Pornography And The Internet
Analysts from Forrester Research say that sex sites on the Web generate at least $1 billion a year in revenue
– 55% of employees report having received sexually explicit or otherwise improper emails at work
– 70 percent of traffic on porn sites occurs between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
-Of the 3 million unique users under seventeen that visited adult sites in September of 2000, 21.2% of them were under the age of 14.
– Federal online child pornography cases jumped from 127 in 1995 to 510 in 1999.
– 60% of American children admit seeing “adult pictures” on the Internet In the last year.
– There were 27.5 million U.S. visitors to adult- oriented pornographic Web sites in January 2002.
– There are an estimated 500,000 websites containing pornography.
– U.S. Customs estimates that 20% of the porn sites online involve children.
– Generates approximately $1 billion annually with growth projections to $5-7 billion over the next 5 years, barring unforeseen change (NRC Report 2002)
– 74% of adult commercial sites display free teaser porn images on homepage (Child-proofing on the World Wide Web: A survey of adult web servers 2001,(NRC Report 2002)
– 345% increase in child pornography sites between 2-2001- 7/2001 (N2H2, 8/01)
– 60% of all website visits are sexual in nature (MSNBC Survey 2000)
– 25 million Americans visit cyber sex sites between 1-10 hours per week (MSNBC Survey 2000)
– The U.S. Customs Service estimates that there are more than 100,000 websites offering child pornography – which is illegal, worldwide (Red Herring Magazine, 1/18/02)
– 9 in 10 kids 8-16 yrs. have viewed porn online, mostly accidentally while doing homework (UK News Telegraph, NOP Research Group, 1/07/02)
– Study of 4 million children aged 7-17 who surf the net, 29% would freely give out their home address and 14% would freely give out their email address if asked (NOP Research Group, 2002)
– Adult industry says some traffic is 20-30% children (NRC Report, 2002)
ONLINE SEXUAL PREDATORS
– 89% of sexual solicitations of youth were made in either chat rooms or Instant Messages (Pew Study reported in ]AMA, 2001)
– 1 in 5 youths received sexual solicitation or approach in last year (NCMEC,2000)
– Teens use the Internet an average of 8.5 hours per week for chatting and emailing, compared to 1.8 hours spent using it for school work.
– An estimated 18.8 million kids under 18- years-old have access to home computers.
– Playboy’s web site, which offers free teaser shots of its Playmates, averages 5 million hits per day.
– In August, 1997, there were 92,000 sexually explicit sites on the Internet and an estimated 266 new porn sites every day.
– “Adult” entertainment is estimated to be the largest sector of sales on the Internet.
– The vast majority of Americans (94%) believe a ban on Internet pornography should be legal.
– UNICEF estimates that one million children are forced into prostitution or used to produce pornography each year. Many are handed over (or sold) by their families driven by the extremes of poverty …. The Internet also has given dealers in child pornography a far bigger audience–and anonymity.
– We currently have no legal means to protect children from sexually explicit material on the Internet. The door has been flung open wide for pornographers and sexual predators.
– It is estimated that 1 in 5 Internet users under 17 are logging onto sexually explicit sites.
– “In fiscal year 1998, the FBI opened up roughly 700 cases dealing with online pedophilia, most of them for posting child pornography, and about a quarter dealing with online predators trying to get children under 18 to meet with them. By 2000 that figure had quadrupled to 2,856 cases.” Source: “The Web’s Dark Secret” Newsweek. 3/19/01
Is your work or church computer safe?
– Dotadult.co.uk, which provides a search engine that finds sex related sites, found that 40% of all searches were conducted from the office.
– SurfControl PLC estimate that 2-4% of employees use the Internet to look at pornography.
– Around 3.8 million British home users logged onto an adult site in June 2001.
– Adult content sites are the fourth most visited category while at work.
– 70% of all adult Internet traffic occurs during the 9-to-5 working day.
Why is pornography such an addictive demon?
“A recent study by researchers at Stanford and Duquesne universities claims at least 200,000 Americans are hopelessly addicted to E-porn.” Source: Koerner, Brendan I. “A lust for profits.” U.S. News online. http://www.usnew.com/usnews/issue/000327/eporn.ht m. 3/27/00
Pornography stimulates the pleasure center in the brain. But after a while, more pornography is needed to produce the same effect. The addictive cycle is started. Then, there is an increase in intensity in the addiction so that the individual needs harder material to get the same affect, moving on to the accepting of repulsive behaviour (desensitization) and the ultimate acting out of images seen in pornography. Freedom from recognized addictions like alcohol and drugs can take time and pornography use is no different. If a pastor has counselled very many people at all, he would know that sexual addictions are just as much a problem to deal with as drugs or alcohol.
You may have been thinking that sort of thing wouldn’t be happening in your congregation. If you stop and think about all the computers your congregation come into contact with at home, work, school and university, it is very likely that there will be one or two struggling with temptation and others who may be facing much more serious problems with it right now.
If someone in your congregation has told you they have been looking at pornography on the Internet what has your reaction been? Shocked? Unsurprised?
The Internet is an exciting new technology full of potential for good and overflowing with information that educates and informs. But like most things, it can have a negative influence too. Church leaders need to part of the solution to these influences by giving practical positive advice to encourage wise and righteous decisions and to prevent our families from being exploited by pornography.
Child Pornography and the Internet.
– Child Pornography was pretty much eradicated in the 1980s. With the advent of the Internet, it exploded. – Kevin Delli-Colli, head of the CyberSmuggling Center, Newsweek: The Web’s Dark Secret. March 19, 2001
– Of the 3 million unique users under seventeen that visited adult sites In September of 2000, 21.2% of them were under the age of 14. – eStatNews, 1/9/01
– More than half of teenagers have visited Internet sites containing pornography, offensive music lyrics, gambling or messages of violence or hate. – Study of 501 youths by Yankelovich Partners, Newsday, 9/7/99
– Federal online child pornography cases jumped from 127 in 1995 to 510 in 1999 – The Cincinnati Enquirer, 5/24/00 .
– In 1998 the FBI opened up 700 cases dealing with online pedophilia, most for posting child pornography. By 2000 that figure quadrupled to 2,856 cases. – The Web’s Dark Secret. Newsweek: March 19, 2001
– It is estimated that 200,000 Americans are addicted to pornography on the Internet. – Study by Stanford and Duquesne Universities, U.S. News and World Report, 3/27/00
– NetValue says that there were 3 million unique visitors to adult sites in September 2000. – eStatNews, 1/9/01
– Analysts from Forrester Research say that sex sites on the Web generate at least $1 billion a year in revenue. – Wall Street Meets Pornography, New York Times- October 23,2000
– One third of parents in households with Internet access said they used filtering or blocking software. – National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Crimes Against Children Research Center and Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. 6/00
– It is estimated that 15.3 million teenagers age 13-17 will actively use the Internet by 2002. – CyberAtlas: Internet Statistics and Market Research for Web Marketers, 9/22/99
– The U.S. Customs Service estimates that there are more than 100,000 Web sites offering child pornography – which is illegal worldwide. Revenue estimates for the industry range from about $200 million to more than $1 billion per year. These unlawful sexual images can be purchased as easily as shopping at Amazon.com. “Subscribers” typically use credit cards to pay a monthly fee of between $30 and $50 to download photos and videos, or a one-time fee of a few dollars for single images. (Red Herring Magazine, 1/18/02)
– 345% increase in child pornography sites between 2/2001-7/2001. (N2H2 press release, 8/01)
– N2H2 reported 403 child porn sites, or 67 per month, for the six months of April to September 2000. Child porn sites rose dramatically for the six months of February to July 2001 to 1,391 or 231 per month. That’s an increase of 345% at the rate of about 8 per day. (N2H2 Filtering Service Press Release, 8/8/01)
– 50 percent of those questioned for the Pew Internet and American Life survey ranked child pornography as the Internet crime that concerns them most. (The Pew Internet and American Life Project Survey conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates, 4/2/01)
Child Exploitation Online
– “In fiscal year 1998, the FBI opened up roughly 700 cases dealing with online pedophilia, most of them for posting child pornography, and about a quarter dealing with online predators trying to get children under 18 to meet with them. By 2000 that figure had quadrupled to 2,856 cases.” Source: “The Web’s Dark Secret” Newsweek. 3/19/01
Child Sexual Abuse
– An estimated 325,000 U.S. children age 17 or younger are prostitutes, performers in pornographic videos or have otherwise fallen victim to “commercial sexual exploitation,” University of Pennsylvania researchers will report today.
– Their 3-year, $400,000 study is based on research in 17 cities. The work includes interviews with 200 child victims, most already in the legal system, and more than 800 state, federal and local officials. Experts on juvenile law say it is that deepest investigation yet into the extent of the problem. There are 72 million children age 17 or younger in the USA… Source: Memmott, Mark. “Sex Trade may lure 325,000 U.S. Kids; Report: Abused children, runaways typical victims.” USA TODAY. 9/10/01
Cybersex/Online Advances and Kids
– According to NetValue, children spent 64.9 percent more time on pornography sites than they did on game sites in September 2000. Over one quarter (27.5%) of children age 17 and under visited an adult web site, which represents 3 million unique underage visitors. Of these minors, 21.2 percent were 14 or younger and 40.2 percent were female. Source: “The NetValue Report on Minors Online…” Business Wire. (taken from study by NetValue, Internet activity measurement service) December 19,2000.
– Based on interviews with a nationally representative sample of 1,501 youth ages 10 to 17 who use the Internet regularly, approximately one in five received a sexual solicitation or approach over the Internet in the last year. One in thirty-three received an aggressive sexual solicitation- a solicitor who asked to meet them somewhere; called them on the telephone; sent them regular mail, money or gifts. One in four had an unwanted exposure to pictures of naked people or people having sex in the last year.
Source: “Report Statistical Highlights.” from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Crimes Against Children Research Center and Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. 6/00
Internet Pornography
– There were 27.5 million U.S. visitors to adult- oriented pornographic Web sites in January 2002, says Christine Chan of Nielsen//NetRatings, the Internet audience measurement service. About 72% of visitors were men, 28% women, Chan says.
– American consumers spent an estimated $220 million at such fee-based “adult” sites in 2001, according to Jupiter Media Metrix, a New York Internet research firm. That was up from $148 million In 1999. Jupiter is projecting $320 million by 2005.
Source: Elias, Marilyn. “Cybersex follows Mars, Venus patterns.” USA Today. 2/26/02
– A comprehensive two-year study by Alexa Research, a leading web Intelligence and traffic measurement service, has revealed… “sex” was the most popular term for which people searched. Of all the terms searched for online, 0.3289% – or roughly 1 of every 300 terms, were “sex.” According to their online searching habits, people want “sex” more than they want “games,” “music,” “travel,” “jokes,” “cars,” “jobs,” “weather” and “health” combined. “Porn” (along with “porno” and “pornography”) was the 4th most popular search term. “Nude” (and “nudes”), “xxx,” “Playboy” and “erotic stories” (and “erotica”) were also among the top 20. The most popular celebrities searched for were Britney Spears, Pamela Anderson, Backstreet Boys, Jennifer Lopez and Eminem. Pokemon was the most popular specific toy or game searched. Playboy was the most popular media property.
Source: “Alexa Research Finds ‘Sex’ Popular on the Web…” Business Wire. 02/14/2001
– “The Industry Standard reports that 70% of porn traffic occurs between 9 and 5, and people in the Eastern time zone account for the largest number of porn-site hits-30.3%.”
Source: Retzlaff, Eric. “Pornography’s Grip Tightens by Way of Internet.” National Catholic Register. 6/13-6/19/00
– “A nationwide survey of 1,031 adults conducted by Zogby International and Focus on the Family March 8-10, 2000, found that 20 percent of the respondents – which represents as many as 40 million adults – admitted visiting a sexually-oriented web site. Thirty-seven percent of males between the ages of 18-24 admitted they had visited sex sites. Almost 18 percent of those who identified themselves as Christians and 18 percent of married men also admitted viewing these sites. According to the Nielsen Net ratings, 17.5 million surfers visited porn sites from their homes in January; a 40 percent increase compared with Sepyember of 1999.” Source: “Zogby/Focus Survey Reveals Shocking Internet Sex Statistics.” Legal Facts: Family Research Council. Vol. 2. No. 20. 3/30/00
– Cyberporn sales-including videos and accessories ordered online-accounted for 8% of 1999’s $18 billion E-commerce pie. (U.S. News & World Report, 3/27/2000)
– There are now at least 40,000 porn sites on the World Wide Web and probably thousands more. No one has been able to count them all. (U.S. News & World Report, 3/27/2000)
– According to Nielson NetRatings, 17.5 million surfers visited porn sites from their homes in January, a 40% increase compared with 4 months earlier. (U.S. News & World Report, 3/27/2000)
– Web surfers spent $970 million on access to adult-content sites in 1998 and is expected to rise to more than $3 billion by 2003, according to the research firm Datamonitor. (U.S. News & World Report, 3/27/2000)
– Sex is the #1 searched for topic on the Internet. (Dr. Robert Weiss, Sexual Recovery Institute, Washington Times 1/26/2000)
– 60% of all web-site visits are sexual in nature. (MSNBC/Standford/Duquesne Study, Washington Times, 1/26/2000)
– 58% of the public surveyed believed that “the government should be able to restrict the posting of sexually explicit materials on the Internet, even though those same materials can be legally published in books and magazines.” (State of the First Amendment Study, First Amendment Center, Freedom Forum, 2000)
– Online pornography is the first consistently successful e-commerce product. (C-Net; 4/28/1999)
– 30% of all unsolicited emails contain pornographic Information. (Choose Your Mail.com study, October 1999)
ONLINE SEXUAL PREDATORS
One in five children who use computer chatrooms has been approached over the Internet by pedophiles. (Detective Chief Superintendent Keith Akerman, Telegraph.co.uk January 2002 )
– 89% of sexual solicitations were made in either chat rooms or Instant
Messages. (Pew Study reported in JAMA, 2001)
– 13 million youth use Instant Messaging. (Pew Study reported in JAMA, 6/01)
– 1 in 5 received sexual solicitation or approach in last year. (Online
Victimization, NCMEC, June 2000)
– 1 in 33 received AGGRESSIVE sexual solicitation (asked to meet, called them via phone, sent mail, money or gifts). Online Victimization, NCMEC, June 2000)
– 25% of youth who received sexual solicitation told a parent. (Online Victimization, NCMEC, June 2000)
– 1 In 4 kids participate in Real Time Chat. (FamilyPC Survey, 2000)
YOUTH
– A study by the NOP Research Group found that of the four million children aged seven to 17 who surf the net, 29% percent would freely give out their home address and 14% would freely give out their e- mail address if asked. (Telegraph.co.uk January 2002)
– Nine out of 10 children aged between eight and 16 have viewed pornography on the Internet. In most cases, the sex sites were accessed unintentionally when a child, often in the process of doing homework, used a seemingly innocent sounding word to search for information or pictures. (London School of Economics January 2002)
– The Kaiser Family Foundation’s study on teens’ use of the Internet for health information has some shocking findings:
– Pornography and Internet Filtering Among all 15- 24 year-olds:
– Two-thirds (67%) support the law requiring Internet filters at schools and libraries.
– Two out of three (65%) say being exposed to online pornography could have a serious impact on those under 18.
– A majority (59%) think seeing pornography on the Internet encourages
young people to have sex before they’re ready.
– Among the 95% of all 15-17 year-olds who have ever gone online:
– Seventy percent have accidentally stumbled across pornography online, 23% “very” or “somewhat” often.
– A majority (55%) of those who were exposed to pornography say they were “not too” or “not at all” upset by it, while 45% were “very” or “somewhat” upset.
– A third (33%) of those with home Internet access have a filtering technology in place there. Among the 76% of all 15-17 year-olds who have sought health information online:
– Nearly half (46%) say they have been blocked from non-pornographic sites by filtering technology.
– The entire study is online at
http://www.kff.org/content/2001/20011211a/Generatio nRx.pdf (The Kaiser Family Foundation, 2001)
– About 2 out of 3 (63%) 15- to 17- year olds say they favor the Children’s Internet Protection Act. (The Kaiser Family Foundation in consultation with International Communications Research, 2001)
– The survey found that 90% of teens and young adults have gone online, and that half (49%) of those online plug in once a day or more. Three out of four young people (74%) have access at home, and nearly one in three (31%) has access from their own bedroom. (The Kaiser Family Foundation in consultation with International Communications Research, 2001)
– Parents rely mostly on personal observation and setting guidelines for their children’s Internet access. One in two parents do not use any blocking or filtering software. (FamilyPC Survey, August, 2001)
– 34% of adults (in July 2000) who have children participating in “real-time” chats were most likely to use technology to monitor where my children chat. (FamilyPC Survey, August, 2001)
– 26 popular children’s characters, such as Pokemon, My Little Pony and Action Man, revealed thousands of links to porn sites. 30% were hard-core. (Envisional 2000)
– Students were most at risk for cybersex compulsions due to a combination of increased access to computers, more private leisure time, & developmental stage characterized by increased sexual awareness & experimentation. Both computer classes & colleges might need to recognize this increased vulnerability and institute new primary prevention strategies. (MSNBC/Stanford/Duquesne Study, 2000)
– Children are reported missing at the rate of 750,000 per year, 62,500 per month, 14,423, per week, 2,054 per day, and 85 per hour or 3 children every 2 minutes. (NCMEC Online Victimization: A report on the nation’s Youth April 3, 2000)
– 44 percent of children polled have visited x- rated sites or sites with sexual content. Moreover, 43 percent of children said they do not have rules about Internet use In their homes. (Time/CNN Poll, 2000)
– 11/98 – 11-year-old Josh had been looking at graphic violent porn on the Internet for 20 minutes immediately before stabbing 8-year-old Maddie Clifton to death. (Dangerous Access, 2000)
– While 75% of parents say they know where children spend time online, the truth about kids’ Internet habits show 58% of teens say they have accessed an objectionable Web site: 39 % offensive music, 25% sexual content and 20% violence. (Source: WebSense, USA Today, 10/10-12/99)
– Pornographers disguise their sites (i.e. “stealth” sites) with common brand names, including Disney, Barbie, ESPN, etc., to entrap children. (Cyveillance Study, March 1999)
– 62% of parents of teenagers are unaware that their children have accessed objectionable Websites (Source: Yankelovich Partners Study, September 1999)
– The majority of teenagers’ online use occurs at home, right after school, when working parents are not at home. (Arbitron New Media Study, October 1999)
Adult internet addiction
– 25 million Americans visit cyber-sex sites between 1-10 hours per week. Another 4.7 million in excess of 11 hours per week. (MSNBC/Stanford/Duquesne Study, Washington Times, 1/26/2000)
– At least 200,000 Internet users are hooked on porn sites, X-rated chat rooms or other sexual materials online. (MSNBC/Stanford/Duquesne Study, Associated Press Online, 2/29/2000)
– MSNBC/Stanford/Duquesne Study, 2000
Men prefer visual erotica twice as much as women
Women favor chat rooms twice as much as men
Women had slightly lower rate of sexually compulsive Internet behavior 70% keep their habit a secret
CHRISTIAN MEN & SEXUAL BROKENESS
– 51% of pastors say cyberporn is a possible temptation. 37% say it is a current struggle (Christianity Today, Leadership Survey, December 2001). 4 in 10 pastors have visited a porn site (Christianity Today, Leadership Survey, December 2001).
– 17.8% of all “born again” Christian adults (in America) have visited sexuallyoriented Websites (Zogby survey conducted for Focus on the Family, 2000).
– 63% of men attending “Men, Romance & Integrity Seminars” admit to struggling with porn in the past year. Two- thirds are in church leadership and 10% are pastors (Pastor’s Family Bulletin, Focus on the Family, March 2000).
– 1 in 7 calls to Focus’ Pastoral Care Line is about Internet pornography (Pastor’s Family Bulletin, Focus on the Family, March 2000).
– “If you think you can’t fall into sexual sin, then you’re godlier than David, stronger than Samson, and wiser than Solomon” (Pastor Bill Perkins).
All of these stats were borrowed from various websites too numerous to list. A quick search of the subject will rend you the same results that I have for you here.
