More Than a Click: Pornography’s Hidden Toll on Mental Health

“People aren’t looking for porn, porn is looking for them.”  

Those are the words of Joshua Broome, executive director of Walk Worthy, who spoke at the University of North Georgia and shared his story of how he escaped the adult film industry and why he believes pornography is becoming an epidemic.  

Broome was in more than 1,000 pornographic films during his six years in the industry, but he did not set out to be an adult film star. 

He grew up in a small town in South Carolina with a teenage mother and no father present. Broome says, with no father at home, he struggled to figure out who he was while growing up. Because of his search for identity, he began his modeling career at the age of 15. His modeling career took off, and he moved across the country to Los Angeles. In Hollywood, he met a group of girls who asked him if he would ever be interested in the porn industry. Broome said he was already addicted to pornography, having been introduced to it in middle school, but he never thought about it as a career until then.  

Broom left the industry in 2013, and now, as a preacher and author, he shares his story with millions to encourage them to flee from pornography and seek an identity in Christianity.  

Throughout Broome’s message at UNG, he said pornography was taking over America. A study done by FHE Health found that 58% of Americans have viewed pornographic materials at least once, and around 27% have watched it in the last month.  

A study by Common Sense Media reports that 73% of teenagers were accidentally introduced to pornography by social media, and 15% of that group was introduced to pornography before the age of 10.  

An anonymous survey of UNG students found similar results to the Common Sense study, with students saying they were introduced to pornography through social media. One student, who is a junior interdisciplinary studies major, said, “I saw a word written on a bathroom stall that I didn’t know the meaning of, so I Googled it, and pornography websites popped up.” 

FHE Health reports PornHub, a popular porn site, had more than 100 million visits per day in 2023. PornHub reported 2.14 billion visits during a single month, which is more than the combined visits to Netflix, TikTok, Pinterest and Instagram. 

Experts say pornography addiction, like other addictions, can have mental and physical effects. Luke Gilkerson, the author of Your Brain on Porn, says, “The cravings experienced by someone hooked on porn can be like the cravings of a drug addict. With repeated exposure to porn, the portion of the brain responsible for decision-making and willpower actually begins to shrink. The chemical pathways of the brain designed for sexual pleasure are rewired to seek out porn instead of real sex.”  

A study done by the National Library of Medicine found that 13.5% of students reported severe or extremely severe levels of depression, anxiety and stress, with compulsive pornography use significantly affecting all three of those mental health parameters in both sexes. 

Broome explained that access is not the only issue. He said, “Churches and parents not having enough clear conversations about sex and intimacy along with the reality of accessibility of porn and the reality of how over sexualized today’s culture is.”  

Another junior interdisciplinary studies major at UNG says, “Education and talking about it are key. Pretending like it doesn’t exist or isn’t a problem only causes people to hide it even more.” 

If you or someone you know is struggling with a pornography addiction or another mental health issue, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Helpline, 1-800-662-HELP (4357) provides information in English and Spanish and confidential, free, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year, treatment referrals to local treatment facilities, support groups and community-based organizations. SAMHSA resources are also available through an online treatment locator, and by texting your zip code to 435748 (HELP4U).