Branson hosted a speaker from the non-profit organization Fight the New Drug on March 12 to raise awareness about pornography.
Elizabeth Eckman gave the presentation, which helped inform students on the harmful impacts of consuming pornography on mental health and relationships as well as to raise awareness about sex trafficking and other brutalities associated with this industry.
“[Fight the New Drug] is all about normalizing this, and we think that this is a topic that we can talk about and it doesn’t have to be this really big intimidating subject. The more that we normalize talking about it the more people realize they’re not alone,” said Eckman.
Students followed a special schedule with shorter class times, allowing for more time for the speaker. After lunch, ninth and 10th graders would go to their advisory for an hour while eleventh and twelfth graders would go to the theater and listen to the presentation.
During the advisory period, students were shown a presentation and a TedTalk video that covered the causes of addiction, behavioural changes your brain endures, and building tolerance towards a behaviour or substance.
“I think the advisory time prepped me for some things the speaker talked about later,” said Isabella Lopez ‘27. “It spoke a lot about the science behind addiction which was helpful to know for the presentation.”
With some in the audience expecting an uncomfortable talk, Eckman started her presentation with a lighthearted tone, jokes, and even a video of fail moments that filled the room with laughter and second-hand embarrassment.
“At first, I thought the presentation might be really awkward, but the speaker was able to talk about a very sensitive topic while entertaining the audience with videos and jokes,” said Sienna Yang ‘28.
Eckman explained the cognitive science behind how the mind is impacted from watching pornography by introducing neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to rewire itself and create new pathways based on recent activity.
“If you start watching a lot of pornography, you start building these pathways in your brain, and it starts normalizing and building this habit,” said Eckman. “Now, I do want to be clear, not everyone who consumes porn addicted, but there is compelling research showing the addiction is very real on how it can affect the consumers.”
Eckman also introduced the social angle: how pornography can impact external relationships and even individuals’ own mental health, especially pertaining to relationships with significant others.
She introduced the term “supernormal stimulus,” referencing exaggerated and shifted perspectives from consuming artificial or unrealistic content, specifically about physical relations.
“Well, research shows the individuals who consume more frequently tend to become less satisfied in their relationships, less committed to their partners and even more accepting of cheating. In fact, pornography consumption is thought to be to be the second strongest sign that a relationship would suffer in the future,” Eckman said.
For many, the presentation was fodder for reflection.
“I thought it was a fun and lighthearted way to talk about something more dark,” said Liam Taylor ‘28.
The human development team, who helped organize the event, hopes that it serves as a catalyst for conversation.
“Students were able to just listen with an open mind, and not just brush the topic off, like ‘oh, we know this already, we’ve heard it all before.’ And it takes more than just one day or one event to change students’ views, the first thing is to just spark some self-awareness,” said Arthur Lee, the head of the human development department.
