Pornography is ‘as pervasive as a public health crisis, ’ said Dr. Mandy Sanchez at March presentation
Maura Baker
Staff Writer
Dr. Mandy Sanchez, director of programming at Culture Reframed, an international nonprofit centered around addressing the harms of pornography to youth, returned to the Diocese of Covington, March 3, for a presentation on the dangers of a “pornified world.” Titled “Just a Click Away — Monitoring the Risks and Rewards of Gaming and Apps for Our Youth,” two sessions were held — one in the morning for teachers, counselors and diocesan staff, and an open presentation in the evening for parents and adults of all ages interested in the protection of youth in the digital age.
Previously, Dr. Sanchez visited the diocese in November of last year and spoke on the connection between popular social media apps and the porn industry — which she proposes is “stronger than many think.”
March’s presentation expands on this concept, detailing the specific ways in which teenagers are susceptible to and affected by social media and the sexualization of video games.
“When you combine an adolescent desire for approval with a global digital platform,” said Dr. Sanchez, “this can massively soup up their encouragement to post sexual content.”
Quoting UK psychologist Dr. Elaine Kasket, whose research heavily focuses on social media, apps such as TikTok are called a “supercharged cabinet” for teens, “because he says,” quoted Dr. Sanchez, “teens are naturally interested in taking risks. They are naturally interested in finding out about sex and exploring that. They’re open to flattery. They’re open to seduction.”
Dr. Sanchez posed that if there is “no robust, porn-critical, sexual education curriculum happening, or conversations about the reality of relationships and intimacy, then this (referring to the objectifying and often violent portrayals of sex by the porn industry) is what kids think they’re supposed to do, and other kids think this is what they’re supposed to expect — because porn sets the expectations for violence and abuse. It normalizes the violence and depicts it as enjoyable.”
“We (Culture Reframed) believe that pornography is a stealth public health crisis,” she said, “it’s not an individual failing of morals or a moral failing of society or of an individual. We believe that it’s as pervasive as a public health crisis. So,” Dr. Sanchez said, “We center young people and work to get the message out with all those people who work with young people.”
Between parents and their children, Dr. Sanchez said that “Conversation needs to happen, and we’re going to set reasonable boundaries.” Parental controls are “like putting a band aid on a broken arm,” she said, “we really need to go deeper and have these conversations.”
