A lot of people assume that looking at porn is a thing that only guys do. But even though men are more likely to look at porn than women, it isn’t just a guy thing.

The Barna Group conducted an extensive survey in 2014 and found that 76% of 18-30 year-old women view porn at least once a month and 21% of 18-30 year-old women say they look at porn at least several times a week.

But is porn a harmless habit?

According to one study, prolonged exposure to pornography leads to:

• Reduced trust between intimate couples
• Belief that everyone is promiscuous
• Belief that abstinence is unhealthy
• Cynicism about love

We recently wrote about some of the other negative effects porn can have on you and your relationships.

Pornography can also be dangerous for young women because of our tendency to compare ourselves to what we see online. According to a 2016 article in The New York Times, alarming numbers of teenage girls are asking their doctors to perform cosmetic surgery on their genitals. Most doctors believe girls are requesting this surgery because it is so easy to go online and look up pornographic pictures, then compare ourselves to those photographs. But those pictures are almost always airbrushed and don’t show the realistic images of all different shapes and sizes and colors. Because porn isn’t real life.

You deserve to have a healthy, positive view of yourself. You also deserve to have healthy relationships, now and in the future. We’re designed for connection with people, and porn is a substitute for those real, healthy relationships.

If you’re struggling with an addiction to pornography, we want to help you be free from it. We’ll listen and connect you to the resources you need. Call us and set up an appointment today.