“Get The Facts.”
If you’ve seen these billboards around your town, you might be wondering what “get the facts” means, and who Fight the New Drug is. Allow us to explain.
Decades of studies from respected institutions have demonstrated significant impacts of porn consumption on individuals, relationships, and society. As porn becomes increasingly normalized, education on its well-documented harms becomes increasingly important. This grassroots movement was founded in 2009 by four passionate college students ready to change the conversation about pornography.
Fight the New Drug (FTND) is a non-religious and non-legislative nonprofit that exists to provide individuals the opportunity to make an informed decision regarding pornography by raising awareness on its harmful effects using only science, facts, and personal accounts.
Think of it this way: most people are exposed to porn at an early age before they’ve been educated on the decades of science and research demonstrating porn’s harms on consumers, relationships, and society. We exist to educate individuals on the harms of porn, so they can make an educated decision on whether they’d like to consume it or not.
Get The Facts
When we say “get the facts,” we’re literally encouraging you to educate yourself on the science, research, and true stories demonstrating porn’s harms so you can make an educated decision for yourself. Today’s porn has become so mainstream and accessible that you have to do more these days to avoid porn rather than seek it out. In fact, in a 2020 study, roughly 91.5% of men and 60.2% of women reported consuming porn in the past month.Solano, I., Eaton, N. R., & O'Leary, K. D. (2020). Pornography Consumption, Modality and Function in a Large Internet Sample. Journal of sex research, 57(1), 92–103. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2Copy
By educating yourself on how porn can negatively impact individuals, relationships, and society, you’ll be more empowered to make an educated decision on whether you want to quit watching porn or stop supporting the porn industry for yourself, your loved ones, and the world around you.
Can consuming porn become an escalating behavior?
Because of desensitization, many porn consumers find that they have to consume more porn, consume more often, or consume more extreme forms of porn in order to get the same response they once did.
In fact, according to one 2016 study, 46.9% of respondents reported that, over time, they began watching pornography that had previously disinterested or even disgusted them.Banca, P., Morris, L. S., Mitchell, S., Harrison, N. A., Potenza, M. N., & Voon, V. (2016). Novelty, conditioning and attentional bias to sexual rewards. Journal of psychiatric research, 72, 91–101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2015.10.017Copy Wéry, A., & Billieux, J. (2016). Online sexual activities: An exploratory study of problematic and non-problematic usage patterns in a sample of men. Computers in Human Behavior, 56, 257-266. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.11.046Copy
Why is porn so difficult to quit?
While the brain’s reward center is largely responsible for “wanting” or “desire,” it’s our prefrontal cortex that is largely responsible for putting the brakes on those wants when needed.
But with compulsive behavior or addiction, the prefrontal cortex’s “braking system” starts to wear out, impairing healthy decision-making and self-control.
Research confirms that this can happen with porn consumption, too.Kühn, S., & Gallinat, J. (2014). Brain structure and functional connectivity associated with pornography consumption: the brain on porn. JAMA psychiatry, 71(7), 827–834. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2014.93Copy Negash, S., Sheppard, N. V., Lambert, N. M., & Fincham, F. D. (2016). Trading Later Rewards for Current Pleasure: Pornography Consumption and Delay Discounting. Journal of sex research, 53(6), 689–700. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2015.1025123Copy
How does porn affect your sex life?
While some people turn to porn to “spice up their sex life,” research indicates that compulsive pornography consumption is associated with sexual dysfunction for both men and women.
It’s also associated with difficulty reaching orgasm, problems with arousal and sexual performance, and decreased sexual satisfaction.Bőthe, B., Tóth-Király, I., Griffiths, M. D., Potenza, M. N., Orosz, G., & Demetrovics, Z. (2021). Are sexual functioning problems associated with frequent pornography use and/or problematic pornography use? results from a large community survey including males and females. Addictive Behaviors, 112, 106603. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106603Copy Sun, C., Bridges, A., Johnson, J. A., & Ezzell, M. B. (2016). Pornography and the male sexual script: An analysis of consumption and sexual relations. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 45(4), 983-994. doi:10.1007/s10508-014-0391-2Copy Szymanski, D. M., & Stewart-Richardson, D. N. (2014). Psychological, Relational, and Sexual Correlates of Pornography Use on Young Adult Heterosexual Men in Romantic Relationships. The Journal of Men’s Studies, 22(1), 64–82. https://doi.org/10.3149/jms.2201.64Copy
How does porn impact relationships?
According to a study that tracked couples over a six-year period, porn consumption was the second strongest indicator that a marriage would suffer.
In fact, the relationships that were harmed the most were those of individuals who viewed porn the most.Perry S. L. (2017). Does Viewing Pornography Reduce Marital Quality Over Time? Evidence from Longitudinal Data. Archives of sexual behavior, 46(2), 549–559. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-016-0770-yCopy
Does porn promote sexual violence?
It’s estimated that as few as 1 in 3 and as many as 9 in 10 porn videos show acts of physical aggression or violence.Fritz, N., Malic, V., Paul, B., & Zhou, Y. (2020). A Descriptive Analysis of the Types, Targets, and Relative Frequency of Aggression in Mainstream Pornography. Archives of sexual behavior, 49(8), 3041–3053. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-020-01773-0Copy Bridges, A. J., Wosnitzer, R., Scharrer, E., Sun, C., & Liberman, R. (2010). Aggression and sexual behavior in best-selling pornography videos: a content analysis update. Violence against women, 16(10), 1065–1085. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801210382866Copy
In fact, research indicates that porn consumers are more likely to sexually objectify others,Mikorski, R., & Szymanski, D. M. (2017). Masculine norms, peer group, pornography, Facebook, and men’s sexual objectification of women. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 18(4), 257–267. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000058Copy more likely to express an intent to rape,Foubert, J. D., Brosi, M. W., & Bannon, R. S. (2011). Pornography viewing among fraternity men: Effects on bystander intervention, rape myth acceptance and behavioral intent to commit sexual assault. Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity, 18(4), 212–231. https://doi.org/10.1080/10720162.2011.625552Copy and more likely to commit actual acts of sexual violence.Wright, P. J., Tokunaga, R. S., & Kraus, A. (2016). A meta-analysis of pornography consumption and actual acts of sexual aggression in general population studies. Journal of Communication, 66(1), 183-205. doi:10.1111/jcom.12201Copy
How does porn fuel sex trafficking?
Sex trafficking shares a variety of symbiotic connections to pornography. Even in the production of mainstream porn, sex trafficking can still occur—and it happens more often than most people think.
Of the domestic minor trafficking victims who had been forced into porn production, the average age they began being filmed was 12.8 years old.Bouché, V. (2018). Survivor insights: The role of technology in domestic minor sex trafficking. Thorn. Retrieved from https://www.thorn.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Thorn_Survivor_Insights_090519.pdfCopy
Learn more in our Get the Facts articles
From relationship quality to sex trafficking, our Get the Facts articles cover a variety of topics related to how porn can affect individuals, relationships, and society—all according to the research.
Help build a healthier world by helping others make a more informed decision about porn!
Fight the New Drug is an educational and awareness-raising organization.
Since 2009, we have existed with the purpose of providing individuals the opportunity to make an informed decision regarding pornography by raising awareness on its harmful effects using only science, facts, and personal accounts.
We do this not by conducting our own research but by aggregating and giving a platform to the existing quality science and research that exists. We share this research online via social media, and our team presents this research in schools and youth forums around the world to educate individuals about the harmful effects of porn.
A great place to start diving into the available information is by reading our Get the Facts articles, listening to our Consider Before Consuming podcast, checking out our constantly-updated blog, and visiting TruthAboutPorn.org where we catalog the latest peer-reviewed research that illustrates porn’s harmful nature. You can also watch our documentary series, Brain, Heart, World, for free to learn more about how porn impacts individuals, relationships, and society.
How to get involved
First, educate yourself! The best way to educate others on the harms of porn is to become educated yourself! We have tons of free educational resources to help ramp up your knowledge of this issue, including our Get The Facts articles, Consider Before Consuming podcast, or Truth About Porn research database.
Educate your community! If you’re looking for a way to help raise awareness on the harms of porn in your community, consider hosting a live presentation by Fight the New Drug! We’ll send one of our certified presenters to your school, company, or community event so they can present the harms of porn in an engaging and age-appropriate live event. As an organization, we’ve held thousands of live events, with over 1 million audience members, in various places across the globe. Learn more by requesting more information here.
Not quite ready to book a presentation? You can still host a live event to educate your community on the harms of porn by hosting a screening of our documentary, Brain, Heart, World. This documentary features science, research, and personal stories demonstrating the harms of porn, but in a light-hearted, educational, and entertaining way. You can purchase a public screening license available for 30 days, 1 year, or lifetime access. Learn more about our public screening licenses here.
If you’re looking for more ideas on how to get involved in this global grassroots movement, we invite you to explore our resources or find more ideas in this article.
Support the movement
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, we rely on generous donations from our supporters to mobilize this movement! Throughout the years, and through the support of our Fighters, we’ve been able to educate countless individuals on the harms of pornography and sexual exploitation with our educational resources!
When you donate to Fight the New Drug, your donation goes directly toward helping us create free educational resources that help individuals make an educated decision regarding pornography.
