Virginia, Utah and South Dakota have declared pornography a public health crisis. And notable figures in Hollywood, including former Playboy model Pamela Anderson and actors Terry Crews and Russell Brand, have spoken out against the dangers of pornography, a big business that generates $10 billion to $12 billion in the United States alone, according to NBC News. But the commonly held belief is that pornography is a harmless and even beneficial pastime.

Author Matt Fradd separates the myths from the facts about porn, drawing on the experience of porn performers and users, and the expertise of neurologists, sociologists and psychologists, to demonstrate that pornography is destructive to individuals, relationships and society in his new book, THE PORN MYTH: Exposing the Reality Behind the Fantasy of Pornography.

Fradd provides insightful (and nonreligious) arguments, supported by the latest scientific research, to discredit the fanciful claims used to defend and promote pornography in THE PORN MYTH. He explains the neurological reasons porn is addictive, helps individuals learn how to be free of porn and offers real help to the parents and the spouses of porn users. Backed by recent research on pornography’s harmful effects on the brain, Fradd is part of the growing wave of passionate individuals trying to change the pro-porn cultural norm by inspiring others to pursue real love and to avoid its hollow counterfeit.

All of the royalties from THE PORN MYTH will go to help Children of the Immaculate Heart, a non-profit corporation operating in San Diego, California, whose mission is to serve survivors of human trafficking.

For more information, to request a review copy, or to schedule an interview with Matt Fradd, please contact Kevin Wandra (404-788-1276 or KWandra@CarmelCommunications.com) of Carmel Communications.

Full story at Christian Newswire.

How pornography harms people – and what to do about it

One of the most commonly believed myths is that pornography doesn’t hurt anyone, Fradd said. But Matt Fradd has found that pornography harms people personally, relationally, and societally.

On the personal level, a 2014 study from the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin found that frequent pornography use in men was associated with decreased brain matter in certain areas of the brain.

Women [who consent to producing pornography, as opposed to those who are forced or coerced] are perpetuating a system that robs women, as a group, of empowerment, Fradd said, such as women who are sex trafficked while participating in the porn industry. By some estimates, two million women and girls are held in sexual slavery at any given time.

It’s part of the reason why Fradd is donating all of the proceeds of The Porn Myth to Children of the Immaculate Heart, a non-profit corporation operating in San Diego, Calif, whose mission is to serve survivors of human trafficking.

Pornography use in marriage is one way that porn harms relationships. According to Fradd’s research, a survey of 350 divorce lawyers reported in 2003 that pornography was at least part of the problem in half of all divorce cases they saw.

Another commonly believed myth is that marriage will solve a porn addiction, which shows a misunderstanding of the psychology of addiction in the first place, Fradd explains.

But pornography can also damage the relationships of a single person looking for love.

A 2011 TED talk by psychologist Philip Zimbardo said that studies showed a “widespread fear of intimacy and social awkwardness among men,” and an inability to engage in face-to-face conversations with women, Fradd wrote.  

“Why? Zimbardo says this is caused by disproportionate Internet use in general and excessive new access to pornography in particular. ‘Boys’ brains are being digitally rewired in a totally new way, for change, novelty, excitement.’”

And Zimbardo is not alone in his observations. As Fradd notes, neuroscientist William Struthers wrote in 2009 that “With repeated sexual acting out in the absence of a partner, a man will be bound and attached to the image and not a person.”

In other words, men can start preferring pixels to people.

“People find themselves viewing more and more disturbing pornography, and the reason for this is because of a decrease in dopamine in the brain, which happens because of the addiction one has, and they end up seeking out more graphic, violent forms of pornography just to boost the dopamine enough to feel normal,” Fradd said.

“People don’t wake up when they’re 30 and decide to look at child porn or feces porn or something disgusting like that. These are big things that people spiral into, and the industry has to keep pushing the envelope because it’s addictive,” he added.

While the statistics of pornography can be disturbing and depressing, Fradd stressed that there was still hope. He devotes several chapters in the book to protecting children from pornography, dealing with pornography in marriage, and getting help for those addicted to pornography.

Fradd himself has spent years in ministry to those with pornography addictions, and helps run the site Integrity Restored, which offers numerous resources to help those struggling with addictions and those in ministry to them.

Full story at Christian Newswire.