The San Pablo CEU University Foundation alerts on the risks of the adolescence access increasingly to pornography With “the guide for families before the reality of pornography”, created in collaboration with the clinical psychologist Alejandro Villena Moya.
This guide offers practical tools to help parents address this increasingly present problem in the lives of young people.
Spain occupies the 12th place worldwide in pornography consumption, and the average age of the first contact with these contents is between 9 and 11 years.
As for the first contact, the data show that up to 70 % of adolescents have their first contacts accidentally.
What can take a teenager to see this type of content?
The guide explains that adolescents access pornography for several reasons, such as boredom, curiosity and lack of affective connection in their personal relationships.
In addition, many use it as a way to handle complicated emotions, such as anger, stress or sadness.
Hence the importance of offering young people other healthy alternatives to manage their emotions without resorting to this type of content.
Also adolescents who consume pornography often tend to develop an emotional disconnection, which harms their relationships and encourages a distorted vision of sexuality.
This can increase the risk of getting involved in dangerous sexual behaviors and favoring violent attitudes towards couples.
Consequences of pornography
The document indicates that in recent years there are different investigations that have studied the detrimental impact of pornography in adolescence.
The areas that have greater condition due to the repeated use of pornography are summarized below.
1. The impact of academic performance
Recent research emphasizes that there are different alterations in adolescents’ intellectual abilities due to the use of pornography:
Impact on attention capacity: It is diminished at the brain level due to the repeated use of pornography.
Impact on working memory: It can also be alert, being a necessary function for learning and study.
Impact on sleep that derives in tiredness: The use of the mobile until late in the morning deteriorates the dream and therefore alters the natural rest cycle that cognitive functions need for optimal performance.
Alteration of organization and planning capacity: Due to alterations in some main cognitive functions, time management capacity, organization and planning can be deteriorated by the consumption of adolescence pornography.
2. The impact on emotional and sexual relationships
It can favor risk sexual behaviors: The use of pornography has been related to the increase in sexual relations under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Also with the increase in the probability of infection of sexually transmitted diseases.
It is related to infidelity: Several studies have related the use of pornography to have multiple sexual partners and increased infidelity.
It affects self -concept: The unreal expectations that pornography generate favor comparison with actors and actresses. Teenagers compare with the bodies and behaviors they see in the pornographic material, where they always lose, increasing frustration levels and reducing their self -esteem and the concept of themselves.
A self-cosification is produced: By building a narrative about sexuality that is based on the use of the other and that turns sex into a consumer product, adolescents are incorporating a vision of themselves as objects, replicating those costs.
It can produce sexual dysfunctions: Some studies indicate that pornography can alter the ability to desire, excite and enjoy a sexual relationship. The habituation of a digital sexuality makes pornography to sexual relations in real life.
The capacity for empathy decreases: This phenomenon is called empathic disconnection and occurs due to the lack of affective components, respect, empathy or communication that appears in pornography. Causing the physical relationship of affection to the other person.
3. Aggression and violence
The following has been observed in relation to pornography consumption:
Can favor violent attitudes towards the couple.
Promote the Gender stereotypes.
Has been related to attitudes of sexual assault and coercion.
It is related to the physical and verbal violence.
It fosters attitudes or negative beliefs regarding women.
Favors the Costing and objectification of people.
4. Deterioration at the brain level
Dopamine system alterationrelated to reward and pleasure, which is altered due to the neuronal overestimulation that pornography supposes.
Alteration of mirror neuronsthe centers in charge of empathy and learning by imitation. Pornography consumption seems to alter them, being slowed down and biased and, in addition, presenting greater empathic difficulty.
Deterioration of the frontal lobe, One of the most important centers in self -management. This means that the ability to self -control, the will or the ability to make decisions can deteriorate.
Deterioration similar to other addictions to substances and/or behaviors: The alterations observed at the brain level are similar to those of other addictions. Pornography consumption can produce effects such as tolerance, abstinence, dependence, relapses or lack of control, among others.
Warning signals in the adolescent
The manual provides key indicators for families to identify possible alert signs in adolescents.
Changes in him mood, Low school performance, sleep problems, sexualized language and excessive use of mobile It can be signs that a young man is making inappropriate use of pornography.
(With EFE information)
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