Teenage: the most Vulnerable to side effects of Porn? You can help to deal with this!

By - Abhudai Pal

“I bet my collection will be better than the rest of the class”. A Teenager

The 'collection' is a weapon more harmful than the 'Poison'. Poison consumption kills you for once, but the weapon every teenager boasts to possess is his/her Porn Collection, which is degrading him/her daily. Yes, you read it right. Porn is one of the most potential and secretive weapons destroying the teenage life.

No wonder, teenagers take pride in their collection, as the average age of exposure to Porn is '10-year old', prior even to the beginning teenage.

The predominant consumer of Pornographic content is “Teenage Boys and Girls" but girls are far less compared to boys.

During teenage, the curiosity about sex is at peak, therefore to extinguish his/her curiosity teenagers introduce themselves to PORN. What the porn industry shows is the violent and exaggerated form of sex which is practically impossible to experience in real life. Hence, When a teenager watches such thing in Porn: he/she sets the same expectations for real sex too.

In real life, the average erection for males is of 5.8 inches while in porn they show an erection of 8 inches. The big breasts that you see is a result of implants and 85% of female porn-stars have breast implants. The pictures/videos of the whatever you watch on screen are 100% enhanced images.

The continuous exposure to sexually explicit content arises body shaming. Girls begin to worry about their size and while boys want to replicate bodies as shown in porn movies. Thus porn shapes the fantasies of teenagers about sex.

Teenagers consider sex as the only motive of a relationship. Inflicting violence on their partner to have fun and similarly, girls believing that the only way to satisfy their partner is their body. In males, continuous exposure to porn leads to erectile dysfunction and creates dopamine effect i.e. the more you watch, the more you want to watch, same as the mechanism of Drug.

Every age group watches, then why is it more harmful for teenagers?

The year 13-20 is the age when the brain is highly Neuroplastic, i.e, highly adaptable to changes, good or bad. This age has the advantage over other age groups in the ability to learn new things. In a nutshell, if a teenager watches porn, it will last in his/her brain for a significant period of time.

For a 30-year-old who watches porn, he might not be severely affected as compared to a teenager, because he/she knows the difference between porn and real sex. But for a teenager who watches porn, If the same is not found in reality he experiences lack of the sex drive.

Porn watching is cited as an excuse for “Sex Education”, and this happens due to our attitude of “Don’t talk, Stay quiet”. A teenager who watches Porn regularly experiences:

1-Concentration Loss

2-Short term memory
3-Lack of Compassion
4-Experiences only lust for the opposite sex.

The dopamine effect of porn increases his/her dependency on porn, thus he/she becomes a porn addict.

In an age when love is the most pious emotion, porn is destroying it !!

Why should you worry?

How to deal with this?

Could you really change something about it?

What is the most effective measure to deal with this?

Is your teenage kid really safe online?

The ruthless fact is that a majority of teenagers watch porn but switch to games as soon as you peep into their screens. The most effective way to deal with the problem is,

Talk- Yes, talk to your Teenage Child/Brother/Sister about sex, tell them that being attracted to the opposite sex is 100% normal. Preach them; Sex is a very personal experience, while Porn is a mere illustration of “Sucking, Fucking, Licking and Pressing”.

Porn is not love; neither is sex the only testimony of love. Love is an emotion, which binds you with another person. What you watch in porn is fake, it is directed content where nothing is done willingly. It is just an act performed by the actors. Tell your kid that the porn is slowing down his/her brain and is akin to a drug.

Parental Lock – You could set a parental lock in your child device and track his online activities, but this has a chance of failing as he/she can access it through someone else's device. The most efficient and sustainable way to prevent your kid from watching PORN is talk, talking has multifold positive effects compared to Parental Lock.

You should worry because a teenager who is filled with possibilities if somehow remains unaware of his/her potential, Who is to be blamed for?

Isn't it your moral responsibility to make aware every teenager possible from your locality?

If you are hesitant about talking to your Child/Brother/Sister, at least make them read this.

Practical Wisdom:

Porn is destroying the meaning of a relationship.

Continuous exposure to porn generates Body Shame and lack of compassion for the opposite sex.

Watching Porn releases Dopamine, thus causing addiction.

Porn harms teenagers in multiple ways by causing focus deficit.

Teenagers are vulnerable to porn.

Talk to your teenage child about sex.

Parental control might help but not in the long run.

Teach them the difference between Love, Sex and Porn.