1. Teens and Pornography Porn is the New Drug?

2. Porn’s Harmless… Right?
Unique for our generation
Easily accessible
Unlimited
Free
Coming-of-age viewpoint
3 Key Areas
Brain
Heart
World

4. Brain: Addiction Brain is plastic Addictive behaviors
Excessive use can change the brain permanently
Addictive behaviors
Grey matter in brain that’s responsible for decision making actually decreases over time
Makes it harder to stop unwanted behaviors
Neural pathways are affected the same was as if you were addicted to drugs or alcohol
Porn=Pleasure
Actually more addictive than drugs or alcohol
Easy access
Power of curiosity
Interest leads to more exposure
Need for more because they become numb to it
Aggressive behaviors such as rape or violence
Porn alone isn’t enough

6. Heart: Changes in Relationships
Affects how we connect and express love
“Natures shift and mold over time on a biological level based on what we consume on a regular basis.”
Brain gets rewired
Sexual preferences change
Expectations change
People change during adolescence and emerging adulthood the most because this is a critical period of self-enlightenment
Experimenting new sexual templates
“The part of the brain that lights up when viewing porn deals with working with objects and not humans.”
Teaches us to treat sexuality and subjects of sexuality as objects instead of partners
Can’t be aroused without porn
Men are having difficulties with ED at an earlier age

8. World: How We View Pornography
There are more forms of porn available to the public now than ever before.
Parents only really associate porn to magazines like playboy.
Don’t think about videos, advertisements, games, and other forms of media
“It’s like comparing a cute little kitten to a sabertooth tiger with laser eyes.”
See porn as harmless/natural/cool
Idea that porn isn’t harmful and it’s “not reality”
Makes sexual violence less radical
People become numb to it and unconsciously accepting to sexual violence
Leads to an increase in aggressive behaviors on school campuses
Most cases of sexual violence ever seen in the last 3-5 years
Almost unheard of at these levels before smartphones
Changes the perspectives on consent
In porn no=yes. In reality no=no but people don’t recognize this anymore

10. What Can We Do?
Include science based education into your disciplinary policies
Teens trust science most
Embed education into existing curriculum
Sexual education classes
Use creative ways to educate
Relate to pop-culture and be non-judgemental
School or community presentations
White ribbon week, red flag campaign, teens sharing stories
Parent outreach and education
Parents need to be involved and informed
The Fortify program
Free program to help teens with their addiction
Change the conversation
Teens are more motivated by culture and social change than money today

11.
Science and Research
Viral Marketing
Solution
Mobilized Community