“Fire!”  Someone screams these words from the nearby hallway.  When you hear this word, there is no hesitation to jump from your seat and sound the alarm.  Inevitably, someone will set off the fire alarm to clear the building.  This is for everyone’s safety, and to literally alarm everyone of impending danger.

Below are 5 statistics that have the same affect.  It is time to sound the alarm on pornography.  As you read these numbers, it should cause you to jump from your seat and sound the alarm.  Pornography is out there, and for everyone’s safety, you need to warn them of the impending danger.  

10 %.  

1 in 10 teens say their friends think viewing pornography is a bad thing.   “I’m not married yet”.  “It’s better than having sex with a bunch of people”.  “It’s just me, I’m not hurting anyone”.  Have you heard these rationalizations of the morality of porn?  We have a morality problem.  Is porn a sin?  Does pornography use violate God’s standards of purity?  Do you feel any guilt from viewing naked images or videos?  This may be the most alarming statistic of all. Not only are teens viewing pornography, but they’ve stopped feeling guilty about it too.  (https://www.barna.com/the-porn-phenomenon/)

90% & 70%.  

90% of boys and 70% of girls reported accessing sexually explicit media on at least one occasion.  Do not make the mistake in thinking that porn is just a male issue.  Pornography has become a teen issue, no matter the gender.  Guys and girls alike are having an issue with porn.  While splitting up into small groups of the same gender is a good idea when discussing sexual purity topics, don’t skip over the pornography section in the girls groups.  Secondly, in the small group setting, with these statistics in mind, you might as well assume each member has dealt with porn.  Pornography use with teens has become the norm, and it is almost a given. (https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-02/uoa-oit022307.php) 

12.  

On average, first exposure to pornography among men was 12 years old.  Some research claims the average age can be as low as 8 years old.  What does this mean?  It means the discussion about pornography should not start in youth group, but before the student enters middle school.  Pre-teen ministries should consider having discussions with parents about the pornography epidemic and offer help before the first exposure.  As a parent and youth worker, you want to answer questions and provide solutions Biblically before those questions get answered by the world.  (Morgan, Elizabeth, Journal of Sex Research)

57%.

The most common way to view pornography is now the cell phone, with 57% of views of porn are through the use of a smartphone.  With nearly 9 out of 10 teens with access to smartphone, the pornography problem is now mobile (pun not intended).  Devices need software protection, accountability software, and program locks.  But in the end, the teens need to be warned, taught, and helped when carrying such a tempting device in their pocket or on their nightstand.  Pornography is literally at their fingertips.  No wonder this has become such a widespread issue.  (http://www.covenanteyes.com/2018/05/10/parents-keep-smartphones-out-of-bedroom/) 

4,599,000,000.

4,599,000,000 hours of porn were viewed on Pornhub last year.  To put this in perspective, this is 525,000 years of content of porn viewed in one year!  That number is astounding.  And this is just one of the popular pornography websites.  Dr. Margaret Paul of Huffington Post states porn revenue is larger than the combined revenues of all professional basketball, baseball, and football franchises, and larger than the combined revenues of CBS, NBC, and ABC.  Put your eyeballs back in your sockets after reading those numbers.  This. Is. A. Problem.  A problem that is not going away and only growing in use and dollar signs.  (https://fightthenewdrug.org/by-the-numbers-see-how-many-people-are-watching-porn-today/)

Talk, discuss, discourse, chat, banter…whatever you want to call it, you need to have a conversation with your teens about pornography.  The Bible has so much to say about sexual immorality and on the flip side, sexual purity.  Take some time to discuss the dangers of porn, and even better, talk about the freedom they can experience from porn.  They can win the battle; maybe it’s time you give them the battle plan.