A graduate who was addicted to online pornography from the age of eleven has revealed why she thinks more should be done to warn others against its dangers.
Bethany Becconsall first came across online pornography at the age of eleven.
Today, the 21-year-old describes how she could access “risque” material on YouTube, despite parental control filters.
Warped
She told the Daily Mail how the easy-to-access porn warped her own relationships with boys.
“I did not want a relationship and assumed that no one would want me anyway, because of my pornography habit”, she said.
“It made me self-conscious about my looks — I didn’t look like the girls on screen.”
Guilt
During her time at university, her addiction grew to the point at which she left a lecture to get her fix.
Speaking of the resulting guilt and shame she felt, she explained: “I assumed I would be single for the rest of my life. I used porn to fill my loneliness.”
One in three people using pornographic websites are female, the Mail reports.
Secret
A study by the Internet Filter Review showed that 70 per cent of women keep their porn use a secret.
Miranda Suit, of campaign group Safermedia, told the Mail why Becconsall’s story did not surprise her.
She said: “In effect, this is a generation of guinea pigs.
Ticking time bomb
“Bethany’s story is more evidence that this is a public health issue and a ticking time bomb.”
Becconsall finally opened up to a counsellor at her local church 18 months ago and was “gobsmacked” to learn of other women struggling with the same addiction.
She told the paper she wishes she had known how “empty and degraded” porn would make her feel.
“I wish, too, I’d been told that porn is not reality. It’s acting. Most of all, I wish I’d known it can destroy your heart — and your mind.”