- Porn generates approximately $1 billion annually with growth projections to $5-7 billion over the next 5 years, barring unforeseen change (NRC Report 2002)
- 25 million Americans visit cybersex sites between 1-10 hours per week (MSNBC Survey 2000)
- According to the Justice Department, in 1998 there were 28,000 X-rated websites, generating $925 million in revenue. Now, only three years later, there are 280,000 X- rated websites, generating over $10-20 billion in revenue (The Wall Street Journal 26 Nov. 2001).
- At least 200,000 Internet users are hooked on porn sites, X-rated chat rooms or other sexual materials online (MSNBC/Stanford/Duquesne Study, Associated Press [Online], Feb. 29, 2000).
- According to a U.S. News and World Report article, the porn industry recently took in more than $8 billion in one year. More than all revenues generated by rock and country music, more than America spent on Broadway productions, theater, ballet, jazz and classical music combined.
- The church, for the most part, is unaware and uncomfortable dealing with pornography issues.
- Estimates for the number of X-rated sites on the net range from 20,000 to 7 million (CNET.com, April 28, 1999).
- Every day, up to 30 million people log on to pornographic web-sites (CNET.com, April 28, 1999).
- A recent study (March 2000) shows 1 in 5 adults or 20% (which is nearly 40 million people), have visited a sexually oriented web site.
- The research company Relevant Knowledge found that in 1998, 9.6 million users (about 15 percent Web users) logged on to the 10 most popular cybersex sites during the month of April alone.
- Americans spend an estimated $8-10 billion annually on pornography. This exceeds the combined gross of ABC, CBS, and NBC, which is $6.2 billion.
- Two hundred million copies of Hustler, Penthouse and Playboy are distributed in U.S. homes every year.
- The combined circulation of Playboy and Penthouse exceeds that of Time and Newsweek.
- The average age at which men first see Playboy or a similar magazine is 11.
- A porn film can be made for $20,000-$125,000 and can make up to $2 million in profit from retail sales.
- Laboratory studies have showed that viewing violent pornographic films can increase aggression against women.
- Nearly 900 theaters show X-rated films and more than 15,000 adult bookstores and video stores offer pornographic material, outnumbering McDonald's restaurants in the U.S. by a margin of at least 3 to 1.
I often say that the Gospel transforms every area of our lives and this one is no different. The grace of God is greater than addiction to pornography. The powers at work inside us and in the world are much more sinister than we want to believe. The love of Christ is deeper and broader than we can possibly imagine. Jesus can save us from addiction to pornography.
A couple of resources you may find helpful are www.xxxchurch.com where I found the information listed above. This is a ministry dedicated to helping people with sexual addictions. I also commend Integrity Online for clean Internet and email. Most people will need a resource that will cut them off from explicit content as a part of being freed from pornography. Additionally, you may feel free to contact me at stevel@graceslo.org if you need someone to talk to about your struggles in this area.
4 comments:
I'm not ready to put my name on a website and state that I need a porn accountability partner. A bit too proud I guess, but these are my thoughts.
Thank you for addressing porn. The stats say that it is a huge problem in the church though rarely spoken of in the circles I have been in. As a result it becomes an even more difficult and more shameful thing to admit and then get help. There are good books and other resources, but I have not found anything more important than accountability on a monthly, weekly, or even daily basis. I have an accountability partner that I touch base with every week specifically about the issue. The reason that I think accountability is the best thing is because assuming that we have a good partner, they will guide us to repentance not behavior modification. Repentance will address our relationship with God which is the real problem of porn. It is sin and it destroys our relationship with God. That is way more important than the fact that it is a sweet addicting poison that draws you in, eats away at your soul, and destroys the way that your view and relate to other people.
For those interested, our former pastor in Los Angeles mentioned a computer program that supposedly is great. It's called Covenant Eyes. Read about it here. It's not a filter or content blocker (those can be easily turned off). It's a program that keeps track of the sites that you go to and if you go to a questionable site, it emails your accountability partner that you've set up. It also leaves a report or every site you've been to that your accountability partner can access at anytime. Everything I've heard about this program is good, but there is one thing wrong with it. It's for windows machines only.
One word of caution about accountability software. Get some kind of service that also blocks content. Even if you have to have someone else set it up so you don't know the passwords. Keep in mind hte words of Galatians 6:1, "Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, pyou who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted." When helping others with pornography, we need to be very careful to keep watch on ourselves and potentially being tempted ourselves. Thank you to those of you who have been willing to log in on this issue both on Tim's blog and here. Up until now, this has been the most visited and least commented-on blog I've posted. I pray we will see many delivered out of pornography by the Gospel's transforming power.
As a female reading that last past, it shocked me. I guess we gals don't realize how much guys struggle with these things. It's encouraging to know, though, that our brothers in Christ are seeking to keep their minds pure, or repent from past sin. We gals are challenged to save ourselves physically for marriage, but I realize that men face a deeper struggle with saving themselves physically and mentally. As a woman who hopes to be married someday, I pray that all of the guys out there take this issue to heart.
And to the girls out there, I pray that we consider the minds of our brothers when we decide what to wear when we go out!
Also for the gals out there who were shocked at the stats, I suggest reading a book that I recently read called "For Women Only". We may never understand the minds of men, but this book shed a little light on the mystery.
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