Nurturing Young Minds

Edited by Dr Ramesh Manocha & Gyongyi Horvath
To read the full chapter go to Volume 2, chapter 21, pp. 314-334.

Authors

Liz Walker

Director of Health Education, Culture Reframed

Liz Walker is an accredited sexuality educator, speaker, author, and Director of Health Education at Culture Reframed: the global lead in solving the public health crisis of the digital age. Liz is an exceptional communicator and passionate advocate for children and young people, and chairs the Australian organisation Porn Harms Kids: addressing the harms of children and young people accessing online pornography. Well-connected internationally, Liz regularly provides consultancy to government, non-profit and professional organisations.

Website:

www.lizwalkerpresents.com

[email protected]

This chapter examines how the pornography industry is shaping culture and why we need to respond. It considers the impact on the adolescent brain; how it places young people at risk for addiction; conditions users towards sexual acts and templates that mirror porn images; contributes to sexual problems; and links to other mental health concerns. Suggestions are provided as to how to frame a response and engage community for change.

Want to Learn More, Get Help or Find Support?

Watch: Reporting Child Pornography (2:00)

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Culture Reframed – Solving the Public Health Crisis of the Digital Age. Research-driven education to prevent, resist and heal the harms of violent mainstream pornography and hypersexualized pop culture. www.culturereframed.org

Porn Harms Kids – a grassroots campaign that draws attention to the issue of exposure of children and young people to online pornography in Australia. This website is a clearing house for how to prevent pornography’s impact on children and young people; resource links to equip parents, schools and community; and direction to support children and young people who need to restore from harms incurred. www.pornharmskids.org.au

Youth Wellbeing Project – holistic relationships and sexuality education with a focus on providing skills for Critical Porn Analysis. IQ4porn equips Primary & Secondary Schools to implement policies and learning materials for students, and directs staff and parents to further support. www.youthwellbeingproject.com.au

Liz Walker Presents – Find support specific to porn addiction through apps, forums, websites and books. www.lizwalkerpresents.com/support-for-porn

Your Brain on Porn: www.yourbrainonporn.com

The Reward Foundation: www.rewardfoundation.org

Alexander Rhodes – NoFap: www.nofap.com

Gabe Deem – Reboot Nation: www.rebootnation.org

Noah Church – Addicted to Internet Porn: www.addictedtointernetporn.com

Fortify Program: www.fortifyprogram.org

Quit Pornography Addiction: www.bit.ly/quitpornographyaddiction

Brainbuddy App: www.brainbuddyapp.com

NoFap Emergency App: https://emergency.nofap.com/

Recovery Tribe App: www.rtribe.org

Amen, DG, 2005, Making a Good Brain Great, Three Rivers Press, Random House, USA,
pp 16, 37.

Beyens, I, Vandenbosch, L & Eggermont, S, 2014, ‘Early Adolescent Boys’ exposure to Internet pornography: Relationships to pubertal timing, sensation seeking, and academic performance’, The Journal of Early Adolescence 35(8), pp 1045–1068. DOI: 10.1177/0272431614548069

Braithwaite, SR, Coulson, G, Keddington, K & Fincham, FD, 2015, ‘Sexual Scripts – The Influence of Pornography on Sexual Scripts and Hooking Up Among Emerging Adults in College’, Archive of Sexual Behavior 44, pp 111–123. DOI: 10.1007/s10508-014-0351-x

Casey, BJ, Jones, RM & Somerville, LH, 2011, ‘Braking and Accelerating of the Adolescent Brain’, Journal of Research on Adolescence 21(1), pp 21–33. DOI: 10.1111/j.1532-7795.2010.00712.x

Cooper, A, 1998, ‘Sexuality and the Internet: Surfing into the new millennium’, CyberPsycholog y & Behavior, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. 1(2), pp 187–193. DOI:10.1089/cpb.1998.1.187

Jenson, K, ‘Virtual Reality: What No One is Telling Parents,’ Protect Young Minds, 17 November 2016. https://protectyoungminds.org/2016/11/17/virtual-reality-parent-guide/

Kolb, B & Gibb, R, 2011, ‘Brain Plasticity and Behaviour in the Developing Brain’, Journal of Canadian Academy Child Adolescent Psychiatry 20(4), pp 265–276. PMCID: PMC3222570

Manocha, R (Ed), 2017, Growing Happy, Healthy Young Minds: Generation Next, Hachette Australia, Sydney.

Park, BY, Wilson, G, Berger, J, Christman, M, Reina, B, Bishop, F, Klam, WP & Doan, AP, 2016, ‘Is Internet Pornography Causing Sexual Dysfunctions? A Review with Clinical Reports’, The Journal of Behavioral Sciences 6(3), p 17. DOI:10.3390/bs6030017

Pizzol, D, Bertoldo, A & Foresta, C, 2016, ‘Adolescents and web porn: A new era of sexuality’, International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health, 28(2), pp 169–173. DOI: 10.1515/ijamh-2015-0003

Regnerus, M, Gordon, D & Price, J, 2016, ‘Documenting Pornography Use in America: A Comparative Analysis of Methodological Approaches’, The Journal of Sex Research 53(7), pp 873–881. DOI: 10.1080/00224499.2015.1096886

Sun, C, Bridges, A, Johnson, JA & Ezzell, MB, 2016, ‘Pornography and the Male Sexual Script: An Analysis of Consumption and Sexual Relations’, Archives of Sexual Behavior 45, pp 983–994. DOI: 10.1007/s10508-014-0391-2

Walker, L, ‘Young People Need Critical Porn Analysis; “Porn Literacy” Is Not Enough’, Generation Next, 9 December 2016, https://www.generationnext.com.au/2016/12/young-people-need-critical-porn-analysis-porn-literacy-not-enough/

Yoder, VC, Virden III, TB & Amin, K, 2005, ‘Internet Pornography and Loneliness: An Association?’, Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity, 12(1), pp 19–44 DOI: 10.1080/10720160590933653

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