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SALT LAKE CITY — Pornography is being called the new drug, and teens gathered Friday from all over the state to learn how to combat the addiction.
Fight The New Drug is a non-profit organization aimed to educate teens about the harmful effects of pornography and just how addictive it can be, as a recent study released by ABC News found that one in five kids before age 11 has seen porn.
The organization travels to schools across the county, teaching junior high school students. Some have asked if junior high is too early, but Olsen says it is never too early to teach kids the dangers of pornography addiction, which is why "Fight the New Drug" campaign says it reached out to hundreds of students at Kaysville's Centennial Junior High.
"If you tell me that there's a student at a junior high school in the United States of America that has never been exposed to any effects of pornography, whether it's on a cellphone or a computer, in graphic images or in print, I'd tell you that they're a liar," Olsen said.
Principal Aaron Hogge says the $1 billion porn industry uses whatever means necessary to hook clientele at the earliest possible age, like cigarettes and alcohol. He considers his community pretty clean, but not immune.