THE FOLLOWING IS HANDWRITTEN
NO AI WAS USED
SOME VIEWERS MAY FIND THE FOLLOWING DISTURBING

1. The Internet is (more) dangerous (than you think) to children

The internet has become fundamental to our societies. It allows us to do amazing things, and communicate in seconds what would’ve taken weeks just one lifetime ago. But this power has the capability to hurt us in ways that we don’t fully understand yet.

The goal by the end of reading this, is to get up to date on what we do understand.

Media consumption through the internet has evolved since it started. Short form, and other content specifically designed to grab our attention has altered the digital landscape significantly. And that it is, a landscape. A new world, with its own cultures and lifestyles.

But what effect does this have on us? On our children?

Quite a big one! It’s almost impossible to not encounter chemical levels similar to doing cocaine if you’re frequently using the internet for pleasure. ⁷

“The neurochemical impact of cocaine and the neurochemical impact of porn addiction are the same.” -Dr. Robert Weiss

And without proper education, who wouldn’t? It’s barely taboo, easy to get on, and comes free with your phone or computer. Which you definitely have considering you’re reading this.

"Overuse of the internet recruits our natural reward system, but potentially activates it at higher levels than the levels of activation our ancestors typically encountered... making it liable to switch into an addictive mode” ²

Both fortunately and unfortunately, you and I have not seen the end of the growth of the internet. In only the past few years we have seen remarkable jumps in Artificial Intelligence, whose dark side will be (and already is) generating new pornographic images and videos.

“With the growth of the Internet has come easier and more ubiquitous access to pornography... [creating] a new form of vulnerability for the youth” ³.

No price, no real people, no skill required. It’s a robot who learned from the best of the best. Just wave your hand and any fantasy will appear in a window in front of you.

I don’t think it needs to be stated just how dystopian that is.

It is almost a certainty that children and adolescent internet users will come across pornography in some form at a young age.
Even more alarming is that in a 2010 study (over 15 years ago now!), just over 50% of children ages 13-17 reported having actively searched out sexual content ¹.

Currently, the average age of exposure is 12. Twelve years old, that’s the average ⁸.

Though the initial exposure is usually accidental, a corrupt seed is planted. This by all means, ruins mental innocence.

Once an individual is seeking out pornography, the viewing of that content "exacerbates the risk of addiction over time” ⁴. Accident to addiction.

And just like that, via a vicious cycle, their life has permanently changed.

2. Poison & decay

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Consistent and frequent internet use widely leads to a lack of restraint in online behavior, leading to impulsive actions without considering the consequences.

This phenomenon is actually so commonly observed by scientists that it has been termed "The Online Disinhibition Effect." …Very catchy name but bare with me.

Unlike reality, a person can exist and operate essentially as a ghost on the internet. They have no obligation to reveal who they really are, or they can just lie.
Now, this isn’t necessarily to say “Stanger Danger” is the biggest problem here, it’s actually much more to do with the user itself.

Under complete anonymity, we find that "People visit the dark underworld of the Internet - places of pornography, crime, and violence - territory they would never explore in the real world" ⁵.

Fiendish. But real, and should be noted.

Using porn can cause depression and anxiety, or exacerbate existing mental conditions.³ Put simply, those effected by aforementioned have a chemical imbalance in their brain. And the last thing you want when trying to balance out, is someone else shaking the wire you’re walking on.

The root of the problem stems from the abuse of the reward system of the brain.

In instances of early exposure to pornography, when a child’s brain is still developing and learning how to interpret the world around them, many systems in the brain are poisoned as pornography "repeatedly reinforcing the reward, motivation and memory circuitry are all part of the disease of addiction" ².

Early exposure is also a known risk factor for compulsive sexual behavior ⁹, boundary confusion, and shame-arousal feedback loops, which can all cause unhealthy sexual development ¹⁰. Manifesting itself through increasing time spent consuming porn, escalation to more extreme, taboo content, and sexual arousal becoming tied to shock and even disgust.

Research informed by social learning and sexual script theories suggests early media exposure influences how adolescents internalize ideas about sex and norms, potentially shaping attitudes and expectations. Longitudinal research shows that exposure to sexually explicit media in early adolescence is statistically associated with riskier sexual behaviors later in emerging adulthood ¹⁰.

At this point, it goes without saying that porn is incredibly dangerous.

"Pornography is a social toxin that destroys relationships, steals innocence, erodes compassion, breeds violence, and kills love" ⁶.

3. Predators are weaponizing it

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