Journal of Psychiatry

Reducing childhood Mental Health challenges/Addiction by educating parents About pornography prevention for their children

Annual World Congress on Psychiatry

November 29, 2021 | Webinar

John Van Arnam

The Third Talk�?� Inc. USA

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Psychiatry

Abstract:

Sexual health is a core element of overall health, based on respectful and equitable sexuality and relationships. Unfortunately, online pornography has replaced sexual education for many of the world's children with individual and societal implications. This content affects children in a myriad of ways, including physical brain trauma and addiction. This trauma happens through the release of Dopamine, Testosterone, and Adrenaline creating stimulation that mirrors drug use, and the creation of neural pathways that can permanently and negatively affect behavior. Children's exposure to explicit material globally happens approximately age 11 and becomes a fundamental mental health challenge by physically altering a young person's brain at a time when their brains are the most malleable and permanently affected by this alteration. Parents are remiss to have a prohibitive conversation with children because they do not know how to start. Additionally, British studies have shown that 75% of parents believe that their children do not watch online pornography, while statistics show just the opposite. The Third Talk Inc. successfully provides an easily digestible solution to the problem straightforwardly, without partisanship, ideology, shame, blame, or colorful language. We provide parents the language to use to initiate this talk and our feedback has been positive. For 20 years, we have tried to restrict explicit content. We have tried to regulate it, filter it, pass laws against it, or deny its harm. It has not worked. Our children have access to sexual content on every social media platform, laptop, iPhone, PlayStation they utilize with measurable negative consequences, including addition. Educating parents is the solution. Educators, business leaders, health providers, schools, and communities, must converge around a central message of education and awareness to successfully eliminate pornography as sex education for children. Communication and funding are required to address this mental health challenge for young people.

Biography :

John Van Arnam has a 19-year advocacy protecting children from viewing explicit online material. His team teaches parents and children how to have a pornography prevention conversation, which they have called “The Third Talk.” He has assisted the largest search engines in the world to create family safe search practices surrounding explicit adult material. He has worked for The State of North Carolina as a School Safety Program Trainer under the Department of Public Instruction. John is in collaboration with the State Bureau of Investigation Internet Crimes Against Children task force. He is a member of the Prevention Task Force of Buncombe County. He is a Stakeholder on the NC State Human Trafficking Commission. He has spoken at seminars for The North Carolina Center for Safer Schools (NCCSS). John is the Co-Chair of The Male Engagement Committee for the NCPTA, and the Founder of The Third Talk™ Inc.