pornography usage. The closest diagnosis is that of “sexual disorders not otherwise specified” (Kaplan, Krueger). This diagnosis, however, does not carry clear symptoms, causes and treatments for pornography specifically as the diagnosis is an umbrella for any sexual disorders not described already by the DSM-5. A diagnosis of “hypersexual disorder” with a pornography subtype was considered and rejected by the APA for the DSM-5 in 2013 (Krueger, Weir). The reasoning for the rejection was that more evidence was needed for the diagnosis and that experts still found it hard to classify excessive pornography usage (Weir).

Nicole Prause, a researcher in the department of psychiatry at the University of California, measured P300 in pornography addicts. P300 “is a component of the brain's electrical activity that occurs about 300 milliseconds after viewing a stimulus” with “[increased activity] when people are emotionally engaged with that stimulus” (Weir). Prause found that EEG measurements of P300 in people with excessive pornography usage did not conclude a spike in value as it would in other addicts, and that it therefore did not show evidence for addiction (Weir). A study of 226 men by the University of Leicester also suggested that an inclination to pornography may not be a matter of addiction but compulsion. The study found that specific traits often correlated with higher usage, meaning these men would have compulsive problems in other areas as well as with pornography usage (Weir). A survey by the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction, however, found that 9% of people that had tried to quit pornography had been unable to (Weir). Velaerie Voon, a neuropsychiatrist at University of Cambridge, also stated that pornography addicts react similarly to erotic imagery as alcoholics do to drink ads. She also states, however, as did the APA, that more research is needed to conclude and classify pornography usage as an addiction.

There are other ways of diagnosing outside of the DSM-5, one such example being the International Classification of Diseases by the World Health Organization (Krueger). A diagnosis of “compulsive sexual behavior” was considered for inclusion in the ICD-11, and it is possible to find the diagnosis “hypersexual disorder”, though this again brings up the problem of specifics and a focus on problematic pornography use. A diagnosis of “hypersexual disorder” with the ICD entails excessive sexual drive rather than compulsive sexual behaviours such as pornography. While “hypersexual disorder” refers more to excessive sexual drive outside and/ or not caused by pornography use, “compulsive sexual behaviours” would refer to irresistible and/ or uncontrollable urges and impulses as well as sexual activities becoming a central point in a person's life, here affecting their life as an addiction would with tension and release, and impairment in social and other areas of life (Krueger). This diagnosis would come closer to the diagnosis needed, but would again need to clarify a symptom, cause or subtype of pornography aspects.

None of the available diagnoses are relevant or specific enough to pornography addiction to address problematic pornography usage. There is a need for a proper formal diagnosis, be this a diagnosis of “pornography addiction” or a diagnosis of this as a subtype of compulsive behaviour disorders and in some instances a subtype of a sexual disorder. Without the right diagnosis, an addict will not receive the right treatment and may misunderstand the cause and recovery process of their specific addiction condition.

Pornography usage is not considered morally wrong in many cultures especially western cultures, and this may reflect in the push, or lack thereof, for a diagnosis of when this usage becomes problematic. The Kinsey Institute survey referred to above showed that 86% of respondents thought pornography was educational, 72% said pornography was a good outlet, and 80% had no problem with pornography usage (Weir). Reports also indicate some positive effects of pornography use among people who view it as acceptable such as more empowerment and autonomy (Camilleri). Within a culture that allows and promotes liberty in sexual behaviour and aspects, it should still be very clear that what is morally and ethically right and wrong has no influence on whether an addiction is present and whether it should be treated as such. Pornography addiction is real no matter the moral and ethical view of the usage of pornography, just as moral and ethical views of things like alcohol consumption do not affect the real present addiction of alcoholism.

While this research will not dive into the historical and commercial development of the pornography industry's market, it is worth noting that the legal but highly unregulated industry sector is expected to exceed $118 billion in revenues by 2030 (Research and Market). This may be very similar to the tobacco industry and the people and companies affiliated with it that for years kept research and public opinion on a tight leash to avoid regulations and in turn drops in revenue (Wattsa). The push for recognition of negative effects and potential regulations following this are not in the pornography industries’ best interest, even as it evidently hurts their customers and hinders them from recognizing and addressing these.

The official diagnosis and recognition of pornography addiction would recognize problematic use while giving way to treatment options and hopefully reducing stigma and lies such as “I will never be able to stop”. Addicts will keep loved ones in the dark and view their own addictions with shame and guilt (Phillips). Many may fear the reaction of their loved ones if they decide to reveal their addiction to them as the addiction may be seen as a choice of character and lack of moral strength rather than a condition or “disease” that needs intervention to be treated. As the addicts try to stop they may be or feel unable to stop (Phillips). This massively affects their sense of self concept and self image, especially if they believe it is their own fault that they can not fight their way out of the addiction by themselves. With an understanding that pornography addiction is a condition, addicts may be more inclined to understand that they are not at fault for failing, to understand that the addiction doesn’t necessarily speak to their character, and to seek out help.

Camilleri describes that the main variables to reduce pornography usage were faith, morals and personal motivation. (Camilleri). While these are often the catalyst, there are also specialized therapists and programs for sex, and the undertype of pornography, addicts (Phillips). There are tools and support to find through things such as programs, online filters, accountability partners, professional psychiatric, psychological and medical help in forums of both religious and non-religious environments.

With clear evidence, both through science and real testimony, the final effort should be a recognition of the pornography problem throughout society. Many state that specific research is still needed as pornography becomes more prevalent (Camilleri). This may be true, though we already have substantial evidence for consideration. Whether or not pornography addiction is regarded as an addiction, a compulsive disorder, or something third, it should still be recognized through official means. The differences between consumption of pornography as a symptom of other diagnoses and as an addiction in and of itself also need further research.

Addicts suffer clear mental, social and even physical effects of this addiction (which carries over to affect the people around them) and they deserve a way to find supportive peers and useful scientific help. Treatment for this as either a broader compulsive disorder or a specific addiction would see more or less the same steps into recovery and sobriety. The recognition of problematic pornography consumption should not be based on a moral agenda but be backed as a real scientific and biological problem that affects people regardless of gender, religion, age and status.

As with all other addictions, we should strive to raise awareness, fight for recovery and react with love and support for our fellow human beings.

There is both hope for freedom and a clear path to it.

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More Resources and Tools

Fight the New Drug (organization website)

https://fightthenewdrug.org/

• How Porn Changes the Brain -- Neuro-Experts Explain (video)

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnC_eJW0qKs&list=PL4UBZ4MY8OlG0CZtPoo10--orWxv9tje7&index=5&ab_channel=FighttheNewDrug

Culture Reframed (organization website)

https://culturereframed.org/

Pornography - the new drug (video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__k-6nr1DNY&list=PL4UBZ4MY8OlG0CZtPoo10--orWxv9tje7&index=8&ab_channel=CMACatholicMedicalAssociation

Pornography and the Brain - Understanding the Science of Addiction and Recovery (video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2yKslvPfV4&list=PL4UBZ4MY8OlG0CZtPoo10--orWxv9tje7&index=6&ab_channel=NorthwestCoalitionforHealthyIntimacy

Defend Young Minds (organization website)

https://www.defendyoungminds.com/

Covenant Eyes (program website)

https://www.covenanteyes.com/

Guarding Young Hearts and Minds (TV video broadcast)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf_GQtVLwqA&ab_channel=FamilyMedia

So about pornography (Christian podcast video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0kHlMCYEWc&list=PL3lDoY6yZv65liTZTNDNwOvHbnRZM3-cw&index=24&ab_channel=WithThePerrys

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Works Cited

Camilleri, Christina, et al. “Compulsive Internet Pornography Use and Mental Health: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Sample of University Students in the United States.” National Library of Medicine, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 12 Jan. 2021, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7835260/. 

Fatayer, Jawad. “Addiction Types: A Clinical Sociology Perspective.” JSTOR, 2008, www.jstor.org/stable/23549240?searchText=&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dporn%2Baddiction%26so%3Drel&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&searchKey=&refreqid=fastly-default%3Ad5fa1b9c6fcb028fd0cd42b40846ac8f&seq=1. 

Griffiths, Mark. “Sex on the Internet: Observations and Implications for Internet Sex Addiction.” JSTOR, Nov. 2001, www.jstor.org/stable/3813457?searchText=porn+addiction&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dporn%2Baddiction%26so%3Drel&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A2c1cd05691ecdbf285cec72312b91077&seq=7. 

“How Porn Can Affect the Brain Like a Drug.” Fight the New Drug, 8 May 2024, fightthenewdrug.org/how-porn-can-affect-the-brain-like-a-drug/. 

“How Porn Can Change the Brain.” Fight the New Drug, 30 Aug. 2024, fightthenewdrug.org/how-porn-can-change-the-brain/. 

Irizarry, Ricardo, et al. “How the Rise of Problematic Pornography Consumption and the COVID-19 Pandemic Has Led to a Decrease in Physical Sexual Interactions and Relationships and an Increase in Addictive Behaviors and Cluster B Personality Traits: A Meta-Analysis, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 16 June 2023, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10277752/. 

Kaplan, Meg S., and Richard B. Krueger. “Diagnosis, Assessment, and Treatment of Hypersexuality.” JSTOR, June 2010, www.jstor.org/stable/25676449?searchText=&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dporn%2Baddiction%26so%3Drel&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&searchKey=&refreqid=fastly-default%3Ad5fa1b9c6fcb028fd0cd42b40846ac8f. 

Krueger, Richard B. “Diagnosis of hypersexual or compulsive sexual behavior can be made using ICD-10 and DSM-5 despite rejection of this diagnosis by the American Psychiatric Association.” WILEY Online Library, 17 Apr. 2016, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/add.13366. 

“Online Adult Entertainment Market to Exceed $118.1 Billion in Revenues by 2030 - Global and Country-Level Analysis by Content, Monetization Model, Interaction, Age Group, and End User.” GlobNewswire, Research and Markets, 16 Dec. 2024, www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/12/16/2997285/0/en/Online-Adult-Entertainment-Market-to-Exceed-118-1-Billion-in-Revenues-by-2030-Global-and-Country-Level-Analysis-by-Content-Monetization-Model-Interaction-Age-Group-and-End-User.html. 

Phillips, Lynn. “Sexual Addiction.” JSTOR, Nov. 2004, www.jstor.org/stable/23672842?searchText=porn+addiction&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dporn%2Baddiction%26so%3Drel&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A58947a827187fe058929ff949e20670d&seq=1. 

Puderbaugh, Matt, and Prabhu D. Emmady. “Neuroplasticity.” NCBI, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 May 2023, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557811/. 

Restak, Richard. “Section IV: Addiction and Treatment.” Mysteries of the Mind, National Geographic, 2000, pp. 188–205. 

Wattsa, Christina. “How Tobacco Companies Use the Revolving Door between Government and Industry to Influence Policymaking: An Australian Case Study.” Public Health, Research & Practice, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Dec. 2023, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37164761/. 

Weir, Kirsten. “Is Pornography Addictive?” Monitor on Psychology, American Psychological Association, Apr. 2014, www.apa.org/monitor/2014/04/pornography.