ABC 20/20 Cyberporn Addictions! 10PM EST
 

Shadowy Addiction
Cyberporn Is Having Damaging Effects on Users Who Can't Stop Clicking

By Lynn Sherr


Aug. 27, 2004 ? The ads are all over the Web. Between spam cluttering e-mail boxes and pop-up notices springing up on browsers, all the sex anyone might desire is just a mouse click away.

Watch Lynn Sherr's full report Friday on 20/20 at 10 p.m. ET

"The number of fetish sites on the Web would astonish you," said New York-based sex therapist Dorothy Hayden. "Women with body hair ? bestiality ? it staggers the imagination."

Most of us navigate quickly past the come-ons. But for some who are enticed to open these cyber doors, one click can ruin their lives.

"I thought it was just a recreational thing that I could do on my own, but it cost me everything," said Michael Leahy.

He told 20/20 that he kept his habit a secret from his wife, Patti Onorato, for 14 years. But eventually his life came crashing down, just like that of an alcoholic hitting rock bottom. In this case, though, the drug of choice was cyberporn.

Marital Secret

Leahy and Onorato were still newlyweds when his computer sales job sent him on the road. That gave him the freedom to explore an erotic new world.

"I would take time out of my day instead of making calls from, you know, 8 to 5," said Leahy. "I would hook up to the Internet and start looking at porn sites. ? It was pretty lurid stuff."

As time went on, his new passion took over. He lost job after job. It was an addiction without clear signs, a drug that left no track marks.

"I was definitely living a double life," said Leahy.

At home, he was a father to two handsome, healthy sons. He earned a six-figure salary and his wife was a respected schoolteacher.

But behind closed doors there was something missing: sex.

"When we were having sex once or twice a year, I was getting my needs met every day," said Leahy. "Patti was one woman. And on the Internet, I can have thousands and thousands of women."

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Discuss

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/2020/..._040827-1.html

:thumbsup

I dont watch that shit its too one sided. Why dont they talk about real addiction like liquor that causes 40 % of all auto accident deaths.

the porn webmasters of gfy would like to thank ABC tv for the free advertising.

watch out for the server crush when this hits!

:1orglaugh

Lots of talk about porno addiction lately ... I don'T beleive that ... how can you be addicted to watching porn ?!?

Oh lord. It looks like more fuel is being added to the fire. :feels-hot

i don't get how porn could ruin somebodies life, everybody i know, including my girlfriend and all ex girlfriends know what i do and they don't turn it into a big deal. If a wife leaves her husband over porn then he should be glad that he is no longer married to a possessive physco

i don't think its about being addicted to porn, its being addicted to sex. Porn is an easy way to get rid of some sexual stress and the religous nutcases don't like that which is why they go after porn and strip clubs.

2 great points hydro..haha.

Yep saw preview last friday.. nice full page ad for CelebHotel.com

:)

I hope they run more specials like this ... i love a good comedy:Graucho

Porn is addictive like just like jerking off is.:1orglaugh

I'll watch it just to see how soon they lump legal online adult entertainment with illegal activities.

My money is within the first 2 minutes.

:1orglaugh

OMG MY HUSBAND IS GONNA MOLEST MY DAUGHTER CUZ HE IS WATCHING PORN!

I noticed a couple Lightspeed sites on this piece. Good exposure for sure.

WG

:thumbsup

Must be wearing out his palm

you mean theres other things on tv then the friggan summer games????

I've had my TV off since it started lol

-Loki-

Anyone else notice they printed the words "I like your Tits" on the screen during the chat room video?
I wonder if anyone will make a big deal out of that.

I noticed hustler, I noticed bigtit fantasies.com (didnt blur the word tit even) I noticed jordan capri.com, I noticed homesexnetwork.

Was confusing because they said "all the men in these stories are normal men", then they show a guy so fucked up from his inability to NOT look that he tossed out his computer, and taped family pictures over his TV screen to avoid sexy images, LOL! Sound normal? Nooooooooo.

Normal Abnormals.

I was waiting for the Viagra, Cialis and Levitra commercials to play between segments.

Oh, I also liked how one woman split with her husband because he wouldnt stop looking at porn, but another woman was "giving her husband a secnd chance". What a saint :) lol

:helpme

he was visiting lightspeed sites

Obviously a shoddy, 2 bit story as I was not even contacted for an interview.

Oh ok ... I didn't watch it ... my bad

Shadowy Addiction
Cyberporn Is Having Damaging Effects on Users Who Can't Stop Clicking


nop it's porn addiction

Our signups have been off the hook tonight! Cha Ching!!!

Steve Lightspeed

they can't contact everyone lol

lol why not?

if it wasn't porn it would be something else he'd be 'addicted' to. some ppl just have addictive personalities. hell, america is a nation full of food addicts but we never hear about that much besides crying fat women on dr phil.

Haha thats tight!

Cheers!