Decades of studies from respected academic institutions, have demonstrated significant impacts of porn consumption for individuals, relationships, and society. "What’s the Research" aims to shed light on the expanding field of academic resources that showcase porn’s harms in a variety of ways. Below are selected excerpts from published studies on this issue.
The full study can be accessed here.
Authors: Laier, C., Brand, M.
Published June 2017
Abstract
Internet-pornography-viewing disorder (IPD) is considered one type of Internet-use disorder. For IPD’s development, it was assumed theoretically that a dysfunctional use of Internet pornography to cope with depressive mood or stress might be considered to be a risk factor.
Methods
To address the effect of Internet pornography use on mood, an online study with three measuring points with a sample of male participants was conducted. Participants were investigated regarding their tendencies towards IPD, personal use of Internet pornography, general mood, perceived stress, and their Internet pornography use motivation. Moreover, participants were asked regarding their current mood, sexual arousal, and need to masturbate before and after they watched Internet pornography self-determinedly in a private environment.
Results
Data showed that tendencies towards IPD were associated negatively with feeling generally good, awake, and calm and were correlated positively with perceived stress in daily life and using Internet pornography for excitation seeking and emotional avoidance. Self-determined use of Internet pornography in their private environment was accompanied by changes in mood and indicators of sexual arousal. Moreover, tendencies towards IPD were negatively related to mood before and after Internet-pornography use as well as an actual increase of good and calm mood. The results showed effects of watching Internet pornography on mood and sexual arousal which can be considered having reinforcing effects for the user. Thus, the results are in line with theoretical assumptions on IPD’s development, in which the positive (and negative) reinforcement received by Internet-pornography use is related to cue-reactivity and craving reactions.
The full study can be accessed here.
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Most kids today are exposed to porn by the age of 12. By the time they’re teenagers, 75% of boys and 70% of girls have already viewed itRobb, M.B., & Mann, S. (2023). Teens and pornography. San Francisco, CA: Common Sense.Copy —often before they’ve had a single healthy conversation about it.
Even more concerning: over half of boys and nearly 40% of girls believe porn is a realistic depiction of sexMartellozzo, E., Monaghan, A., Adler, J. R., Davidson, J., Leyva, R., & Horvath, M. A. H. (2016). “I wasn’t sure it was normal to watch it”: A quantitative and qualitative examination of the impact of online pornography on the values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of children and young people. Middlesex University, NSPCC, & Office of the Children’s Commissioner.Copy . And among teens who have seen porn, more than 79% of teens use it to learn how to have sexRobb, M.B., & Mann, S. (2023). Teens and pornography. San Francisco, CA: Common Sense.Copy . That means millions of young people are getting sex ed from violent, degrading content, which becomes their baseline understanding of intimacy. Out of the most popular porn, 33%-88% of videos contain physical aggression and nonconsensual violence-related themesFritz, N., Malic, V., Paul, B., & Zhou, Y. (2020). A descriptive analysis of the types, targets, and relative frequency of aggression in mainstream pornography. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 49(8), 3041-3053. doi:10.1007/s10508-020-01773-0Copy Bridges et al., 2010, “Aggression and Sexual Behavior in Best-Selling Pornography Videos: A Content Analysis,” Violence Against Women.Copy .
From increasing rates of loneliness, depression, and self-doubt, to distorted views of sex, reduced relationship satisfaction, and riskier sexual behavior among teens, porn is impacting individuals, relationships, and society worldwideFight the New Drug. (2024, May). Get the Facts (Series of web articles). Fight the New Drug.Copy .
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