Cover image screenshot from report by ABC News Australia. 3 minute read.
It’s safe to assume that pretty much all of us have a social media presence of some kind. We scroll through our Facebook timeline, retweet our favorite tweets on Twitter, Snapchat a funny picture to our friends, and follow our favorite celebs on Instagram.
These platforms provide a great way to express and promote ourselves and connect with people around the world. Unfortunately, social media can have a dark side as well. The same pics that you post for friends to see can also easily be taken and turned into something much, much less innocent.
Warning: Video may contain imagery that some may find triggering
“Parasite Porn”
Recently, ABC News in Australia reported (link contains triggering content) the story of an Australian law student now in her 20’s, Noelle Martin. In her freshman year at college, Noelle was in her dorm room scrolling through her photos. She came across a selfie that she had taken when she was 17 years old and decided to drop it into Google Image Search to see what would come up.
What she found made her sick.
Noelle’s search brought up multiple porn sites with her picture posted. Absolutely disgusted, she was even more shocked when she found there were more photos of her face superimposed onto pornographic bodies. The photoshopped and manipulated images featured her face pasted onto naked and even sexually explicit photos of other women’s bodies.
The comments on the pictures were almost worse—vulgar, crude, and threatening to her, calling for her sexual violation and assault. All this had been done to her personal photos, and she had no idea.
Related: 14-Year-Old Girl Sues Facebook For Failing to Remove Revenge Porn
Noelle was a victim of “parasite porn,” a growing porn trend where someone will steal and alter regular photos to be explicit and pornographic. This is all done without the knowledge or consent of those pictured, and unfortunately, it can be nearly impossible to get such images removed once they are posted.
In Noelle’s case, one webmaster even threatened to send these images to her parents and the dean of her university if she did not allow them to remain on the site. Additionally, this same webmaster agreed to remove the images, but only if Noelle would send him sexually explicit photos of herself. She refused, and has since been working with the Australian government to take action against these porn sites.
Not What It Appears
How can you be sure that the explicit images or videos on porn sites are there with consent from those who appear? Consider the new reality of deepfakes porn, revenge porn, and now parasite porn.
The porn industry works hard to convince the public that those involved in their videos and images are there because they love sex and performing on camera. They claim that those involved wouldn’t have this career if they “didn’t enjoy what they are doing.” However, situations like this one as well as our article 10 Popular Ex-Porn Performers Open Up About Their Most Popular Scenes shed light on the truth of the matter—though not every performer is exploited in porn, too many are mistreated, abused, and manipulated into participating.
And in the case of Noelle Martin, even regular people who aren’t porn performers at all can become victims of this harmful industry. People are blackmailed and coerced, and in all of these cases, the porn industry is primarily concerned with getting clicks and making money.
Related: Italian Woman Commits Suicide One Year After Sex Tape Goes Viral
It’s clear that internet porn is dramatically more violent and abusive than ever before. Let us not forget that the most popular porn categories include sexual assault, gang rape, and incest. If you can believe it, content like this is the norm within mainstream genres of porn. And this kind of graphic sexual exploitation does not leave its consumers unaffected, and can inevitably lead to increasingly violent sexual tastes and fantasies.
Why This Matters
Beyond the effects that porn has on its consumers, it is important that we understand the harm it inflicts on those used to create it. Even, and especially, when they’re unwilling participants.
Recent disturbing trends like revenge porn, deepfakes porn, and parasite porn can completely destroy the reputation and livelihood of those depicted. Not only are these genres creepy, they are simply unacceptable. And it’s up to us to spread awareness, and stop the demand. Are you with us?
Your Support Matters Now More Than Ever
Most kids today are exposed to porn by the age of 12. By the time they’re teenagers, 75% of boys and 70% of girls have already viewed itRobb, M.B., & Mann, S. (2023). Teens and pornography. San Francisco, CA: Common Sense.Copy —often before they’ve had a single healthy conversation about it.
Even more concerning: over half of boys and nearly 40% of girls believe porn is a realistic depiction of sexMartellozzo, E., Monaghan, A., Adler, J. R., Davidson, J., Leyva, R., & Horvath, M. A. H. (2016). “I wasn’t sure it was normal to watch it”: A quantitative and qualitative examination of the impact of online pornography on the values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of children and young people. Middlesex University, NSPCC, & Office of the Children’s Commissioner.Copy . And among teens who have seen porn, more than 79% of teens use it to learn how to have sexRobb, M.B., & Mann, S. (2023). Teens and pornography. San Francisco, CA: Common Sense.Copy . That means millions of young people are getting sex ed from violent, degrading content, which becomes their baseline understanding of intimacy. Out of the most popular porn, 33%-88% of videos contain physical aggression and nonconsensual violence-related themesFritz, N., Malic, V., Paul, B., & Zhou, Y. (2020). A descriptive analysis of the types, targets, and relative frequency of aggression in mainstream pornography. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 49(8), 3041-3053. doi:10.1007/s10508-020-01773-0Copy Bridges et al., 2010, “Aggression and Sexual Behavior in Best-Selling Pornography Videos: A Content Analysis,” Violence Against Women.Copy .
From increasing rates of loneliness, depression, and self-doubt, to distorted views of sex, reduced relationship satisfaction, and riskier sexual behavior among teens, porn is impacting individuals, relationships, and society worldwideFight the New Drug. (2024, May). Get the Facts (Series of web articles). Fight the New Drug.Copy .
This is why Fight the New Drug exists—but we can’t do it without you.
Your donation directly fuels the creation of new educational resources, including our awareness-raising videos, podcasts, research-driven articles, engaging school presentations, and digital tools that reach youth where they are: online and in school. It equips individuals, parents, educators, and youth with trustworthy resources to start the conversation.
Will you join us? We’re grateful for whatever you can give—but a recurring donation makes the biggest difference. Every dollar directly supports our vital work, and every individual we reach decreases sexual exploitation. Let’s fight for real love: