Mobile phone gift at 13 led to porn addiction and conviction for voyeurism

SINGAPORE - John (not his real name) was a freelance photographer when he was caught taking upskirt videos of a model with his mobile phone.

"My body just went into autopilot, like there was a desire to take the videos and my brain just wanted to fulfil that desire despite the consequences," said the 24-year-old.

On Jan 7, 2025, he admitted in court to having taken two upskirt videos of the victim, a woman in her 30s, in her home some time in August 2024.

"I was in a place where I was just so desensitised to my urges on the day that I actually committed the offence," said John, who was sentenced to a week's jail after pleading guilty to one count of voyeurism.

That desensitisation process, he said, started more than a decade ago when he was 10 years old, after he overheard friends talking about pornographic material.

That curiosity turned into an addiction after his parents gifted him a mobile phone. He was 13.

"I remember not even knowing how to spell the porn sites at the time, but eventually, I managed to search for and access them. It gave me a dopamine fix," said John.

He initially watched porn on his computer, but the phone allowed him convenient access and privacy.

"On some days, I would browse porn sites on my phone up to three, maybe four hours a day," John said, adding that he would watch the explicit content at home.

At home, he would start mindlessly scrolling through the internet for up to 12 hours a day. But there was no escaping porn.

He said he would be on platforms such as Instagram and come across images or videos that are sexually explicit in nature, which would lead him back to porn.

"It was so normalised in your head that you don't even realise how toxic that kind of lifestyle is for you."

At 23 years old, John sought a bigger thrill - upskirt images that he could take himself.

"The thought of taking an upskirt photo festered in me, and I grew increasingly comfortable with the idea. It got to such a point that I didn't think it was crazy any more to do it," he said.

Some months later, while working as a freelance photographer, John took voyeuristic videos of a client.

Someone spotted him doing it and reported him, before the police were called.

Dr Sandor Heng, a senior clinical psychologist at Promises Healthcare, said shared technological and behavioural mechanisms mean there are significant overlaps between problematic screen use and compulsive pornographic consumption.

"Engagement-driven platforms use algorithmic personalisation that often prioritises emotionally or sexually arousing content, which can act as cue priming and facilitate rapid progression towards explicit material," said Dr Heng.

"Both excessive screen use and pornography consumption activate the same reward-learning systems, reinforcing novelty seeking, compulsive engagement and difficulty disengaging."

In some cases, the addiction to stimulation can drive novelty- and risk-seeking behaviour, he added.

"When combined with poor impulse control, emotional dysregulation, reliance on pornography for coping, or acute stressors, judgment may be impaired and risk-taking behaviours may increase," he said.

However, Dr Heng added that the likelihood of illegal behaviour is limited to a "small, high-risk subset of individuals" who have other vulnerabilities.

John said his porn addiction was fuelled by his reliance on the mobile phone.

But the people around him, including his close friends and family, did not see anything wrong with his phone usage.

"I don't think I ever saw the severity of (my consumption) because in my head, it's just watching porn right? I wasn't hurting anyone.

"I didn't realise the slippery slope I was on... which obviously led to larger, real-life consequences," he said.

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He now receives therapy to deal with his addiction.

It has helped him understand his reliance on the mobile phone when dealing with uncomfortable situations and stress, and the urge to turn to pornography has become less intense and frequent.

"I didn't think therapy was a thing either, but it really does help you understand yourself better, and helps you to get over this kind of like addictions," he said.

"I've since put some limits in place, such as reducing late-night phone use, keeping my phone away at certain times, and being more intentional about when and why I go online.

"I've also become accountable to myself and my loved ones," he added. 

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.