The Internet is profoundly transforming our culture and our world in ways similar to the introduction of the telephone 100 years ago. In addition to its function as a source of information, the Internet is leading a revolution in the delivery of sex and sexual content. It is currently believed that cybersex is growing at an astronomical rate in the US because it is easily accessed, anonymous, and affordable (e.g., "the Triple A Engine of the Internet").¹ You can obtain and view it in the privacy of your own home without the shame and embarrassment of slinking into a sleazy bookstore or movie house and risking possible exposure. Consider some of the mind-boggling statistics related to Internet pornography:²

• 60 percent of all visits on the Internet involve a sexual purpose making it the number one topic researched on-line.
• Approximately 40 million people in the US are sexually involved with the Internet.
• 25 percent of all search engine requests are porn-related.
• 8%, or 2.5 billion, of all daily e-mails are pornographic.
• 12% of all websites are pornographic.
• 100,000 websites offer illegal child pornography.
• 90% of 8-16 year olds have viewed porn on-line (most while doing homework).
• Average age of first Internet exposure to pornography is 11 years old.
• Largest consumer of Internet pornography is the 12-17 age group.
• 20% of men admit to accessing pornography at work.
• 13% of women confess to accessing pornography at work.
• 70% of all internet porn traffic occurs during the 9-5 workday.
• 8-10% of male Internet users are hooked on cybersex.
• 3% of female Internet users are hooked on cybersex.

What is cybersex? These days cybersex activities include not only viewing and/or downloading pornography while masturbating, but also reading and writing explicit letters and stories, e-mailing to set up personal meetings with someone for sex, placing ads to meet sexual partners, visiting sexually oriented chat rooms, and engaging in interactive on-line affairs which include real-time viewing of each other using electronic cameras hooked up to the computer.³ Many people allow themselves to engage in sexual behaviors on-line that they would never think of doing in the real world.

Why does the church need to be concerned about Internet pornography? We need to be concerned because we are not immune to this ravaging addiction. A recent survey of attendees at Promise Keepers events revealed that two out of three men are or had been involved with Internet pornography.⁴ Christianity Today reported that a survey of Christian pastors disclosed that one out of three were involved in on-line pornography.⁵ Cybersex is the secret sin of the church that is responsible for the wholesale destruction of countless lives and homes in America. Learning that your husband is involved with pornography or some other kind of sexual sin is devastating. It rocks the foundation of a marriage. It shatters trust. It generates a host of painful feelings such as shock, anger, fear, and sadness.

The New York Times⁶ recently told the story of a 34 year-old woman who discovered that her husband, a minister, had an on-line porn. In the article she bitterly complained, "How can I compete with hundreds of anonymous others who are now in our bed, in his head? Our bed is crowded with countless, faceless strangers where once we were intimate." An October 2003 survey done by Focus on the Family Christian revealed that 48% percent of the families surveyed said that pornography is a problem in their home.⁷ One man in counseling confessed that his addiction to pornography nearly destroyed his wife and daughter. Both women suffered from eating disorders and had suicidal tendencies because of his rejection. Every afternoon as he returned from work he feared finding his wife on the floor with her wrists slit because of her feelings of inadequacy. In the counseling process his daughter tearfully shared her struggle with inferiority. She saw how her father totally rejected her mom, a beautiful woman, and feared never finding a man who would love her and tell her that she was beautiful. The two women that the man loved the most suffered greatly because their husband and father rejected them to fulfill his lust for cyberporn.⁸

The New York Times⁹ also reported that children suffer from watching their parents fight about Internet pornography, particularly if the fighting leads to divorce. The article went on to say that "even if the marriage survives, children may lack adequate parental attention when one parent is preoccupied with sex on the computer and the other is preoccupied with the cybersex addict."

1. Cooper, A., Delmonico, D., & Burg, R. (2000). Cybersex users, abusers, and compulsives: New findings and implications. Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity, 7, 5-29.
2. Current Statistics: Pornography 2004. National Coalition for the Protection of Children and Families. www.nationalcoalition.org, 2004.
3. Schneider, J., Weiss, R., (2004). Understanding Addictive Cybersex. www.cybersexualaddiction.com.
4. Current Statistics: Pornography 2004. National Coalition for the Protection of Children and families. www.nationalcoalition.org, 2004.
5. Ibid.
6. Brody, J., "Cybersex Gives Birth to a Psychological Disorder," New York Times, May 1, 2000, p.1, Health and Fitness.
7. Internet Pornography Statistics (2004). Internet Filter Review. www.internetfilterreview.com
8. Hosley, R., Watters, S., Dangers and Disappointments of Pornography (2004) www.pureintimacy.org
9. Brody, May 16, 2000, p. 1.