porn viewed on phone
© Edgard Garrido / Reuters
Senators in South Dakota have passed a resolution declaring pornography a public health crisis, joining Virginia and Utah among that states stepping up efforts to highlight the dangers of x-rated adult material.

According to resolution SCR4, passed in South Dakota, porn leads to risky sexual activity, low-self esteem and sometimes eating disorders.

Advances in technology are exposing young children to pornography "at an alarming rate," and pornography is "linked to a lessening desire in young persons to marry," the resolution states.

Republican Senator Jenna Netherton from Sioux Falls sponsored the resolution along with 51 other Republicans, stating that pornography increasingly causes harm to "men, women and children," thanks to its availability on the internet and smartphones.

The Republican Party's 2016 Party Platform also targeted pornography as a "public health crisis"that is "destroying the lives of millions."