Problematic Internet Pornography Use and Psychological Distress among Emerging Adults in Malaysia: Gender as a Moderator.

Internet pornography use (IPU) refers to Internet-based sexually explicit materials that are ultimately used to elicit sexual feelings or thoughts. The accessibility of Internet pornography could lead to excessive exposure to pornographic messages, posing a risk to heavy users' psychological health. This paper offers a preliminary understanding of the relationship between Internet pornography use and psychological distress among emerging adults and the moderating role of gender in the association. This cross-sectional study has taken a purposive sampling approach to recruit 144 emerging adult pornography users via the online survey method. The results indicated that males reported having more problematic Internet pornography use, and there were no gender differences in psychological distress. Meanwhile, gender is a significant moderator between Internet pornography use and psychological distress. The females were found to be more psychologically affected by their problematic Internet pornography use than the males. Overall, this study has provided a novel finding of the moderating role of gender in problematic Internet pornography use and psychological distress in the Malaysian context. This study also calls for a gender-focused sexual health programme for Malaysian emerging adults. Furthermore, the scores of problematic IPU in this study raise a concern over the effectiveness of current sex education in Malaysia. The scores may highlight the need to provide education targeting Internet pornography use.

The role of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in the treatment of behavioral addictions: Two case reports and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Several behaviors, besides consumption of psychoactive substances, produce short-term reward that may lead to persistent aberrant behavior despite adverse consequences. Growing evidence suggests that these behaviors warrant consideration as nonsubstance or "behavioral" addictions, such as pathological gambling, internet gaming disorder and internet addiction. CASE PRESENTATION: Here, we report two cases of behavioral addictions (BA), compulsive sexual behavior disorder for online porn use and internet gaming disorder. A 57-years-old male referred a loss of control over his online pornography use, started 15 years before, while a 21-years-old male university student reported an excessive online gaming activity undermining his academic productivity and social life. Both patients underwent a high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) protocol over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (l-DLPFC) in a multidisciplinary therapeutic setting. A decrease of addictive symptoms and an improvement of executive control were observed in both cases. DISCUSSION: Starting from these clinical observations, we provide a systematic review of the literature suggesting that BAs share similar neurobiological mechanisms to those underlying substance use disorders (SUD). Moreover, we discuss whether neurocircuit-based interventions, such as rTMS, might represent a potential effective treatment for BAs.

The impact of Internet use during COVID-19 lockdown in Rwanda: a potential public health threat.

This article discusses impact of the Internet on the populations of sub-Sahara during the lockdown period in Rwanda. The aim is to eradicate the spread of COVID-19 pandemic and devise strategies to minimize the expansion of this virus. The increased misuse of the Internet has challenged the education sector. Initiatives such as broadband Internet to promote free or low-cost digital access have been fully successful. Although the Internet may have discouraged loneliness, it has promoted some risks to vulnerable people. Long-term isolation on the Internet has resulted in endangering younger people by exposing them to pornography, and violent movie films. The Government of Rwanda should address use of Internet during isolation to protect most vulnerable individuals like children and adolescents. The Rwanda Education the Ministry should train "online body guards" to educate the younger population of Rwanda.

Substitute addictions in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The global spread of COVID-19, subsequent stay-at-home requirements, spatial distancing measures, and long-term isolation present additional challenges for persons in recovery. Using an illustrative case from South Africa, we discuss COVID-19 related pornography use through the lens of relapse and substitute addiction. South Africa is the epicenter of the pandemic in Africa, and has issued an alcohol and cigarette ban. Historical examples suggest that responses to forced abstinence may include compliance and abstinence, but also seeking alternatives to the original addiction and substitution. Substitution of alternative activities/objects may provide similar appetitive effects to fill the void of the terminated addictive behavior, temporarily or in the long-term. While substitutes do not necessarily portend a relapse, coupled with isolation and reduced recovery support, they can potentiate relapse to the former or 'new' addictive behavior. Addiction professionals should be aware of the potential for such negative impacts during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pornography use in the setting of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the global expansion of the COVID-19 pandemic, social or physical distancing, quarantines, and lockdowns have become more prevalent. Concurrently, Pornhub, one of the largest pornography sites, has reported increased pornography use in multiple countries, with global traffic increasing over 11% from late February to March 17, 2020. While some substantial increases have coincided with Pornhub making its premium services free to countries in lockdowned or quarantined jurisdictions, countries without such free premium access have also reported increases in the range of 4-24%. In addition, pornography searches using the terms "coronavirus", "corona", and "covid" have reached more than 9.1 million. In this letter, we discuss COVID-19-related pornography-use patterns and the impact they may have with respect to problematic pornography use.