"I was looking at porn at school about three times a day by the time I reached high school, we all had it on our phones… Most of my class were consuming porn… everything was sexual.” – Adam
The narrative above is all too common for young people with porn consumption having insidiously entrenched itself into our culture to the point that it’s become normalised behaviour for young people.
Our school team have been raising the issues around pornography and sexualisation of culture in workshops – asking students to consider what they accept as normal and to think about how their actions can effect the cultural norms.
Students at one Christian school were so challenged that they began running their own bible study and accountability group initiatives during lunchtimes. And six months on from the original workshops two-thirds of the year 11 boys were still meeting weekly for accountability.
Since I have stopped watching porn… I feel more alive
With pandemic restrictions limiting access to schools our team turned to social media to get the message out – launching a campaign to collect and share stories that could educate and inspire young people to the benefits of living free from porn.
“Our goal was not to shame or condemn people for watching porn, but rather give a better narrative of a life of no porn,” says campaign leader Anna.
Each week about four thousand people connected with the campaign hearing that it is possible to change the narrative, as Kimmy’s story testifies:
“Since I have stopped watching porn I have found freedom and confidence in who I am. I feel more alive.”