When you were still young, were you ever caught by an adult while you were watching porn? If yes, then you might remember getting the scolding of your life or probably something even worse. For many reasons, watching pornographic materials is considered a bad behavior. Nowadays, though, watching porn is already common among men and women alike. Especially with internet pornography being so accessible, viewing pornographic materials is becoming more of a mainstream behavior or activity.
Even though one can say that the taboo surrounding porn has slightly lessened, it still has not completely disappeared yet. There are still millions of people who believe watching porn is bad and we’re taking a look at the top six reasons why so many people are against porn. Note that we’re not even including religious reasons in our discussion here.
#1 Internet Pornography Is An Addiction
A recent study concluded that watching internet pornography triggers the same brain activities as drug addiction does. This means that the more you watch porn, the more you feel rewarded every time you watch it, until your brain gets rewired so that you become addicted to it. However, this only happens if you compulsively and chronically watch it. But no research has been done yet to investigate whether you will eventually become addicted to watching internet pornography if currently you only engage in the activity casually, like just for several minutes each week.
#2 Porn Causes Erectile Dysfunction
There is a widely held belief in the medical community that excessive viewing of pornographic materials puts you at risk of developing erectile dysfunction (ED). After the revelation that watching internet pornography has effects on the brain like substance abuse does, the idea that excessively watching porn causes sexual dysfunction gained even more traction.
What experts are saying is that as you watch more and more porn, you become desensitized so that you no longer feel sexually excited. Thus, you begin to look for more explicit, more extreme, or more intense pornographic materials to feel sexual excitement. This is similar to the way drug addicts crave for a higher dosage or more frequent substance use.
In any case, the experts are saying that because your brain is looking for more explicit and more intense sexual visual stimulus, having your partner naked in front of you may no longer be enough to sexually excite you. Hence, the problem with erectile dysfunction.
#3 Porn As An Escapist Activity
Several studies have linked porn watching to escapist behaviors. One study, in particular, analyzed the reasons why people watch porn and found that there are many who watch porn to regulate their moods, such as to relieve stress or boredom, to avoid feeling sad or depressed, or simply to feel better and forget about problems.
Experts are saying that when you use porn not to feel any sexual excitement pleasure but rather to regulate your mood, then it becomes more problematic. Such escapist behavior is bound to result in more negative consequences later on.
They consider watching porn to avoid emotional discomfort as a maladaptive coping strategy, which only leads to temporary relief. You may feel momentarily entertained or happy when you watch porn, but it doesn’t really resolve your problem. And since the problem isn’t resolved yet, and you’re not even doing anything to solve it but are watching porn instead, then you’ll still have to face the same problem later on, and this time, with maybe even more negative consequences.
#4 Porn Is Linked To Infidelity
A 2012 study linked infidelity to porn watching. The researchers found that 19.4% of those who watched porn alone and not together with their sexual partners reported cheating on their partner. The number was even higher for those who watched porn alone and sometimes together with their partner, with 26.5% of them reporting that they have had sex with somebody else even when they were already seriously dating their current partner. In contrast, only 9.7% of those who never watched porn reported incidents of infidelity.
Another study also linked watching porn to higher tendencies of committing intimate acts with another aside from the current partner. These intimate acts ranged from kissing to intimate behavior with sex and actually having sex.
The researchers concluded that when you watch sexually explicit or pornographic materials, it leads to the perception that you may be able to get into another relationship alternative to the one that you currently have. And because you think that it’s highly likely that you can have a relationship with a different partner, it then leads to higher chances of cheating on your current partner.
#5 Porn Affects Dedication To Partner
The same study found that compared to those who watched porn, either individually or with their partner, those who didn’t watch porn at all reported being more dedicated to their current partners. However, it should also be noted that those who watched porn together with their current partners actually reported higher dedication as compared to those who watched porn alone. Looking at it from a different perspective, the results of the study seems to suggest that when couples watch porn together, they could benefit from it in terms of increased dedication to each other.
#6 Porn Reduces Sexual Satisfaction
Still part of the findings of the same study, it was revealed that individuals who watched porn alone reported lower sexual satisfaction as compared to those who did not watch porn at all. Another study concluded that when it’s the male partner who watches pornographic materials, sexual quality between the partners decreases. However, if the female partner is the one watching porn, female sexual quality improved.
To explain the difference in the effects on sexual quality, experts are saying that it’s because women tend to watch porn with their partners while men tend to watch porn alone. Thus, when women watch porn, it’s because it’s part of their sexual ritual, which, in turn, leads to increased intimacy with the partner.
