Fight The New Drug (00:11):
Today is Consider Before Consuming podcast is a combination of a few different interviews Fight the New Drug has conducted with mental health professionals. This episode focuses on how pornography consumption has been shown to rewire the brain and negatively impact those who are consuming porn. Please enjoy this bonus episode [00:00:30] of Consider Before Consuming. Ever since pornography appeared on the internet, it has become more accessible than ever before. This is reflected in pornography consumption, which is on the rise globally. But what effect does the frequent consumption of pornography have on the human brain? A joint study by the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and the Psychiatric University Hospital, Charité at St. Hedwig Hospital [00:01:00] answered that question. Dr. Simone Kuhn, who is a neuroscientist and psychologist and helped to facilitate the study, explains some of what she found.

Dr. Simone Kuhn (01:10):
So we put people in the scanner and looked at their brain activity, who were interested in what effects do potentially long-term usage of pornographic material have on brain structure. So basically, we found in our study that the gray matter in the reward center is generally smaller in those [00:01:30] people who watch more porn. What we also did is look at how the brain region that is smaller in structure, namely the reward region, is connected to other parts in the brain. We found that the more porn people watch, the less well the reward region is connected to prefrontal cortex, that their prefrontal cortex was less well able to control activity in the reward region. So the connection between prefrontal cortex, that [00:02:00] is the breaking mechanism onto the reward system was less strong.

Fight The New Drug (02:06):
Dr. Kuhn found a link which showed how the human brain changes through continued consumption of porn, specifically to the part of the brain which intelligently regulates our thoughts, actions, and emotions. Dr. Don Hilton, who is an adjunct associate professor of neurosurgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio explains the potential impact of these changes to the prefrontal [00:02:30] cortex might affect someone who regularly consumes pornography.

Dr. Don Hilton (02:35):
Our brains are designed for so much more. We’re designed to love to think, to bond to live. Pornography is not real. It’s not real in a natural way. We’re not designed to consume pornography. We’re designed to have sexuality in a format that helps us survive. Where it’s enjoyable for both parties and pornography [00:03:00] is a rewiring toxic form of human sexuality. For instance, a young man that’s grown up having sex, so to speak with a screen, it’s unlikely that a real woman is going to fit the bill for him. He’s been scripted, sexually scripted, sexually wired, sexually imprinted to believe that that is sex, not real sex, but porn sex.

Fight The New Drug (03:28):
Here is Dr. Andrew Doan, [00:03:30] who is a recognized expert in digital media addictions and has a doctorate degree in neuroscience. Expounding upon Dr. Hilton’s explanation on how porn might affect someone who regularly consumes it.

Dr. Andrew Doan (03:41):
The problem is content matters. So we know from research, for example, if people are watching porn, it can actually adversely affect the way they treat other people. Particularly porn has gotten more violent over the years, so therefore there has been more violent tendency towards [00:04:00] women during rape and dating mishaps. There’s also subjugation of women because of pornography, and also we know that people who watch porn are less likely to act on sexual assault and sexual violence when they see it because they’ve been programmed to accept that. That’s okay. Let’s look at the pathways in which porn stimulates the body. Because of a negative feedback loop, we develop something called tolerance. If you look at the research literature, there [00:04:30] are people who admit to and also discussion forums who admit to exhausting one genre of porn and then they switch to a higher genre, more deviant genre, more violent genre of porn.

Fight The New Drug (04:43):
Dr. Doan shared some stark warnings in how porn might affect a person’s behaviors towards sex and may even cause a person to become desensitized to the serious nature of sexual violence and may even cause them to not report it. While the consumption of porn can have a serious [00:05:00] and tangible impact upon a person’s life, there is hope for someone who may find themselves with an unwanted compulsion to view pornography. Dr. Hilton shares a hopeful message about recovery

Dr. Don Hilton (05:13):
And a person that has been rewired with these sexual scripts through pornography will find that recovery while very possible is a process as well just as becoming addicted is a process. Recovery similarly is a process. It takes time, it takes effort in [00:05:30] recovery, the person remaps and rewires their brains back to a more homeostatic state, back to a more normal natural state where they can again love and feel and become human again.

Fight The New Drug (05:45):
Human trafficking is often misunderstood as solely involving the illegal movement of people across borders for the purpose of forced labor or sexual exploitation. While these aspects are undoubtedly significant, the broader reality of human trafficking is far [00:06:00] more complex and multifaceted. The misconceptions surrounding human trafficking and its connections to pornography limit public awareness and hinder effective response efforts as they fail to acknowledge the diverse victims, traffickers and methods involved ultimately perpetuating the cycle of victimization. Dr. Donna Hughes, a professor at the University of Rhode Island and a leading international researcher on human trafficking, gives a simple definition of human trafficking and how it [00:06:30] ties into the production of pornography.

Dr. Donna Hughes (06:33):
Sex trafficking is defined as a commercial sex act, as a result of force fraud or coercion, and being in pornography is a commercial sex act because someone is being paid to engage in this sex act. If they are there as a result of any force, meaning someone has told them that they have to do this, that has threatened them to do this [00:07:00] fraud, which is being tricked. If someone tricks them into doing this, if a producer of pornography says, you come and we will do this particular sex act and pay you. If they show up and they say, well, we’ve decided we’re going to do something else, the woman has been tricked, and then there’s coercion, meaning that there’s subtle ways of threatening her, we won’t pay you. You won’t be able to do any more films, you won’t make any money. We’ll complain to your agent.

(07:28):
All these things are [00:07:30] tactics of coercion, and they’re used all the time in the pornography industry. Comparison you can make between pornography and mainstream film production, and that is that when there is a violent scene in the mainstream film production, we all know that it’s fake. We all know that they’re pretending. We all know that they’re acting. When you switch over to pornography, that’s entirely different. What you’re seeing in order to make those films actually has to be done. So therefore, that is a difference. That [00:08:00] is not an act. That is something that’s actually happening to that woman.

Fight The New Drug (08:03):
Dr. Hughes defined sex trafficking as a commercial sex act produced through force fraud or coercion, and made a distinction between pornography and mainstream media. Dr. Mahri Irvine, who is an adjunct professorial lecturer at American University further explained how pornography is different than mainstream media.

Dr. Mahri Irvine (08:23):
So when we think about sex trafficking, we think about someone being forced to engage in some kind of sexual behavior due [00:08:30] to force fraud or coercion. If we would have a situation where, let’s say a woman has voluntarily consented to take action in a pornographic film, she shows up willingly. She’s maybe signed some consent forms or an employment contract or something, and she has maybe listed a set of behaviors of what she’s going to engage in and she’s not going to engage in. So up to this point we say, okay, she’s a consenting adult. She’s participating in this willingly, but if at some [00:09:00] point then the directors, the producers, the other people acting out these scenes, they decide to switch things up and they say, well, we know you weren’t really into this, but we think it’s going to be really good for the viewers, so we’re going to go ahead and do it anyway.

(09:14):
Then at that point, she has been deceived, right? She has been defrauded in a way. Certainly if they force her then to engage in this other set of behaviors or activities, then at that point she’s absolutely being sexually abused and being sexually [00:09:30] coerced. So that’s why it’s so incredibly problematic and I think ludicrous to ever even suggest that people can have a contract for pornography like an employment contract because it’s not like acting in other ways because we’re talking about something that’s so physically intimate and so psychologically intimate as well. I always find it just so disturbing when people say that porn actors have consented to this set [00:10:00] of behaviors because it’s like in what other situation in life would we ever say that it was acceptable for someone to just sign a contract for sex before it happened? We would expect there to be that ongoing active communication with both people checking in constantly. Does this still feel good for you? Are you enjoying this? Pornography isn’t about mutual sexual pleasure for the people involved. Pornography isn’t about sex at all. Pornography is about sexualizing hierarchy and inequality.

Fight The New Drug (10:30):
[00:10:30] Dr. Irvine added some important insight into how pornography can easily transform into a trafficking situation by way of coercion, human trafficking is intertwined with the production of porn, but the commercialization of sex is a complex industry. Valiant Richey is the special representative and coordinator for Combating Trafficking in human beings, for the organization for security and Cooperation in Europe. He explains how the solution to eliminating human trafficking is reducing the demand [00:11:00] for exploitative sex, including pornography.

Valiant Richey (11:04):
In my experience, the label of trafficking has been a really problematic distraction, and what I mean by that is not that trafficking isn’t a serious problem, it most definitely is, but what happens is people get fixated on this third-party exploiter, and so their whole analysis is either it’s trafficking or it’s consensual, and if there’s no trafficker, then of course it must be [00:11:30] consensual in a victimless crime, and that’s not our experience at all. Our experience is that people in prostitution, whether they have a third-party, exploiter or not, are often again among the most vulnerable in our community. They’re engaged in this out of a constrained lack of choices, and so when you have a collection of people who are people of color, who are marginalized, who are poor, who are criminalized, and you have somebody on the other side of the transaction who is most likely white, privileged, employed [00:12:00] and not criminalized, you have a very exploitative toxic situation going on whether or not there’s a trafficker, and this analysis is missed time and time and time again because the prevailing analysis fails to account for the nature of vulnerability and how people who are vulnerable get exploited whether or not there’s a pimp or a trafficker.

(12:21):
The reason that matters here is because it highlights the fact that the act of buying sex is [00:12:30] an exploitative act, whether or not there’s a trafficker, and that is very, very similar to the act of abusing pornography in ways that take advantage of somebody, whether or not there’s a trafficker in the pornography section, right? Women get exploited through pornography all the time. People in prostitution have pornography made about them by buyers and then used and distributed and exploited and so forth, whether or not there’s a trafficker, and so [00:13:00] what I think we want to look at is more how people who buy sex are often engaged in a number of very toxic behaviors towards women and children, and we want to address those activities, and if we can actually reduce them and eliminate them, trafficking will go away. Trafficking is a symptom of a problem. It’s a supply response to a demand problem, and so if we can address that demand problem, we can really [00:13:30] solve a lot of these other issues.

Fight The New Drug (13:32):
In the digital age, pornography has become increasingly accessible and prevalent, occupying a significant portion of the online landscape. Its widespread availability has raised concerns about its potential adverse effects on individuals, relationships, and communities. While debates over the morality of pornography persist, it is essential to acknowledge the growing body of research that highlights its detrimental impact on the human brain relationships and the fabric [00:14:00] of society. Dr. William Struthers, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Wheaton College in Illinois, explains the harms porn can have on the brain and relationships.

Dr. William Struthers (14:11):
As a brain scientist, one of the things that I know is that the brain is an organ that modifies itself, so what pornography is doing for a lot of young people is it’s coming in at a time when they’re at this very vulnerable state neurologically, and so what it does is it plants this seed of what’s appropriate, what’s possible, and that’s when neurologically you [00:14:30] begin to start dwelling on it. You begin to start thinking about what would happen if I was in that scenario? What would I do? So a neurological system that is designed to go to a place where two people through sexual intimacy are bound to one another for their mutual benefit. You’re now redirecting it so that their sexuality is binding them to something other than that relationship.

Fight The New Drug (14:55):
Dr. Jill Manning, a licensed marriage and family therapist further explains the [00:15:00] dangers of porn.

Dr. Jill Manning (15:01):
There’s one really key message that I try nowadays to deliver. It’s that pornography is a safety issue. It does not create safe homes, safe relationships. We know that this material increases our desensitization and respect for women. We know that that happens for males and females, so males consuming pornography and have more negative attitudes towards women, but females do the same thing. Females also acquire more negative [00:15:30] views of one another, and we see more females objectifying themselves. We now know that the majority of partners that are discovering this or traumatized. In fact, one survey showed that 70% of women that were learning about this problem met the criteria for PTSD. That’s a very serious condition, and so I just feel so strongly we need to help people understand it is impossible to use this responsibly under any circumstances, [00:16:00] and that there are so many infinitely better and healthy and more enjoyable ways to love and connect and be in relationships.

Fight The New Drug (16:14):
Dr. Manning explained how pornography can induce symptoms resembling those of PTSD in both males and females. Dr. Freda Bush, an OB-GYN and CEO of the Medical Institute for Sexual Health provided additional insight into how pornography distorts perceptions [00:16:30] of genuine loving relationships.

Freda Bush (16:33):
If your textbook or your education on healthy relationships is pornography, you don’t have a textbook because it is not about relationship. It is about sex. It is about immediate gratification. It is about me. Therefore, you’re getting a distorted view of what it really means to be human and love [00:17:00] and relationship is about being concerned about humanity, trusting that if I need you, you will be there for me. Whether I can have sex or not. Pornography is self-centered.

Fight The New Drug (17:17):
Dr. Philip Zimbardo, a professor emeritus of psychology at Stanford University delves deeper into the phenomenon of young men leaving social reality behind in favor of virtual reality. Particularly through [00:17:30] online pornography,

Dr. Philip Zimbardo (17:31):
Young men are giving up living in social reality for getting involved in the world of virtual reality. What’s unique about the new digital pornography is it’s available twenty-four, seven free around the world. When you’re a young person, this becomes the norm. This is what sex is all about. If you now begin to watch pornography at the age of 13, you’ve watched hundreds and hundreds of hours or thousands of [00:18:00] hours of porn sex before you have real sex, and real sex will definitely be a let down, and also you’re not going to do any of the things that the woman expects you to do, to kiss, to say, I love you, to be romantic to touch, because none of that is part of any pornography you’ve watched, so the point is, the chances are you’ll be a failure in a real sexual encounter, and therefore you’re going to [00:18:30] do that less and less and retreat more and more to the world that you control by pressing a button.

Fight The New Drug (18:36):
Dr. Jason S. Carroll, associate director of the Wheatley Institute shares what appears to be a preponderance of evidence in regards to the negative impact pornography can have on relationships.

Dr. Jason S. Carroll (18:47):
The last few years have been particularly influential in helping us understand better the influences of pornography on committed relationships. We’re finding that multiple studies now have come out [00:19:00] showing that pornography has a negative influence on relationship stability, relationship satisfaction, both for marriages, but also for dating relationships prior to marriage, and we’re being able to isolate more and more these negative effects of pornography. The other thing that we pay attention to when we start to see these trends across multiple studies is we look for any evidence of counter trends. Meaning [00:19:30] does a study come out and show, well, hey, many are showing negative, but this one showed a positive influence, or this one shows relationships are more stable. We don’t see that happening right now. The evidence keeps coming out, particularly anything that uses a longitudinal right and follows couples across time. We don’t see counter trends showing up where there’s kind of a mix of findings when it comes to relationships, the satisfaction and stability and quality measures [00:20:00] continue to show a negative relationship for people who use pornography versus those who don’t.

Fight The New Drug (20:06):
Heidi Als Ringheim, a couples in trauma therapist with expertise in pornography addiction outlines how pornography can precipitate a state of depression. However, she also conveys a message of optimism, emphasizing the potential for individuals to overcome the involuntary urge to consume pornography.

Heidi Als Ringheim (20:24):
I worked with couples and I’m seeing how it affects them on a huge scale. It’s affecting them. [00:20:30] It could be just being an unhappy in your relationship life, and that will kind of spread out to your family life in general. It’ll affect your moods. I’ve had several couples where they’re just, they might even go into depression-like state of mind, and when they get working on getting the porn out of their relationship, then they start thriving again. They start being more happy. They start seeing life [00:21:00] in a brighter light. I am starting to tell my clients that if we work together and we set up a protocol and you follow it, you’re going to see results, and it’s as easy as that. If you can say it’s easy, but you put in the effort and you’re going to get another place, you can start walking down another path than the porn path.

Fight The New Drug (21:30):
[00:21:30] Thanks for joining us on this episode of Consider Before Consuming. Consider before Consuming is brought to you by Fight The New Drug. Fight The New Drug as a non-religious and a non-legislative organization that exists to provide individuals the opportunity to make an informed decision regarding pornography by raising awareness on its harmful effects using only science, facts and personal accounts. Check out the episode notes for resources mentioned in this episode. [00:22:00] If you find this podcast helpful, consider subscribing and leaving a review. Consider Before Consuming is made possible by listeners like you. If you’d like to support consider before Consuming, you can make a one-time or recurring donation of any amount at ftnd.org/support. That’s F-T-N-D.O-R-G/SUPPORT. Thanks again for listening. We invite you to increase your self-awareness, look both [00:22:30] ways, check your blind spots and consider before consuming.