The Reward Foundation is a pioneering health education charity. Most people just want to find someone to love and be loved in return so that they can make a good life for themselves. But it's not as simple as that. Good relationships don't come ready made, they are created over time. They mature like a plant.  Meeting someone, falling in love and living happily ever after, requires kindness, a variety of skills and self awareness. Life is full of stressors. Corporations and content creators are only too happy to suggest otherwise. They offer the hope of ready-made instant relief from the stress that such relationship challenges bring.

Our charity looks at effective coping mechanisms for stress. Today the internet is the go-to place to distract ourselves from boredom, loneliness, anger, frustration, difficult choices or just some quick stimulation to cheer ourselves up. As sex is the number one driver of human behaviour from puberty onwards, porn sites and sex-related social media can seem a good source of stress relief. Sadly few people appreciate that these websites are designed to be addictive and to keep users hooked with ever novel stimuli. Over time bingeing on this material can lead to unwanted brain changes. It can result in a shift in our perception of ourselves, partners and even produce sexual dysfunctions in some.

Our name comes from the 'reward system' of the brain, the part responsible for motivating behaviour and learning. It's where we fall in and out of love. It works best when it is in balance. This system can be hijacked and diverted by artificially strong 'rewards' such as drugs, alcohol, nicotine and the internet, especially pornography, throwing it out of balance. Internet pornography is  a super-normal or "industrial strength" sexual stimulus. As with cocaine and heroin use, it can lead to compulsive or addictive use in some people.

 “The computer is 'electronic cocaine' for many people. Our brains are wired for finding immediate reward. With technology, novelty is the reward. You essentially become addicted to novelty.” (Professor of neuroscience, Peter Whybrow, UCLA, 2012).

“Of all internet applications, porn has the most potential to become addictive.” (Meerkerk et al., 2006).

Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to its effects because of their developing brain. It has emerged that neurodiverse people too can be more vulnerable than neurotypical people to its effects. For instance autistic people are prone to high levels of stress not least because of challenges with social communication. They are also often great systems thinkers and love the complexity of the internet. They may use the internet therefore as a means to self-soothe emotional distress.

From puberty onwards, young digital natives are motivated to use porn. They hope to learn how to become great lovers and successful adults. Sadly porn does not teach us about intimacy or love. It can't love you back but it can distort a user's view of what love and intimacy are in real life. The way this extra strong stimulus pounds the brain can leave the user with depression, social anxiety, sexual dysfunction and even suicidal ideation over time especially in young adults. Some heavy users escalate to illegal material like child sexual abuse material or act out sexual violence. Such offences can lead to time in prison.

Who needs to know?

Parents, users, doctors, psychologists, criminal justice professionals, counsellors, guidance teachers, HR professionals, politicians, and pastoral care leaders and users themselves. Our free online course provides access to the evidence and support you need to make informed decisions about the person you care for and take appropriate action. While the course was originally developed for healthcare professionals, and approved by five senior clinicians at the Royal College of Genera Practitioners, it is suitable for anyone wishing to learn from experts in an accessible way about porn's impact on the brain and behaviour. 

We do not offer therapy nor provide legal advice. However, we do signpost routes to recovery for people whose porn use has become out of control.