How to Stop Porn Addiction in Kids…Before It Starts

Among today’s young adults, porn is a common problem.

• Two-thirds of young men and nearly half of young women think viewing porn is an acceptable way to express one’s sexuality.
• 64% of guys and 18% of girls look at porn at least once a week.

Parents, keep this in mind: The young adults of today were the kids of yesterday, and for the vast majority of those, they developed their love of porn in the home. How do we stop porn addiction before it starts?

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Breaking the Silence: It Starts with Accountability

Porn addiction is born in secrecy, and it is killed in confession.

From the earliest days of the Internet, social scientists have noted the online disinhibition effect. This is a fancy way to say that people say and do things online that they wouldn’t say or do in their “real lives.” This goes for pornography and cybersex as well.

Many intuitively know that watching porn does not lead them to be the kind of person they want to be. But one of the reasons why porn is so tempting for many people is because it is secretive. We can indulge private fantasies when we are online all by ourselves.

This is why we need Internet Accountability. We need the software tools to take our Internet use out of the dark and into the light. We need others we trust to know about the places we go online.

Accountability helps to cure us of the tunnel vision we get when we go online. In my seemingly private online life, it is easy to feel like that time is my own, that my choices impact only me. But when I am reminded that I am not alone—that at least one other person will see what I do—our myopic vision is broken. For a brief moment I am able to see my temptations through the eyes of another, not just through my own foggy vision.

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Breaking the Curse: It Begins with You

Many moms and dads do not want their children to follow in their steps when it comes to the mistakes they have made. They want their children to have a better life than they did.

This is why parents—fathers especially—need to take seriously their own need for freedom from porn.

If don’t protect yourself, you cannot be a good protector of your kids…

• Your own addiction to porn will cloud your judgment when it comes to parenting
• Your own addiction to porn will bring porn into your home, potentially harming your children
• Your own addiction to porn will cripple your confidence to talk to your children about porn

This is why it is critical that you get Internet Accountability for yourself. You need a trusted friend or mentor to know what you do online, to remind you that what you do online matters, and to give them the information they need to help you overcome your habits.

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Bridging the Gap: Monitoring Your Kids

Here’s the biggest mistake people make about accountability: they treat it as a last resort, not a lifestyle; they see it as a last-ditch effort when things get really bad.

What if our kids grew up with an opposite mentality? What if they grew up in an environment where accountability was the lifestyle of a loving family that never underestimated the power of temptations online.

Whatever you do, don’t make the mistake of believing that Internet accountability only helps those who are currently struggling with pornography.