How Has the Internet Affected Sex Addiction

The sexual sins become a heavy steel chain that we cannot break free of once entwined. Equally hard to break as any other addiction, is that of sexual addiction.

One example found in the article of dangerous behavior caused by internet addiction is of a kid killing his mom and injuring his dad because they took away his xbox. Another example is of a couple who cared more about their online baby that forgot to take care of their living baby which ended up dying.

Internet addiction has become a huge problem in today’s society. In Greg Beato’s article, he discusses the growing phenomena of internet addiction disorder. The writer explains that more and more people are becoming addicted to the internet. For example, he tells of a teenager in Ohio, who shot and killed his mom and injured his dad because they took away his Xbox. He tells how it is stated that five to ten percent of the 52 million internet users were addicted. The author is telling us that the internet has become very addictive in our everyday society.

Sex addiction is a behavioral addiction that I consider to be a true addiction. According to our textbook, addiction is characterized by the following: compulsion, loss of control, continued use despite adverse consequences, and distortions in normal thinking (p. 359). I think that sexual addiction falls under all of those characteristics. Sex addiction involves compulsion, whether that means having sex with multiple partners or just having sex with one partner excessively, it can be classified as a compulsion because the overwhelming desire to have sex is there and there can be obsessive behavior associated with seeking and obtaining it. Sex addiction involves loss of control because the person that is obsessing about sex may become so enthralled by the notion that they go out and have sex with someone or something that they would not normally do. Sex addicts continue to involve themselves in risky situations even with adverse consequences,

Dr. Mark Lasser’s book “Healing the Wounds of Sexual Addiction” gives insight to those who suffer from sexual addiction and to the families, friends and other people in their lives. Dr. Mark Lasser has chosen to write this book, to share with others his personal struggle and victory with sexual addiction. Dr. Lasser has written this book from a Christian view, to give other individuals hope in a difficult and growing disease, which is taking control and destroying our families. Lasser defines sexual addiction as “a sickness involving any type of uncontrollable sexual activity, and because the addict cannot control his

Addicts blame others when things go wrong, they make loved ones feel guilty or ashamed, and maintaining an addiction can take a financial toll on a family. Children, pets, and other family members are often neglected and left to fend for themselves when living with an addict. Addiction can also cause separation in a family. Eventually patience runs out and people end up walking away from the addict when they refuse to get help or take responsibility.

When being in an addiction it is hard for them to stop they have a hard time to control themselves. I think that the person who is facing an addiction they can get help from people or recourses they are needed the causes of addiction and help men and women overcome their addiction.

Dr. Mark Lasser’s book “Healing the Wounds of Sexual Addiction” gives hope for those who are in the throes of sexual addiction and those who suffer with them. Laaser feels that this book is important because of the pain and desperation that he experienced from sexual addiction; he now wants to share what he has learned about the power of the Lord and healing. In this book he relates how sexual addiction has grown to epidemic proportions (Laaser, 2004, pp.17). The Internet has been the source of much of that growth, with a bevy of materials of a sexual nature being readily available to everyone with computer access. The Internet has just what they are looking for in the form of pornography for sexual

Mark Lasser’s book “Healing the Wounds of Sexual Addiction” there are 4 major themes being explored, Part One: What is Sexual Addiction? Here Dr. Lasser explains what sexual addiction is, and what the three building blocks of sexual addiction are “Sexual Fantasy, Pornography, and Masturbation”. (Lasser, 2004, pp 28)Lasser expands on the different types of sexual addiction, and give us understanding of the different characteristic of the addiction. Major theme part 2: “The Roots of Sexual Addiction”, here Lassser gives the roots of sexual addiction and explains the reasons why it happens, these reasons as listed are Unhealthy Family Dynamics, and Family abuse,

Addiction is all around us. It may be that cup of coffee in the morning for the caffeine stimulation, the cigarette that is smoked for the nicotine, or an alcoholic drink used to relieve a stressful day or situation. For some, the addiction may not be to a substance, but to compulsive behaviors such as gambling, playing video games, or shopping. Consequences to addictions can impact an addict’s physical or mental state. Addiction can also have detrimental impact on the people that surround them. Watching a relationship fall apart because a person has an addiction to drugs, alcohol, or another addictive behavior is a sad thing to happen to anyone. Unfortunately, those with addictions usually won’t admit they even

Users who spend too much time in cyberspace are typically fleeing problems with relationships or trying to address deep feelings of insecurity or loneliness…and as with other addictions, what at first seems like a pleasurable retreat from pain, gradually becomes a tyrant, interfering with work, family life and normal, healthy contact with other people (Macklin).

Everyday in America, more people become addicted to sex. According to the National Association of Sexual Addiction Problems, “1 out of 17 people are addicted to sex.” Many people become addicted to it and do not even know it. “Sexual addiction is a progressive intimacy disorder characterized by compulsive sexual

Before one can begin to understand the complexities of sexual addiction it must be adequately defined. The National Council on Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity has defined sexual addiction as “engaging in persistent and escalating patterns of sexual behavior acted out despite increasing negative consequences to self and others.” (Herkov) It is important to note that this means that sexual addiction isn’t just the desire to have sex more than normal but also that the addict engages in activities regardless of and consequences. The addict must also escalate their behaviors over a period of time in order to be considered an addict. This doesn’t mean escalating it to illegal actions but merely increasing the rate at which they engage in the

Prior to the death of Mr. Collins father, his consumption of Internet pornography and sexual chatting was not considered remarkable. He appeared to be able to function sexually while masturbating and during sexual intercourse with the partners in his life prior to this life-altering event. Mr. Collins expressed a relatively normal desire for sexual contact as a teenager as well as desire to couple with partners his age in traditional ways, but after the death of his father, what normally produced the arousal necessary to ejaculate while masturbating and having sexual intercourse, no longer appears to have had the desired effect. It is at this time that it appears that the symptoms of depression began to manifest in Mr. Collins life, depressed mood, decreased interest or pleasure, change in sleep, change in activity, and concentration. As these symptoms manifested, it appears that the indicators of Hypersexual Disorder began to develop; excessive masturbation, obsessing about sex to the point that it interfered with his life, spending significant time planning their sexual activity, frequent viewing of pornography or use of sexually explicit websites or other online services including adult chat rooms, frequent one-night stands with strangers, staying emotionally detached from sexual partners, frequently engaging in paraphilias, and inability to stop despite the consequences.

There is not a clear stated definition of digital addiction however Shaw and Black (2008) characterize Internet addiction by excessive or poorly preoccupations, urges or behaviours regarding computer use and internet access that lead to impairment or distress. However as the term addict is a strong description DA is seen as a general misuse of the internet in various forms, as no formal definition exists the author sees the disorder as problematic computer usage resulting in negative consequences. According to Young et al DA is a broad term covering a wide variety of behaviours and impulse control problems. K.Young (1999) also categorised DA into five subtypes of DA, they are cybersexual addiction, cyberrelationship addiction; net compulsion (e.g. gambling or shopping on the internet); information overload (e.g. compulsive database searching); and computer addiction (excessive game-playing). This project highlights social network addiction which falls into the category of cyberrelationship addiction but also contemplates all other types.