One in 20 people are addicted to porn but society still ‘doesn't’ talk about it,’ a leading specialist has claimed. 

Dr Paula Hall from the Pivotal Recovery Course said while there are “many millions of people” who use porn without experiencing any issues, a significant minority of people develop a serious problem with it. 

On Newstalk Breakfast, Dr Hall outlined the symptoms of pornography addiction. 

“If you find you’re looking at porn when you should be at work, when you should maybe be getting the kids ready for school or when you could be having sex with your partner,” she said. 

“[If] it’s getting in the way of everything else, you try to stop but in spite of all those negative consequences you still can’t stop, I think at the end of the day, you know if you’ve got a problem.”

Shame

Dr Hall said some people feel “shame” about their pornography addiction because of how porn is negatively viewed by some sections of society. 

However, in her own experience, she feels most people who feel “shame” do so because of their dependency on porn. 

“[It’s] the fact that they actually curbed down on going out with friends because they’d rather stay at home and look at porn,” she said. 

“Or they decided that they weren’t going to go to the kids’ school play because the house will be empty and they can jump online again.”

Treatment

Dr Hall said pornography addiction is much less understood than other addictions - such as alcoholism - and this had hindered the development of services for people who are in need. 

“From an academic perspective, there are still arguments over, ‘Is this really an addiction or an impulse control disorder?’” she said. 

“So, it makes it very difficult for Governments to… do stuff on providing the necessary services when actually the academic system is still trying to exactly understand and precisely pinpoint how it happens.  

“Frankly, it frustrates and annoys me because meanwhile there are many people, they reckon 4.6% of the population, struggling with this problem and we’re still not providing help. 

“We’re not providing education either and I think that is the critical bit for the young people in the world today that are being brought up with smartphones.” 

A recent study by the ERSI found that 64% of young men in Ireland use online pornography, while among young women the figure is 13%.

Main image: An iPad.