Pornography and Pedophilia

This article will make some people angry. Some will accuse me of fear-mongering and others will claim I am just trying to sensationalize a minor problem. For others it’s just a case of making a mountain out of a mole hill. But for a few readers, you will know just how true this article is. You began as a curious viewer of adult pornography but now find yourself strangely drawn toward pedophilia – “kiddie porn.”*

A few weeks ago I published a series of articles on internet pornography. The response has been more than I imagined. Since the first article was published a little more than a month ago we have seen frequent, daily hits for the articles. It’s not that the articles are so great that people are flocking to read them. No, the reason we have received so many hits is because of the magnitude of the problem. Internet porn is a big deal. So we are going to revisit the issue with a discussion of what may be the darkest side of pornography.

Pornography and Pedophilia Seem Linked

Behind the scenes here we can actually see the search terms that bring people to the Preacher’s Study. We don’t see who you are but we can see what search terms people are entering at Google, Yahoo, Bing and other search portals. I tell you that because a few days ago I saw the following search term:

“kiddie porn free samples”

That means someone ended up here although they were searching for free samples of kiddie porn. That drove home an important, frightening lesson to me. Pedophiles are real and they are actively searching for pictures of children.

It is known among researchers that some people who view adult pornography move on to indulge in kiddie porn. Pamela Paul, in her excellent book  Pornified
records the following story:

“His foray began innocently enough-checking out nudist Web sites where he observed families frolicking in the buff. Then there were naked children alone. Child porn. ‘At first it was a real turnoff,’ he recalls. ‘But there was an aspect of curiosity as well.’ He kept clicking back, intrigued. What was it about those young girls that was so seductive? Why was he getting so excited? Within a month’s time, Charlie was seeking out child porn regularly…”

You see Charlie discovered too late that internet pornography was like the infamous “gateway drug.” It is a perfectly legal, inexpensive habit that slowly demands more and more from the user. Simple nude photos are no longer enough. Instead the porn user moves from pictures to videos, from videos to chat rooms and finally from the somewhat acceptable to the taboo and illegal realms of the sex trade.

Paul notes that three-fourths of the people interviewed for her book said that they had encountered child porn while on the internet and usually inadvertently. There is a link.

Researchers Wendy Maltz and Larry Maltz observe in their book, The Porn Trap: The Essential Guide to Overcoming Problems Caused by Pornography,  that child porn often comes through curiosity or boredom:

“We spoke with  a number of men who ended up in jail for having child pornography on their computers…some people who are caught and prosecuted for child pornography were accessing it out of curiosity or because other porn had become boring.”

By the way, Charlie actually went on to schedule a meet-up with an adult female he met on the internet. Thankfully he found a what tiny bit of wisdom remained and he backed out at the last minute.

The Message is Clear

If we are truthful with the facts we will see that people who dabble in internet pornography are playing with fire in many ways. They risk their integrity, their honor, their reputation, their spouses, their children and even  their freedom. This is serious business and each would do well to carefully consider their actions and habits.

Some have already contacted us for help. We are happy to refer to professionals in your area and of course there is no charge. Email us and let us know how we can help.

*The causes of pedophilia are complex and not completley understood. We do not wish to imply that all users of internet pornography will become pedophiles. However there is some relationship for some people between exposure to internet porn and pedophilia.