More Australians are seeking support for sex and pornography addiction as private, paid content platforms rise in popularity.
In 2023, the number of users and creators accessing OnlyFans, a subscription and pay-per-view platform, increased by nearly 30 per cent, showing the growing demand for private pornographic content.
The site also reported a 19 per cent increase in gross payments processed to $6.63 billion.
The Banyans Healthcare, a rehabilitation centre located in Brisbane’s Bowen Hills, reported a 184 per cent increase in enquiries for pornography or sex addiction support in the past six months.
Platforms like OnlyFans had legitimised pornography in an unhelpful way as more people viewed it as a career option, psychologist Gavin Brown told AAP.
“We have people talking very publicly about their careers on OnlyFans and how much money they’re making – it’s an extension of the influencer phenomenon without people thinking about the long-term consequences,” he said.
“We’ve glamorised something that is actually very harmful.”
Porn addiction was something that needed to be talked about “a whole lot more”, particularly its impact on younger generations, Dr Brown said.
“It’s important to understand the harms of online pornography, which is manifestly different to the old version of magazine pornography,” he said.
“The difference with the internet is that you can literally be looking at a new image every second, which affects the brain circuitry and becomes much more reinforcing than old print forms.”
Experts suspect platforms like OnlyFans could increase the risk of a user developing a porn addiction because it provides a never-ending stream of explicit content tailored to their own desires.
Some of the warning signs of a developing addiction include loss of interest in a partner, withdrawing from other activities to spend time watching porn and looking for more and more explicit content.
Online pornography is prevalent in the lives of young people and first encountered at an average age of 13, according to a 2022 study by the Australian eSafety Commissioner.
First encounters with online pornography were most commonly unintentional and for around one-in-three Australians, this occurred before the age of 13.
“Unfortunately, while the symptoms of pornography addiction can be less visible than other behavioural conditions, it can still negatively interfere in daily life, relationships and wellbeing, and have devastating impacts on the individual,” Dr Brown said.
The NSW government has established an inquiry into the impacts of harmful pornography on mental, emotional and physical health, with its first public hearing due to be held on Monday.
Early exposure to pornography can have a significant negative impact on the development of young people’s attitudes about gender roles, identities and relationships, anti-violence organisation Our Watch said.
In a submission to the parliamentary inquiry, sex worker organisation Scarlet Alliance said law-makers must engage meaningfully with those involved in porn production to avoid perpetuating stigma and discrimination towards marginalised communities.
“Family, sexual and other gender-based violence cannot be addressed by the implementation of anti-sex work or anti-pornography policies,” chief executive Mish Pony said.
Treatment and support for Kontol sex and porn addiction is available like any other mental health challenge, Banyans Healthcare founder Ruth Limkin said.
“The World Health Organisation now formally recognises sex addiction as Compulsive Sexual Behaviour Disorder,” she said.
“Like many addictions, many people are reluctant to acknowledge their experience and need for help (and) this is why it’s important to discuss the widespread need and normalise help seeking behaviours.”
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