Self-Management
Family Resources on Part of the Puzzle
Lesson Topic
Students determine the most important facts about cyberporn that different groups of people should know.
Essential Question
Why is it important for high school students,parents and guardians,educators, and middle school students to know the facts about cyberporn addiction?
Part of the Puzzle – Josh
If this lesson was used in the classroom: Students analyzed the effects of pornography on youth their age, particularly pornography available on the internet. In class students discussed how pornography and pornography addiction can have a negative effect on relationships with others.
Getting Ready for the Conversation
The video for this module features Josh who discusses his pornography addiction that began when he was in middle school. When he was younger, he began to explore porn sites on the internet and eventually became addicted. Josh discusses how this had a negative effect on his ability to form relationships and how with help he was able to recover.
Conversation notes:
Discussing pornography with teenagers is a difficult topic, but because of technology it is difficult to make porn accessible only to adults. It also requires ongoing conversations to help adolescents understand the fullness of healthy intimate relationships. Adolescents may not recognize that pornographic media sends overly sexualized messages without helping adolescents learn about healthy, inclusive, and respectful intimate relationships.
Love Is Respect provides useful information on healthy intimate relationships:
https://www.loveisrespect.org/
Dr. Robert Weiss is one of the experts interviewed in the module video:
https://www.robertweissmsw.com/
Culture Reframed is an organization that provides resources about pornography in media:
https://www.culturereframed.org/
Constructive Conversation Starters
The first item is for follow-up after viewing the lesson video and participating in class activities.
How did Josh become addicted to porn? Why did he decide that he needed help? Do you think he will remain healthy? Why or why not?
There is a cliché regarding media that “sex sells”, why do you think this has become such a common saying? Why would some media producers promote sexuality (or even pornography) rather than promoting the enjoyment of healthy intimate relationships?
Describe some of the characteristics of concerning media content. How can we best deal with concerning media content in this household?
What are the characteristics of a healthy intimate relationship? Why are each of these characteristics important for developing and maintaining a healthy intimate relationship?
School to Home Resources on Part of the Puzzle
Lesson Plan
Interactive Reflection > Open/Download Complete PDF Lesson
Ruining relationships
Josh says of his viewing cyberporn “I think porn ruined all my relationships – I never had a relationship because all I wanted was the physical”. Now that he is recovering, what would Josh say are the things that are really important in a romantic relationship? How is an emotionally healthy relationship better for a person than a superficial relationship?
Difficulty coping
Josh says, “that would be frustrating… I’d be pissed off at myself”. Why did Josh feel so frustrated? Josh further discusses how interacting with people is much more fulfilling, why do you think he discusses this?
Relationships take time and effort
Dr. Paul Schenk says, “with internet pornography I don’t think that teens learn the slow persevering work in a relationship to keep it going.’’ What does he mean? What are the other important parts of a caring relationship that should be experienced besides sexual activity?
Connections with others
Social worker Rob Wiess says, “that becomes the place they go to deal with their problems… what happens is they don’t struggle through difficult situations, they don’t learn and they don’t grow, instead they have this thing that they can turn to as a means of escape.’’ Why do you think Mr. Wiess believes it so important to talk and work through problems rather than escape on the internet? What do relationships with people offer that virtual experiences do not offer?
Additional Reflection Questions > Open/Download PDF
