Critical Analysis - Assignment Example

Week 7: Critical Analysis Assignment The cause and effect situation that I thought about was once when a friend of mine had a teenage daughter who was exposed to pornography by her friend’s brother. This brother had enticed several young girls in the neighborhood by telling them he had something that was fun for them to look at but they could not tell anyone about it. My friend’s daughter, being curious, went into their basement and looked at the pornographic material. The good news was that my friend had told her daughter that if anything felt strange that anyone had done, she should tell her mom about it; which this friend’s daughter did. The incident actually opened up a conversation between my friend and her daughter about sex and about what sex was really about. My friend explained to her daughter that these types of things were not what love was about and that this boy did not have a right to show her these things. Of course, my friend and a few other parents confronted the mother of the boy about this situation. This situation affected the boy, the parents and the children that had seen the pornography. Fortunately, my friend was pretty open with her children about sex in terms of answering any questions that they had as they were old enough to hear the information. This situation could have been more difficult if my friend’s child had not gone to her to tell her what had happened. This was a more positive outcome than many children have with their parents, especially when the children do not have an understanding of what true love and commitment are and how two people are able to come together in love. I had a talk with my daughters after this incident also, because I wanted them to be aware that there could be problems with other people in looking at things that were not good for them to see at their age. It was also clear to me that this boy may be addicted to sex or to pornography and that he needed help to stop. Assignment 3 Sexual addiction for teenagers is very much the same as it is for an adult except that there are different consequences for their actions. Primarily, there are several issues around this problem. Free access by teens (free meaning without filters by their parents) to the Internet has created a way for teens to access sexually explicit pictures and other pornographic information. As an example, any teen or child can go to a porn site, click on the link that asks their age, and get into the site, no matter what age they truly are. There is no way for a vendor to check to see whether the person clicking on the link is the age they say they are, so many teens are exposed to pornography at an early age. One of the causes is spending a lot of time on several websites that show pornography and staying in these areas over a period of time. This also means that many students are actually chatting with people who are talking with them about sex, some of whom think that the teenager is actually older. The problem issue is that teenagers are being exposed to Internet porn at an alarming rate and no one seems to know exactly what to do about this issue. Part of the problem is because studies cannot be done that will ask teenagers about their sexual habits. Another cause of this problem seems to be the fact that teens are naturally curious about sex. According to an article by Frances (n.d.) the average age when children begin to look at pornography sites on the Internet is 11. Teens that are 15-17 years old have “the highest rate” of exposure to hardcore porn. Also, many teens aged 8-16 have watched porn as they are doing their homework (Frances, n.d.), and this includes boys and girls. What is interesting is that the DSM has not come up with a category for this diagnosis yet. Many of these teens will become sexually addicted and will not tell anyone because they think they are the only ones who struggle with this problem. Another cause of this problem is that many children are exposed to pornography through spam that comes to them after visiting some sites. Teens that spend a lot of time with social networking are often exposed to sites because their friends are looking at them and because they have received a spam email about the situation (George, 2008). Parents have a difficult time talking to their teenagers about porn because many of them have not talked to them about sex and because for many cultures, talking about sex is a taboo subject. West (2011) describes the problem with teens and sexual addiction and attributes the problem to the fact that we as a culture are inundated with messages about sex which make teens naturally curious about it. The Internet has allowed teens to be anonymous in their exploring of porn, it does not cost them anything and it is a good place to gain the mood enhancers that many teens seek. Also MTV has created a television program called Skins, which is about teenagers who are engaged in sex, drugs and secrets (some of the actors in this show are as young as 15). West says that these are the issues that children are dealing with that lead them to a sexual addiction. The effects of this challenge is that many children become depressed because they are ashamed of what they are doing and they feel they cannot stop. Many think they are the only ones in the world who are dealing with the situation and this creates anxiety for them. Sussman (2007) sites these and other challenges for teenagers who are addicted to sex and/or pornography. After viewing many of these sites, many teens change their behavior. They begin to act out sexually in ways that are considered inappropriate. Initially, sexual addiction can be fun and thrilling, but eventually it loses its excitement and it becomes “unfulfilling, self-destructive, and [the] person is unable to stop” (Sussman, 2007). Other effects of this problem include a variety of feelings that include feeling sick or anxious, feeling numb, empty or hollow, and feeling desperate of every being able to find someone who will be a consistent partner (Sussman, 2007). As the Internet becomes more accessible and as parents continue to be involved in other things where they cannot be with their children all the time, many teens are taking the time they have away from the family to go to porn sites. There are a variety of therapeutic interventions that counselors consider to help teen pornography addiction. Some of these interventions include: 1. Reduce the shame that teens are feeling – during the course of treatment they may have difficulty keeping eye contact or answering questions because they feel guilty that this has happened to them. 2. Normalize the situation – let teens understand that this is an issue that other people have so they do not feel that they are isolated or that they are perverted because they have this addiction. 3. Respect the culture – some cultures will have more difficulty talking about this issue so it is important that the counselor understand the cultural perimeters that the client works within. As an example, some cultures would show that a female client may be more comfortable talking to a female counselor and a male teen to a male counselor. These issues are real for teens and they need to be handled as though they are real situations. The counselor must be able to understand how to address this issue with all clients. References Frances, D. (n.d.). Teens, pornography and sexual addiction. Internet Special Education Resources (ISER). Retrieved from http://www.iser.com/resources/teen-sexual-addiction.html George, S. (24 April 2008). Teen porn addiction—Only a mouse click away! South Asian Connection. Blog. Retrieved fromhttp://www.southasianconnection.com/articles/ 289/1/Teen-Porn-Addiction---Only-A-Mouse-Click-Away/Page1.html Haney, J.M. (2011). Teenagers and Pornography Addiction: Treating the Silent Epidemic. Counseling Outfitters [On-line], Article 10. Retrieved from: http://counselingoutfitters.com/vistas/vistas06/vistas06.10.pdf Sussman, S. (2007). Sexual addiction among teens: A review. Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity, 7 (1/2), 14 (4), 257-278. doi: 10.1080/10720160701480758. West, J. (28 January 2011). MTV’s skins: Teen sex addiction? Porn, hookups and secrets. Total Life Counseling Center. Blog. Retrieved from http://www.totallifecounseling.com/ 2011/01/mtvs-skins-teen-sex-addiction-porn-hook-ups-secrets/ Read More