What in the world does erectile dysfunction have to do with kids?
Until 2002, the incidence of men under 40 with erectile dysfunction (ED) was around 2-3%. But today, according to the latest studies and surveys, between 14% and 35% of young men experience ED.
Alexander Rhodes, 31-year-old founder of NoFap, told his story to The Guardian: He started using internet porn at around 11 or 12. “I was in the first generation of people who grew up on high-speed internet porn,” he said. By the time he started having sex, at 19, he said, “I couldn’t maintain an erection without imagining porn. High-speed internet porn was my sex education.”
The age at which Rhodes started watching porn is not unusual. In 2016-17, a Middlesex University study of children aged 11 to 16 found that 48% had viewed pornography online.
Some still dismiss the rise in ED among young men as “performance anxiety,” but Mary Sharpe of the Reward Foundation says that while that may be true for some, “what we’re hearing from clinicians, sex therapists, doctors and people dealing with compulsive sexual behavior is that more than 80% of issues are porn-related.”
Read the full Guardian story on kids and porn.
As a former sex abuse investigator and addictions professional I am amazed by the lack of awareness on the part of most professionals and almost all parents. In my book, Turned On & Tuned Out I attempted to show the connection of tech use to the DSM Criteria for Addiction. However, this is now taking this to a whole new level. Dating violence, domestic violence and so much more is on the horizon. I was ready to retire but there is still so much more that needs to be done. Thank you for your work on this vital subject!