Pornography Addiction - Controversy

Controversy

On August 15, 2011 the American Society of Addiction Medicine issued a public statement defining all addiction (including sexual behavior addiction) in terms of brain changes. "Addiction is a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry."

The following excerpts are taken from the FAQs:

"The new ASAM definition makes a departure from equating addiction with just substance dependence, by describing how addiction is also related to behaviors that are rewarding. This is the first time that ASAM has taken an official position that addiction is not solely "substance dependence." This definition says that addiction is about functioning and brain circuitry and how the structure and function of the brains of persons with addiction differ from the structure and function of the brains of persons who do not have addiction. It talks about reward circuitry in the brain and related circuitry, but the emphasis is not on the external rewards that act on the reward system. Food and sexual behaviors and gambling behaviors can be associated with the "pathological pursuit of rewards" described in this new definition of addiction." (Emphasis added)

"We all have the brain reward circuitry that makes food and sex rewarding. In fact, this is a survival mechanism. In a healthy brain, these rewards have feedback mechanisms for satiety or 'enough.' In someone with addiction, the circuitry becomes dysfunctional such that the message to the individual becomes ‘more’, which leads to the pathological pursuit of rewards and/or relief through the use of substances and behaviors. So, anyone who has addiction is vulnerable to food and sex addiction."

Since ASAM released its statement, and shortly before its release, additional new studies have come out on Internet addiction (which include Internet pornography use). They reveal the same fundamental brain changes seen in other addicts of drugs . Another 2011 study found that the risk of Internet addiction in men was about 3 times more than women. Researchers noted,

"Internet addiction is a psychosocial disorder and its characteristics are as follows: tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, affective disorders, and problems in social relations. Internet usage creates psychological, social, school and/or work difficulties in a person's life. Eighteen percent of study participants were considered to be pathological Internet users, whose excessive use of the Internet was causing academic, social, and interpersonal problems. Excessive Internet use may create a heightened level of psychological arousal, resulting in little sleep, failure to eat for long periods, and limited physical activity, possibly leading to the user experiencing physical and mental health problems such as depression, OCD, low family relationships and anxiety."

In the past, others have argued porn addiction was not comparable to substance addiction and should not be classed as such.

Stephen Andert, coauthor of Web Stalkers: Protect Yourself from Internet Criminals & Psychopaths, states "For many people, such as, pornography is a problem. Like alcohol, gambling or drugs, it can take control of a person's life and drag them kicking and screaming or voluntarily into the gutter. The addictive and progressive (or regressive) nature of pornography is well documented." However, Andert identified no source for the claimed documentation.

Erick Janssen, a researcher at the Kinsey Institute, criticized the application of the term addiction to pornography overuse, arguing that while it describes addiction-like behaviour, treating the users as addicts may not help. Another explanation offered is that some people "addicted" to pornography simply resort to it because they experience interpersonal difficulty in establishing real life relationships leading to sex, which is less predictable.