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Clinical testimony: modern online pornography fuels compulsive sexual behavior disorder and harms youth development, expert says
Summary
A clinical expert testified that modern online pornography acts as a potent, rapid-learning stimulus that increases risk of compulsive sexual behavior disorder, alters brain development and raises public-health concerns for children and relationships; she recommended strengthened age verification and expanded treatment access.
A licensed marriage-and-family therapist told the Legislative Management Study Committee on Sept. 30 that modern, internet-delivered pornography differs from earlier eras in its accessibility, anonymity and neurological impact and should be treated as a public-health issue.
Dr. Jill Manning, a clinician who testified remotely, summarized peer-reviewed studies and international diagnostic updates. She said compulsive sexual behavior disorder (CSBD) is now recognized in the World Health Organization's ICD-11 and that recent U.S. research places the lifetime prevalence of compulsive sexual behaviors at roughly 8.6 percent of adults.
"Childhood is the exact worst time for someone to be exposed to pornography," Manning testified, citing laboratory research that finds short exposures can shift attitudes and beliefs and longitudinal work linking early exposure to earlier sexual debut, relationship dysfunction and lower empathy.
Manning described a set of mechanisms that increase risk: the internet's affordability, high-speed accessibility and anonymity (which she called the AAA effect), the image-first nature of the medium, and reward-based reinforcement that accelerates learning. She said modern content is "interactive, lifelike and multilayered," and that those qualities raise the likelihood of compulsive use and faster desensitization.
She recommended stronger age-verification systems, expanded treatment capacity for CSBD and public-health campaigns to help parents and schools limit early exposure. She cited recent Supreme Court precedent and state-level age-verification laws as legally sustainable approaches and noted the importance of accurate clinical screening and insurance coverage for effective treatment.
Committee members asked about the evidence on whether criminal restrictions or public-health interventions would be more effective; Manning said the evidence supports a layered approach, including age verification, parental controls, education and clinical services for compulsive behavior.
No committee action was taken. Several members requested the presentation slides and references for follow-up review.
