The Addiction Nobody Talks About
Why We’ve Normalised Porn and Why It’s Destroying Us
We talk about addiction like it’s all needles, bottles, and smoke. We hold candlelit vigils for overdose victims. We fundraise for recovery centres. We post hashtags for mental health awareness. Yet, there’s one addiction that keeps slipping through the cracks.
It hides behind closed doors. Behind Wi-Fi passwords. Behind shame and silence.
And it’s killing people from the inside out.
Yeah, I said it. In fact in a recent Women’s Aid report, it found that 71% of Irish people agree that pornography is harming society.
Porn is everywhere. It’s in your back pocket. On your For You Page. In ads, in music, in DMs. Society calls it normal. Natural. “Just lads being lads.” “Just girls being empowered.”
They say it’s healthy. A stress reliever. Some even call it “self-care.”
But let’s be real. Porn doesn’t care about your mental health, your relationships, or your soul. It trains your brain to use people. It turns connection into consumption. It sells fake intimacy, and it charges your peace as the price.
You know who spoke up about porn?
Ted Bundy. A twisted, violent man who raped and murdered dozens of women. Hours before his execution, he confessed that it all started with porn. That’s right.
He said it desensitized him. Got darker. More violent. Until fantasy bled into reality.
Am I saying watching porn makes you a killer? No. But you know what it does kill?
Your empathy. Your intimacy. Your realness. Your trust.
And those things are worth fighting for.
The Cost We’re Not Counting
Porn isn’t harmless entertainment, it’s a pipeline.
Here’s what the stats show:
A meta-study found that pornography use is significantly associated with attitudes supporting violence against women, especially among viewers of violent porn.
Men who use porn compulsively are more likely to commit intimate partner violence.
Teens are learning about sex through porn, often violent and degrading porn, with 1 in 3 young people aged 16–20 in Australia saying it shaped their sexual expectations.
Kids are being exposed to violent porn by age 15 or younger, including content that glorifies domination and pain.
The global sex trafficking industry generates $150 billion annually, with 79% of victims being sexually exploited, many used in the creation of pornographic content.
Child pornography markets fuel child sex trafficking, acting as both a demand driver and a recruitment tool.
This isn’t just an issue of morality…… it’s a justice issue.
Porn creates consumers. Those consumers create demand. And that demand leads to real-world abuse of women, of children, and of dignity itself.
In Ireland, two 13-year-old boys were convicted of the horrific murder of 14-year-old Ana Kriegel. During the investigation, police found violent and degrading pornography on their phones. These weren’t grown men, they were kids. Warped. Desensitised. Dangerous.
It makes you ask: What are we letting into our children’s lives?
Jesus doesn’t cancel people stuck in addiction; He delivers them.
He doesn’t shame us for the pit we’re in, He jumps in to pull us out.
He sets the captives free. Not with filters and blockers (though those help), but with truth, love, community, and power.
“If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” – John 8:36
I know what it’s like to feel stuck in sin. I know the lies:
“This is just my weakness.”
“It’s better than cheating.”
“I’ll stop after this one time.”
I also know what it’s like to be free. And freedom tastes better than any fake thrill a screen can offer.
Break the silence.
Talk about it. In church. In groups. In youth rooms.
Get real.
Find someone you can be brutally honest with. Shame dies in the light.
Fight together.
Join a support group. Get filtered. Get accountable. Pray hard.
Feed your soul.
Worship. Pray. Read. Serve. Starve the flesh and feed the Spirit.
Tell the truth.
To yourself. To your kids. To your community.
Porn wants to keep you quiet. It wants to make you numb. But Jesus didn’t die to make you numb. He died to make you new.
Let’s be the kind of people who talk about the real stuff. Who fight for purity.
Who love others enough to call this out, not with judgment, but with grace and grit.
If you’re struggling, I see you. And you’re not alone.
The fight is real. But so is the freedom. Get in touch and Sign up for out 7 step "Break Free" programme
Wright et al. (2016). Pornography and Attitudes Supporting Violence Against Women. ResearchGate.
Wiggins et al. (2020). Pornography Use and Intimate Partner Violence. PubMed Central.
New York Post (2024). 1 in 3 kids learn about sex from violent porn.
Wikipedia. Effects of pornography on young people.
UnboundNow.org. Human Trafficking and Pornography.
BallardBrief (BYU). Sex Trafficking of Youth in the United States.
Mito Coaching. Sex Trafficking and Pornography.
Source: The Addiction Nobody Talks About
