The number of heavy users of pornography seeking help at a specialist hospital in Scotland rocketed over 600 per cent during 2022.
José Lopes Pereira, who operates Castle Craig’s outpatient hub, reported that porn use surged during lockdown.
He said some users can watch pornography for hours each day, even being hospitalised with skin infections from neglecting themselves.
Child abuse
Pereira said: “They isolate themselves and some stop working or lose interest in life. And it becomes a vicious cycle. It can lead to alcohol and drugs.” He added: “It is so easy to go on a phone or laptop and access it and avoid the other difficulties of life and run away from your problems”.
Last year, a helpline warned that regular watchers of pornography risk being drawn into perpetrating child sex abuse.
Stop it Now! UK & Ireland, which seeks to help those worried about their feelings or behaviour towards children, was contacted by 276,414 people in 2022. This was up two-thirds on the previous year and three times the number for 2020.
The charity warned that “developing an interest in more extreme porn is a common pathway into online offending against children”.
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