Here's what my therapist told me about porn: the only time porn is a problem is when it interferes with your personal life or your job. In short, Utah does NOT have a porn problem, there is something else going on! <coughmormonscough>
Yeah, I think that in Utah, everything is a "crisis" or an "addiction." I drink coffee now, generally just one cup at breakfast--on a good day, two cups during the morning hours; uber-TBM sister maintains that I'm "addicted" to coffee. You know Mormons...
Apparently holding the Priesthood causes extreme needs that regular people wouldn't have. The diagnosis shouldn't be "porn addiction", the diagnosis should just be "bad case of Mormonism."
Repression is reinforcement. The second you go on a diet you want that burger fries and ice-cream shake ten times more than you did before.
The weird thing is that now you have a number of TBM wives freaking out because their husbands have a "porn addiction." Was this a thing before? Or did the wives just have no knowledge of it?
I had never heard of it until a year ago. My RM niece divorced her RM husband after having two little kids really quickly after getting married really quickly because, well, Mormon. She claimed he had a porn addiction. They have gone to court to stop him from ever being alone with his children of the "addiction.'My mother informed me all those who view porn eventually become child molesters. Not kidding. And their minds are made up. You cannot argue with her. She knows! They said so at church.
The poor guy has a great job, is really into bicycling and all sorts of activities. I don't know the whole story but from what I've seen what Cludgie says above is true-- Utah Mormons can turn anything into a crisis and an addiction. Too bad they can't see their own addiction to small-mindedness and ignorance.
I think it's a combination. In the old days, guys probably had a stack of Playboy's and Penthouses stuffed in a box in the garage, that the wife never found. Then, computers brought porn directly to your lap, so to speak. Then, there's irrefutable marketing evidence that Utah had the highest per-capita porn subscription rate, especially in Utah County. Finally, after high profile celebrities got busted screwing around on their spouse, they entered sex addiction rehab. (I'm not a scumbag honey- I have a sex addiction). Now, getting caught having an affair, the bishop explains it as a porn addiction. Plus, they know most guys jerk off (they do it themselves) but, now they have a new guilt producing tool to keep the sheep in line.
Also. I think it's just The latest Mormon fad. It's what's "in" this year. Being appalled by porn addiction is just one more way to distinguish yourself as superior to others. Coffee and tea are soooooooo yesterday!