I’m always fascinated by little things that happen in the media that point people to truth without really understanding it. The real and true ramifications of what they’re saying are completely ignored but there’s a nugget of truth there that could lead some people to truth.

I think things like this do reach some people. In this story by People Magazine, singer/celebrity Billie Eilish talks about how porn “destroyed” her.

Singer Billie Eilish is opening up about how she feels “incredibly devastated” by her exposure to pornographic images at an early age.

The Happier Than Ever artist, 19, visited SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show Monday and told host Howard Stern that “as a woman, I think porn is a disgrace.” 

“I used to watch a lot of porn, to be honest. I started watching porn when I was like 11,” Eilish continued, explaining that she thought it would help her feel like “one of the guys.” 

“I see people online, looking like I’ve never looked. And immediately I am like, ‘oh my God, how do they look like that?'”

“I think it really destroyed my brain, and I feel incredibly devastated that I was exposed to so much porn,” the seven-time Grammy Award winner added. “The first few times I, you know, had sex, I was not saying ‘No’ to things that were not good. It was because I thought that’s what I was supposed to be attracted to.”

Firstly,there is scientific evidence that porn rewires your brain.

AlterNet:

In the long term, pornography seems to create sexual dysfunctions, especially the inability to achieve erection or orgasm with a real life partner. Marital quality and commitment to one’s romantic partner also appear to be compromised.

To try to explain these effects, some scientists have drawn parallels between porn consumption and substance abuse. Through evolutionary design, the brain is wired to respond to sexual stimulation with surges of dopamine. This neurotransmitter, most often associated with reward anticipation, also acts to program memories and information into the brain. This adaption means that when the body requires something, like food or sex, the brain remembers where to return to experience the same pleasure.

Instead of turning to a romantic partner for sexual gratification or fulfillment, habituated porn users instinctively reach for their phones and laptops when desire comes calling. Furthermore, unnaturally strong explosions of reward and pleasure evoke unnaturally strong degrees of habituation in the brain. Psychiatrist Norman Doidge explains:

“Pornography satisfies every one of the prerequisites for neuroplastic change. When pornographers boast that they are pushing the envelope by introducing new, harder themes, what they don’t say is that they must, because their customers are building up a tolerance to the content.”

Porn scenes, like addictive substances, are hyper-stimulating triggers that lead to unnaturally high levels of dopamine secretion. This can damage the dopamine reward system and leave it unresponsive to natural sources of pleasure. This is why users begin to experience difficulty in achieving arousal with a physical partner.

Doesn’t it seem a little weird to you that the birth rate has plummeted around the time that internet porn became popular?

This story intrigues me because it’s another great example that the Church is correct and has been correct on yet another vital issue. Porn is a one way avenue. It is essentially human consumption. It is not giving. It is only receiving. You are viewing another human being solely as a product for your enjoyment. Some people would argue that everyone is consenting so there’s nothing wrong it. I would counter that we are called to love, fully love one another, not simply get consent. That way lies happiness. True happiness.

The Catechism states:

Pornography consists in removing real or simulated sexual acts from the intimacy of the partners, in order to display them deliberately to third parties. It offends against chastity because it perverts the conjugal act, the intimate giving of spouses to each other. It does grave injury to the dignity of its participants (actors, vendors, the public), since each one becomes an object of base pleasure and illicit profit for others. It immerses all who are involved in the illusion of a fantasy world. It is a grave offense. Civil authorities should prevent the production and distribution of pornographic materials.

I wonder how many people come to the Church after such a realization that porn damages their life. I’ve heard of people thinking that “Oh, if the Church is right on this one issue maybe they’re right about other issues too.”

In such an age as ours, it is the steadfast wisdom of the Church that will eventually bring people back to the Church. If the Church attempts to water down its teachings in order to seem more in line with modernity it will not attract those who seek truth. If the Church abandons truth, it abandons sinners.