5 Reasons Why Porn Use Increases During Christmas
Why does porn use increase at Christmas?
Because a change in routine lowers your guard. Google search trends show porn viewing spikes during Christmas week, matched only in midsummer, with Americans most likely to view it on December 27. Free time without accountability is the first trigger. David stayed home when kings went to war, let his guard down on the palace roof, and fell with Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11. Rest is good. Unguarded rest is dangerous.
Christmas schedules get very busy this time of the year. However, it also is a time to relax enjoying family and friends.
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While the slow-down that Christmas brings is welcomed by many, a change in routine can also provide easy access for temptation. In response to that temptation, an unguarded person may end up using the time to pursue inappropriate things – such as porn.
The King’s Example
Consider King David in 2 Samuel,
“In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.”
David altered his routine for a time so that he could rest and relax. But 2 Samuel 11:2-4 highlights how detrimental this was to him.
“One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her.”
David let his guard down! Many times, our enemy comes at us full force during times of what we perceive as rest. Taking time to rest is essential, but wisdom is knowing the plans of our enemy.
Related Article: 4 Triggers To Be On The Lookout For This Christmas
Being Proactive During The Holidays
Recent Google Search Trends show that porn viewing spikes during the week of Christmas, equaled only during mid-summer. Additionally, the days following the holidays are often higher in porn consumption as well.
Related Article: What Does Proactive Accountability Look Like?
Did you know that Americans are most likely to consume porn on December 27 – only two days after celebrating the birth of Jesus?
So, what drives this peak in online traffic during the holidays?
There are a variety of motives, but we are going to share five triggers that people tend to experience during the holidays.
Five Triggers During The Holidays
Trigger 1: Free Time
Those extra days off from the office may feel like paradise, but they can also become an extra source of temptation. With no one watching and a lack of accountability, the situation can quickly become ripe for those struggling with sexual addiction.
In Episode 2 of the Conquer Series, a cinematic video series that helps men break free from porn, viewers are asked:
“Why is it that so many Christian men who love the Lord can’t stop their behavior? The entire battle for purity takes place within eight inches of grey matter—your brain. Knowing where the battle takes place is crucial to every man’s victory.”
When the brain is given time to decompress and relax, it can be a wonderful time of rest… but watch out! It can also be a time for powerful temptation to enter our lives.
Trigger 2: Family
How can a family be a trigger for viewing porn? For many people, family time is a wonderful experience. Yet for others, family time increases stress.
For some, family members have been sources of past abuse that can trigger sexual thoughts and feelings.
Related Article: How Past Hurts Fuel Porn Use & Where To Find Hope
Session three of the Conquer Series identifies these issues as your sexual triggers, including your arousal template and trauma profile (the wounded areas of your life). If family time is a major stress or temptation, it is important to be aware of it and prepare for it.
You may not be able to avoid all unpleasant interactions over the holidays, but bracing yourself for this potential trigger offers hope. In addition, you may need to recover with a quick call to a trusted friend. This will help defend against the emotional low and vulnerability that may occur after a difficult family meeting.
Trigger 3: Feeling Tired
While Christmas can offer a time of rest for some, for others the holiday season is exhausting. There is always one more gathering to attend, another present to buy, or food to prepare.
These activities may be positive, but the results sometimes are not.
Counselor Floyd Godfrey of Family Strategies Counseling Center notes,
“Addiction is wired into the limbic area of the brain, so when you’re tired, you’re more susceptible to slips. Plan ahead to avoid getting sleep deprived. Rest when you need to so you’ll have the mental energy to fight temptation toward pornography addiction.”
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Related Article: This Is Your Brain On Porn
Trigger 4: Loneliness
Not everyone has family and friends to visit over the holidays. Those who feel alone are especially vulnerable to temptation.
Related Article: How The Loneliness Epidemic Is Linked To Porn
The combination of additional time alone and feelings of loneliness can drive a person to seek satisfaction in negative ways, including consuming pornography.
Session five of the Conquer Series refers to intimacy disorder as the root of sexual bondage.
If true intimacy with God and one’s spouse is not accurately addressed, this lack of intimacy can express itself through other means, including increased pornography usage.
Related Article: 10 Signs Your Partner Is An Intimacy Anorexic
A Conquer Group offers positive ways to discuss issues of intimacy without resorting to porn.
Trigger 5: New Devices
Let’s face it: Christmas gifts often include new electronic devices. These devices lead to more time using them, including the use of pornographic images and videos. For example, the day the first iPad was released, porn consumption in America increased by nine percent. Searches for virtual reality porn also experienced a huge spike at Christmas.
As a parent, you must be especially careful when providing new smartphones, tablets, or other devices to your child. Take time to discuss and train your child on how to use devices safely as well as how to respond to inappropriate images and content. Help them understand that they can come to you and talk about it when this does occur.
In addition, you should have additional accountability software installed. There are many accountability systems to help protect you and your family members in this area.
Related Article: Which Accountability Software is Right for Me?
Related Article: Porn Viewing Spikes Over Christmas
Defending Against Christmas Porn Temptation
In addition to the tips shared above, experts have noted three steps to help defend against pornography during vulnerable times such as Christmas.
Related Article: 4 Tips To Conquer This Christmas
1. Rest
To defend against temptation during times when you are tired, plan as much as possible for adequate sleep and rest. Simply put, when you are more rested, you are stronger against temptation.
2. Redeem The Time
Extra free time does not need to be left to temptation. Look for opportunities to invest your time in ways that make a difference in the lives of others. Plan an activity with your family or volunteer at a local community event for the less fortunate. As session five of the Conquer Series challenges, the best way to fight temptation is with a battle plan. Failure to plan is planning to fail.
3. Accountability Group
Most of us increase our chances of success when we have a friend, guide, or coach in the process. Chances for success increase exponentially when you have an accountability group: The more men you can go to when you need a lifeline, the better. As our schedules get busier, it’s even more necessary to have multiple people in your support system.
A great place to find this is in a Conquer Group, which is a group of men who are holding each other accountable and using the Conquer Series. It’s a discipleship guide to help them grow on the path to sexual integrity.
Daily communication with one or more of the men in your Conquer Group can offer the ongoing encouragement and guidance needed to face your temptations this Christmas season.
Related Article: 4 Triggers To Be On The Lookout For This Christmas
“Put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” – Ephesians 4:22-24
The Plan
The Conquer Series includes Biblical principles and daily practices to help men conquer porn and walk in freedom.
You can join the millions of men in over 100 countries who have learned to move beyond “not watching porn” to start living a transformed life.
Writing at the intersection of faith and neuroscience to help men and women break destructive cycles and walk in lasting freedom.
More articles by Jeremy Wiles →Frequently Asked Questions
What are the main porn triggers during the holidays?
Five stand out. Free time without accountability. Family gatherings, which raise stress and can reopen old wounds. Exhaustion, because addiction is wired into the limbic area of the brain and tiredness makes slips more likely. Loneliness, for those with nowhere to go. And new devices, which arrive unmonitored on Christmas morning. Naming which ones are yours is half the defence.
What does King David teach us about letting your guard down?
That rest without vigilance is dangerous. At the time of year when kings went off to war, David stayed in Jerusalem. "One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing" (2 Samuel 11:2). Rest is essential, but the enemy often comes at us hardest during what we perceive as rest.
How do I prepare for family gatherings that trigger me?
Decide beforehand that they may be difficult. For many men family time is a joy, for others it raises stress or reopens past abuse. Know your triggers, be aware of them and brace for them. You may not avoid every unpleasant interaction, so plan a quick call to a trusted friend afterwards to guard against the emotional low and vulnerability that can follow.
Are new devices at Christmas a risk for porn?
Yes. New phones, tablets and consoles mean more screen time, often unsupervised. On the day the first iPad was released, porn consumption in America rose by nine percent, and searches for virtual reality porn spike at Christmas. If you are giving a device to a child, install accountability software and talk through how to respond to inappropriate images and content.
What is a good battle plan for Christmas?
Three things. Rest properly: Counselor Floyd Godfrey of Family Strategies Counseling Center warns, "Addiction is wired into the limbic area of the brain, so when you're tired, you're more susceptible to slips." Redeem the free time by investing it in other people. And stay in an accountability group, because the more men you can go to when you need a lifeline, the better. Failure to plan is planning to fail.
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