Child porn internet users often ‘isolated’

MEN who view internet child pornography are often emotionally isolated men who feel disconnected from others and who have had problems exploring their sexuality with consenting adults, new research reveals.

The study, which was presented to the Irish Psychological Society (IPS) annual conference in Athlone, showed that most men who view child pornography do not initially have an interest in child pornography.

Counselling psychologist Alexandra Diana said these men may begin using the internet as a way of striking up friendships and pseudo-relationships. They then often progressed to sexual talk with other internet users. Being socially and emotionally isolated, they found the anonymity of the internet “less threatening than real life relationships”.

They then started viewing pornography and becoming increasingly curious about “what was out there”.

A number of the men said that it was easy to come across child pornography if you were viewing pornography a lot. Often you will see a photo of a video, and you won’t know what it entails until you open it. They also said the “issue of age” was “blurry” on these sites.

Ms Diana said that having interviewed men who were receiving treatment for child pornography viewing, it became clear that “it was very easy to progress to the extreme” and that the design of pornographic websites encourages this.

Having interviewed each man twice, Ms Diana looked for common ground between each interviewee. She found that they tended to have insecure bonds with their parents, a disconnection from others, difficulty being intimate with their partners and often an introverted personality. They often have sexual problems as adults, such as an inability to maintain an erection. “For many, viewing pornography is a way of coping. Many used it as a way to regulate their mood. And for many, the early pornography viewing was a way of developing a stifled sexuality.”

Ms Diana said her research underlined the importance of frank discussions around sex education so teenagers don’t use the internet for investigating; the importance of making sexuality normal for teenagers; and the importance of counsellors being understanding of what they have been up to.