XXX Church Shares Surprising Reasons Why People Get Hooked on Porn
Why do people get hooked on porn? Is it because they are lonely, or is it because they are bored with their lives? The reason varies from person to person.
J.S. Park from XXX Church, an online ministry dedicated to helping people with porn and sex addictions, said on their website that the key to tackling addictions is to be completely honest with one's needs and flaws.
"Porn-users use porn for a lot of obvious reasons: unfulfilled sexual desires, drama at work, a deficit of affirmation, a deprivation of human connection. But there are also some hidden, hard-to-spot reasons that porn is a go-to 'fix,'" said Park.
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One reason Park encountered is that people fear aging. Since porn is a "perpetual snapshot of unrealistic vitality," people tune in to cope with the loss of their own youth. He said people are always obsessed with youthfulness and try to turn a blind eye towards the realities of aging.
"Pornography, in some ways, denies us the difficult discussions around our mortality, by locking us into unchanging images of young models and vicariously placing us with them," he said.
Another reason Park shared is the loss of power and autonomy. When people are frustrated — be it over domestic squabbles, work-related losses, or overwhelming school demands —Park said their go-to place would always be the "internet dungeon."
"Many of us never learned to cope with the eventualities of life, so we turn to porn, pills, or thrills to manage them," he said.
Lastly, Park blames lack of direction or purpose in one's life for porn addiction. He said not every porn addict uses porn because of trauma, frustration or personal demons; sometimes, addicts binge for lack of a better thing to do.
"We crave story, adventure, and purpose: we are meaning-making creatures. Without a story, we fill the void with something else," he said.
For people who are bored with their lives, Park suggested they find a venue to serve. Doing so would require them to sacrifice their resources and move outside their comfort zones, but they will find their lives enriched with purpose.
"Pornography is easy because it requires little effort, with seemingly small risk, for a seemingly high pay-off. But in the end, pornography hijacks your brain, dulls your senses, and steals your best years," he said.
Meanwhile, even pastors like Tim Swanson fall into the clutches of porn addiction. He earlier shared his battle with porn and how he recovered when he corrected his "jacked-up view of God."
Swanson used to think that his overwhelming sins meant God was through with him. He prayed fervently for God to remove his affliction, but when this did not happen, Swanson assumed God wanted nothing more to do with him.
"If that resonates with you, then you're experiencing shame. Shame is the belief that, while others simply make mistakes, you ARE a mistake," he said. "Breaking away from shame is no easy task, but it can be done. If you need a good place to begin, start with what the Bible says."
