February 07, 2016
A health committee in the Utah Senate has endorsed a resolution declaring that pornography is a public health crisis, the Associated Press reported.
Republican Todd Weiler, a Mormon, introduced the resolution out of concern over the rising presence of porn in society. He says that children are more easily exposed to porn at a young age because of technology, and that this in turn leads to risky sexual behavior and a rise in pornography addiction.
"It's not just a kooky thing that some, you know, politician from Mormon Utah came up with," Weiler told the Associated Press. "When I was a kid, people might sneak a Playboy magazine and look at it. Now, you've got all kinds of horrible, graphic images that are available to anyone with an Internet connection one or two clicks away."
A 2012 study from the University of Sydney found that 43 percent of pornography addicts surveyed started between the ages of 11 and 13, and 47 percent of those adults spend 30 minutes to three hours watching porn every day.
Legislators have not suggested banning pornography; the resolution is intended to raise awareness. Some have suggested developing a 12-step program for porn addicts, or encouraging the federal government to require Internet providers to make pornography available only if subscribers opt in.
The Mormon church runs a website called overcomingpornography.org to help people who are struggling with porn addiction.
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