X-Rated Internet Addiction
Pornography Is As Private As Your Own PC, And Can Become An Obsession
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Play CBS Video Video Help For Online Porn Addicts Daniel Sieberg reports on the problem of Internet porn addiction. Some people are trying to help those under its spell simply by talking about it and being open.
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Video Eye To Eye: Porn And Pancakes Only On The Web: Internet porn addiction is a growing problem in America, but youth pastor Craig Gross has created an open forum for people in need of help. He talked with Daniel Sieberg.
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Video First Look: Porn Addiction Only On The Web: Technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg previews his "CBS Evening News" report on addiction to Internet pornography.
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Fathers and sons sometimes attend "porn and pancakes" ministry meetings geared at stopping pornography addiction before it starts. (CBS)
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(AP)
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"It's just you and the computer; there is no one to tell you no," Searles told CBS News science and technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg.
Searles says for nearly a year he would sneak onto his home computer and indulge his fantasies for several hours at a time.
"What I'm doing I know is wrong, but it kind of pulls you in," he said. "When you become an addict, you forget everything else. All reasoning gets put way on the back burner."
But Searles' dirty little secret was exposed one day when his wife discovered some of the Web sites he'd been surfing.
"I was a combination of sad and angry and disappointed and hurt," Kim Searles said.
The world of pornography has clearly changed. Buying porn used to mean risking embarrassment. Today, porn is consumed in private, online, by an estimated 40 million Americans.
Addiction to Internet porn often isn't dealt with simply because nobody wants to talk about it which means they often don't get help. But now, thanks to one group, people are starting to talk about it in places like a church in Fort Wayne, Ind., over breakfast.
The gathering is called "porn and pancakes." Men come to get help for themselves and others, or just out of curiousity.
"We wanted to create a safe place where people can go to get help and realize they're not the only ones," said youth minister Craig Gross.
Gross founded a virtual ministry, xxxchurch.com. He takes his traveling road show to churches across the country. Using his skills as a pastor, along with some slick videos, Craig hammers home the ills of porn.
"We think that there's a world that's kinda gone astray when it comes to this industry and we wanna talk to you," Gross preaches.
Some people just want to head off problems before they start. At the church in Fort Wayne, two fathers brought their teenage sons.
"Its going to come into your life. If you don't think it will, you're just kidding yourself," said Jim Villers. "If you think it's not going to come into your kid's life, you're kidding yourself."
How common is it for your friends to be surfing porn online or on a cell phone?
"Oh, it's like every day," said Villers' son Skyler.
Ironically, people are seeking help online, at sites like one from the University of Texas. Another solution: Installing Internet monitoring software so someone you trust can keep track of the Web sites you visit.
Mark Searles didn't have high-tech help. He says his wife has helped him remain clean, and his son has already learned a lesson about how harmful Internet porn can be.
"It's very humbling to have a 9-year-old tell a 37-year-old man, 'Dad that's wrong.' Because even at nine years old, he knows that's bad," he says.
It's all part of bringing a difficult subject into the open.
© MMVII, CBS Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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See all 31 CommentsWish they had the internet when I was 15!
Hmmm... I wonder if "s*xually" will make it past the repressive censorship used on this site...
Posted by Tech0011 at 11:52 AM : May 02, 2007
The question was for your own benefit.
A stupid question deserves a stupid answer.
S*e*x*u*a*l*l*y frustrated religious zealots do.
U mean E news??? yea pam anderson was on their talking about her new movie. "look at me I float in the water"
Posted by itwasntme000 at 11:16 AM : May 02, 2007
I didn't know that children could post!?!?
Answer for yourself.
Can you remember the first time you seen pornography? How much detail of that image can you recall?
Now, can you remember the news from two nights ago with the same detail?
Posted by Tech0011 at 09:46 AM : May 02, 2007
I have no clue about any details about the first time i seen a porno. except i am sure she had huge knockers.
U mean E news??? yea pam anderson was on their talking about her new movie. "look at me I float in the water"
Answer for yourself.
Can you remember the first time you seen pornography? How much detail of that image can you recall?
Now, can you remember the news from two nights ago with the same detail?
Posted by FlyGuy81 at 09:38 AM : May 02, 2007"
yes Flyguy81 there is good enough reason, internet porn hurts no one!
so leave porn alone
Posted by Infidel_US at 09:07 AM : May 02, 2007
AHHH, theirs the religion in you. And you are talking about a mental midget???? I truly feel sorry for you and your etheral god addiction. You have such a narrow view of the world that even trying to educate you on things of science would go upon deaf ears.
You should try openening your eyes before you begin to attack others.
Posted by Infidel_US at 09:07 AM : May 02, 2007"
you WONT go blind, i know from experience!
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