Health Strand 3, Day 1

Vocabulary: 

• Addiction:  Not having control over doing, taking or using something to the point where it could be harmful to you. 

• Pornography: material specifically designed to arouse sexual feelings in people by depicting nudity, sexual behavior, or any type of sexual information. 

• Sex Trafficking: trading sex acts for anything of value is including: food, money, drugs, alcohol, gifts, or place to stay.

Facts on Pornography:

• https://schools.utah.gov/file/8098342a-4d4b-48d2-b96f-108a47116729

• https://www.phoenix.gov/district2site/Documents/Teen%20SEX%20Trafficking%20Brochure.pdf

Why is pornography especially harmful to children and teens?

• A 2014 study found that increased pornography use is linked to decreased brain matter, which results in decreased motivation and decision-making skills, impaired impulse control, and desensitization to sexual reward. 

• Research shows that a child or teen’s exposure to violent pornography or excessive exposure to pornography can impair a changing child’s brain, social interactions, and emotional skills well into their mid-20’s

• For teens, the risk of addiction is especially high because a teen’s reward center in the brain responds two to four times more powerfully than an adult’s brain and releases higher levels of dopamine. 

• Women report lower body image as a result of viewing pornography.

• The Department of Justice and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children both recognize that pornography is an element that adds to the serious problem of sex trafficking.

Real life stories: www.brainheartworld.org/watch/the-brain/