©️ By Sophie Lewis | The Grooming Files | @sophielewiseditorial
The Porn Crisis
The system isn’t broken — it’s working exactly as designed.
Let’s get something straight: Most people don’t find extreme porn because they search for it. They find it because it’s recommended.
One click. Then autoplay. Then “related videos.” Then it’s darker. Louder. More taboo.
Not by accident, by design.
The algorithm grooms for escalation.
Ribeiro et al. (2020): Found that major porn platforms recommend increasingly violent, aggressive, and taboo content — including incest, coercion, and pseudo-underage categories — within minutes of basic searches.
You click “teen”? You’re shown “barely legal,” “schoolgirl,” “dad/daughter,” “non-consensual.”
The system doesn’t care about legality. It cares about engagement.
And nothing gets engagement like taboo.
This isn’t edgy. It’s strategic.
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The more extreme the content, the longer users stay
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The longer they stay, the more ads they see
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The more ads they see, the more profit is made
Violence = revenue. Degradation = data.
What does that teach a 12-year-old? A 14-year-old? A 20-year-old who’s never had real intimacy?
That sex is dominance. That submission is sexy. That consent is a glitch, not a rule.
Studies back this up — and the industry knows it.
Hussy et al. (2018): Found that mainstream porn sites feature categories mimicking child abuse, incest, coercion, and unconscious women, normalising themes of exploitation.
Bravehearts (2024): Found that 85% of violent porn is accessible to minors without age verification, and 63% of teens report seeing content they described as “non-consensual.”
And this is what most kids see before they ever learn about sex.
Not just what sex looks like, but what pleasure looks like.
And if pleasure looks like silence, pain, choking, and domination? What happens when they try to act it out?
We’re not just watching a porn crisis. We’re watching a generation being groomed by autoplay.
Porn doesn’t need a predator.
The system is the predator.
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It doesn’t ask your age.
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It doesn’t check your trauma.
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It doesn’t care what you’re ready for.
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It just shows you what keeps you there.
And for too many, that’s what breaks them.
Up Next:
Part 5 – The New Breed of Offender
Shame-fuelled, porn-trained, and spiralling. Who are the men seeking out exposure — and why are they begging to be caught?
