University of Sydney Media Release
09 February 2010
Internet porn addiction focus of Australia-first study
In the first study of its kind University of Sydney researchers are investigating how addiction
to internet porn affects people’s work, finances and relationships.
Some 70 per cent of men and 30 per cent of women access internet porn, according to Dr
Gomathi Sitharthan, the researcher behind the study and Deputy Coordinator of the
University of Sydney’s Graduate Program in Sexual Health.
“Viewing porn online becomes a major problem only when people become so preoccupied
that they spend 16 to 18 hours a day doing nothing else but watching porn, with serious
impacts on relationships, work, studies, and finance,” Dr Sitharthan said.
“In recent years we have seen increasing numbers of clients coming to counselling practices
with online porn addictions. They come from all walks of life: students,
teachers, lawyers, health practitioners and priests.
“Often they will come to counselling with another problem, and the underlying problem of
addiction to internet porn may come out after two or three sessions. The sensitive nature of
this issue means many people find it very hard to talk about.”
Internet porn addiction is a growing problem partly due to its easy accessibility in the
comfort of people’s home, according to Dr Sitharthan. But currently there are limited
treatment options.
The survey is looking to further our understanding of internet pornography addiction and
how best to offer assistance to overcome it.
Dr Sitharthan hopes there will be broader public discussion of the issue, particularly given
the recent spotlight on the topics of sex addiction (in the case of Tiger Woods) and the ready
availability of explicit images online (in the case of the Macquarie banker caught viewing
revealing pictures of Miranda Kerr).
The public are invited to take part in the survey, which takes about 30 minutes to complete
It can also be accessed through the home page of the University of Sydney’s Graduate
‘research’, then ‘current research’. The results of the study will be released later this year.
To interview Dr Sitharthan contact Kath Kenny at the University of Sydney Media Office
(02) 9351 2261 or 0434 606 100.
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