Pornified Content on Social Media

Exploring the Impact on Brazilian Addicts

Authors

  • Débora Martini University of Colorado Boulder
  • Harsha Gangadharbatla University of Colorado Boulder

Keywords:

social media, communication, pornography

Abstract

Research shows that the role of social media in our society is complex. While there are positives such as networking for professional and social opportunities, social support, connecting with friends and family, and fulfilling our need to belong, there are also several potential negative effects of social media use such as cyberbullying, increased anxiety, low self-esteem, breach of privacy, mental health issues, and low grades and motivations among students to name a few. One potential negative impact is the role of pornified content on social media in serving as a trigger for people on the road to porn abstinence. Porn addiction and its various triggers have been studied extensively in several fields but the role of pornified content on social media is yet to be fully studied or understood. The current exploratory study uses a survey method to investigate the role of pornified content on social media in serving as a trigger for porn addiction among Brazilian porn addicts. Results suggest that some social media content is seen as a trigger by self-identified porn addicts, and the factors that influence such perceptions include age of the addict, gender, and the number of times they have relapsed. And changes in behavior on social media are influenced by individuals’ perceptions of social media content as a trigger.

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Published

2023-05-31

Issue

Vol. 12 No. 1 (2023): Journal of Social Media in Society

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