A psychologist is claiming that young men are becoming “digitally rewired” due to their porn and video game addiction. He believes that this mental health crisis is something that both parents and the general public need to address.

Phillip Zimbardo, whose new book is titled Man (Dis)connected, claims that “young men are failing never before – academically, socially and sexually.” He also believes that the excess use of porn and video games is creating social isolation, along with a long list of sexual and mental health problems.

“They are combining playing video games with — as a break — then watching on the average two hours a week [of] pornography. It’s a new kind of addiction.”

Zimbardo told BBC News that he surveyed 20,000 young people, most of those who were young men. He noticed that young men had more problems when it came to excessive porn and video game consumption.

“It begins to change brain function … it happens more in boys’ brains than girls’ brains. Boys’ brains are becoming digitally rewired.”

The author believes that video game addiction leads to isolation, while porn addiction leads to even more problems down the line.

“Kids are getting turned on by watching video, but physiologically they are less aroused. We called it P.I.E.D. — Porn Induced Erectile Dysfunction.”

It also doesn’t help that both porn and video games offer a virtual reality world where young men can get lost in. During a TED talk in 2011, Zimbardo gave an example of a young man’s mind when he’s not alone at home.

“When I’m in class, I’ll wish I was playing World of Warcraft. When I’m with a girl, I’ll wish I was watching pornography, because I’ll never get rejected.”

Zimbardo believes that this new way of viewing porn and playing video games is causing a problem with many young men. He also blames the way that American media portrays men by showing them as “slobs, undesirable, only wanting to get laid and being inadequate in doing that.”

The psychologist says the solution to video game and porn addiction is that parents must become aware of the number of hours their sons are spending time alone in their room. Zimbardo also asked for better sex education in schools that focuses not only on reproduction and safe sex, but also focuses on physical contact, sexual and romantic emotions, and social and romantic relationships.

While men are struggling with a serious video game and porn addiction, women are becoming more open about watching pornography. A recent study revealed the type of adult videos females love to watch, as previously reported by the Inquisitr. Popular categories include lesbian, gay male, gangbang, threesome and solo male.

This further shows that women are becoming more comfortable with their sexuality and bodies, as men continue to struggle with their social confidence and sexuality.

What are your thoughts on porn and video game addiction? Share them below in the comments section.

[Image: Sean Gallup/Getty Images]