Curated by It’s That Part™ — Originally published by Faith and Proverbs on .
For the modern man, porn isn’t a guilty indulgence—it’s a daily ritual. In a 2020 Psychology Today article, Michael Castleman estimates that, on average, single men watch porn for 25 minutes per day, while coupled men watch around 7.5 minutes. Castleman notes that, for many, the daily porn break is as casual as a coffee run. For Gen Z men, the generation that grew up with unlimited access at our fingertips, the effects have been devastating. Porn has shaped—or, more accurately, malformed—my generation.
Of course, porn is a complicated problem. Even for Christian men—who recognize porn not just as a “bad habit” but as a grievous sin they’re highly motivated to eradicate—the solutions are not easy or simple. Porn, after all, is not just about lust. It’s also about isolation, shame, digital overexposure, and a culture that prizes instant pleasure but withholds the tools for long-term flourishing. We live in a world that elevates sex as ultimate, then cheapens it into a product. We’re saturated with stimulation yet starved for connection. There’s no single fix for something this deeply embedded. But sometimes, even in the middle of a complex problem, there’s a place to start.
How Porn Has Shaped Gen Z
I was recently leading a high school small group of Gen Z males. I asked them, “If you watched porn every day for a year, do you think that would shape how you live?” The answer was obvious. Of course, it would. They didn’t need to be told. It’s their reality. They’ve felt the frustration, the shame, and how it’s reshaped them. And they’re exhausted.
- It’s shaped how we think about sex: warping expectations, encouraging extremes, and training us to crave novelty over intimacy.
- It’s shaped how we think about relationships: preferring the predictable, on-demand pleasure of a screen to the complexities (and challenges) of another human.
- It’s shaped how we feel about ourselves, eroding our confidence and chipping away at our self-worth when we measure ourselves against the digitally enhanced bodies and sexual performances we’ve consumed.
Porn is a drug. The list of side effects and consequences is immense. And addiction is an everyday reality. Quitting can feel impossible.
Sometimes, even in the middle of a complex problem, there’s a place to start.
I asked my small group a follow-up question: “If 10 minutes of watching porn per day has shaped your brain, what do you think 10 minutes in the Bible could do?” While it wasn’t the mic-drop moment I imagined, a flicker of hope shone on their faces as they began to consider the surprising reality.
Porn shaped us. But the Bible can shape us even more forcefully.
Porn Teaches a Biblical Truth
As a young man, I know firsthand why so many guys struggle to read their Bibles: Deep down, they don’t believe it will help. Yes, the psalmist prayed for physical and spiritual healing: “Heal me, LORD, for my bones are in agony” (Ps. 6:2, NIV). But I believed hope was for him, not me.
Gen Z was raised on instant gratification. Everything we want—entertainment, information, food, clothing, and even social validation—is available with a click. We’ve grown up on dopamine media and all its fabricated highs, cheap thrills, and immediate results.
So when a young man opens his Bible, reads a chapter, and walks away with no dopamine burst or goose bumps, it’s easy to think, What’s the point? When the Bible’s formative power takes years to accomplish what algorithms do in moments, it’s easy to think, This isn’t doing anything. He’s left with a simmering frustration toward God, reminiscent of a spoiled child: “It’s my spiritual growth, and I want it now!”
Ironically, it’s his struggle with pornography that reveals the truth he doubts: Small habits shape you in profound ways. Ten minutes of daily porn forms thought patterns, shifted desires, altered speech, and changed relationships. It turns people into objects, intimacy into performance, and satisfaction into orgasm.
What if, in the same way, 10 minutes a day in God’s Word—replacing 10 minutes of porn—could reverse that? Not instantly. Not overnight. But slowly, surely, powerfully. What if every time you thought about clicking on porn you opened the Bible instead? What if 10 minutes of Scripture each day began to reshape you—making holiness the default instead of lust? What if, day by day, your thoughts started to align more with Christ’s? Your desires shifted toward purity? Your hopes restored?
The good news is that this is precisely how God designed us. This is how spiritual growth works.
Spiritual Battle for Neural Pathways
Most guys assume freedom from porn requires a dramatic, life-changing moment. Sometimes God works that way. But more often, he works through a slow, steady renewal of the mind.
You might be rolling your eyes. You’re telling me if I read the Bible, I’ll stop looking at porn? I’ve tried that. It didn’t work!
I get it. Opening your Bible and expecting your temptation to vanish feels like tossing a cup of water on a wildfire. And you’re right—reading the Bible alone isn’t enough. But it’s a solid foundation. And it arms you with the truth, habits, and hope you need to fight back.
The Bible teaches you to surround yourself with a community that holds you accountable (Heb. 10:24–25). It teaches you to confess your sins (James 5:16). It teaches you to approach the throne of grace with confidence (Heb. 4:16). It teaches you to pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17). It teaches you to fix your mind on things above (Col. 3:2). It teaches you God’s unbreakable love (Rom. 8:38–39). Scripture doesn’t just inform us once; it reminds us daily.
Breaking free from sin isn’t about a single life-changing moment. It’s about the daily decision to keep fighting.
Science backs this up. Neuroscientists have discovered that repeated behaviors create well-worn neural pathways in our brains. The more you practice a habit, the wider those pathways become, making it easier to repeat and harder to break. That’s why porn isn’t just a habit—it’s a deeply ingrained pattern. And for Gen Z, who grew up with unlimited access, those pathways aren’t dirt roads. They’re highways.
But they don’t have to be permanent. Repeated exposure to sin strengthens sinful patterns. But repeated exposure to truth can build new ones.
Repeated exposure to sin strengthens sinful patterns. But repeated exposure to truth can build new ones.
Porn trains your neural pathways to see people (especially women) as objects to be used. The Bible trains your neural pathways to see people as precious images of God—made to be cherished, not consumed (Gen. 1:27).
Porn teaches your neural pathways to escape into fantasy whenever you feel stressed, anxious, or bored. The Bible teaches your neural pathways to take refuge in God, your salvation and strength (Ps. 46:1).
Porn cultivates your neural pathways to default to lust. To take rather than give. The Bible cultivates your neural pathways to default to chaste self-control. To love rather than consume (Gal. 5:22–23).
For Gen Z men, this battle is happening in real time. But the best way to fight isn’t just to resist—it’s to feast on something better. We have to believe and experience these realities: God’s love really is better than lust. God’s face really is better than pornography. God’s presence really is more satisfying than masturbation.
We should also remember that this fight isn’t just spiritual—it’s personal, communal, and physical too. Porn use doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It thrives in isolation. It feeds off boredom, loneliness, and disconnection. That’s why formation can’t happen alone. We need communities built around confession, accountability, encouragement, and hope. We need friendships that offer more than just distraction—that offer presence. And we need churches that don’t just say “Don’t do that” but paint a bigger, better vision of sexuality, work, rest, and embodied life.
Question You Have to Ask
You’re going to be shaped by something. The only question is by what.
What if the battle against porn isn’t just about breaking a bad habit but about building a better one? Because here’s the truth: If you commit to daily Scripture, the Holy Spirit will forge new neural pathways. Slowly but surely, you’ll begin to see the difference. The escape you once sought in porn will start to pale in comparison to the rest you find in God. Sinful desires won’t just be resisted—they’ll be replaced. Over time, dark desires will be expelled by holy longing.
Scripture becomes the anchor steadying you when temptation hits, grounding you when shame creeps in, and holding you fast when everything else tries to pull you under. It’s not the whole fight, but it’s where the fight begins.
For years, porn has been shaping our minds—forming thought patterns, distorting desires, and warping the way we see relationships, sex, and even ourselves. But it doesn’t have to.
Porn shaped Gen Z men. But the Bible can too. Which one will shape you?
For truth in every fact, visit itsthatpart.com.
Originally sourced via trusted media partner. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/porn-shaped-gen-z-bible/
