Cover photo by Vadim Kaipov. 4 minute read.
We’ve all seen the label, right? When a smoker purchases a pack of cigarettes, it comes with a Surgeon General’s warning on the pack to warn the smoker of the serious health consequences of tobacco use.
Cigarette suppliers have to follow this protocol of making sure the consumer knows the harmful effects of what they’re using. It doesn’t restrict the smoker’s right to purchase or use, but it does let them know that what they’re doing is harmful and unhealthy.
But what if millions of people were unknowingly letting something unhealthy into their life every single day? What if we told you that a huge risk to your health in 2015 isn’t always talked about as a legitimate issue?
Believe it or not, one of our generation’s biggest health issues is pornography.
Science and research shows us in multiple studies that pornography is addictive. Porn changes and rewires the way the brain works and use often escalates, much like drugs. If porn producers had to put disclaimers beneath their videos they’d look something like this:
Think about it. Millions of people around the world are engaging with something that could do real damage to their life, and many of them don’t even know it.
In a culture where being healthy is a huge deal, we think that’s pretty ironic. Every day, we hear about new chemicals that can cause cancer or new exercises that get you the most weight loss results, but not about porn’s harms. The same culture that is all about the healthiest body possible by using that new tea detox or fad diet doesn’t see anything wrong with using porn.
So what is it about porn that causes millions of people to suffer physically, mentally, and emotionally? After all, some people believe that porn is a healthy sexual activity and a harmless matter of personal choice. We’re here to tell you that this idea needs serious reevaluation.
Physically
Porn has numerous harmful effects on the human body, including damaging men’s ability to have sex with a real partner.
Thirty years ago, erectile dysfunction in men under the age of 35 was practically unheard of because it was generally caused by blocked blood vessels in a man’s aging body. [1] That’s no longer the case. Now, with the availability of porn, erectile dysfunction is a common problem for young men as young as 16 years old. [2] With more and more porn use, the brain begins to form new pathways to recognize what is pleasurable. What often ends up happening is that the brain becomes wired to be turned on by porn [3] and the man can no longer achieve an erection with a real partner. [4] After some time, even being turned on by porn may become difficult as some of the brain’s dopamine receptors begin to shut down as more porn and harder forms of porn are needed to get aroused. [5]
Basically, watching exaggerated virtual sex can make having actual sex impossible. That’s not sexy…and it’s definitely not healthy. But thankfully, the damage isn’t permanent—read here about the brain’s ability to go through synaptic pruning during the recovery process.
Mentally
Depression, anxiety, and loneliness are major problems in our world today, but did you know that consuming porn can be major fuel of all three of these issues? [6] Because of porn consumers’ desire to keep their habit a secret, their relationships can suffer, leaving them lonely and vulnerable mental health issues. [7] Studies show that porn consumers can also commonly develop body-image issues, low self-esteem, and insecurity. [8]
And not just the consumers, but their partners as well. It is very common, when partners find out that their other half has been consuming porn, for them to feel a whole range of negative emotions including rejection, humiliation, abandonment, isolation, loneliness, jealousy, anger, and shame. [9] Even if they don’t believe that porn is the same as cheating, they often feel a deep sense of loss, betrayal, and mistrust. [10] The secrecy, shame, isolation, and lies that are often introduced into a relationship by compulsive porn consumption can snowball into all kinds of problems. [11]
Emotionally
Two of the most respected pornography researchers, Jennings Bryant and Dolf Zillman at the University of Alabama, studied the effects of porn and media for more than 30 years. They found that consuming pornography makes many individuals less satisfied with their own partners’ physical appearance, sexual performance, sexual curiosity, and affection. [12] They also found that, over time, many porn users grow more callous toward females in general, less likely to value monogamy and marriage, and more likely to develop distorted perceptions of sexuality. [13] Other researchers have confirmed those results and added that porn consumers tend to be significantly less intimate with their partners, [14] less committed in their relationships, [15] less satisfied with their romantic and sex lives, [16] and more likely to cheat on their partners. [17]
Basically…
In other words, porn kills love. It’s clear that porn is definitely not healthy, given its ability to harm consumers without them even realizing it. Porn has become a public health crisis, and millions of people are suffering from its effects.
It’s time to spread the word that porn is not just a habit but a destructive behavior for all those involved.
What YOU Can Do
A lot of people don’t know the actual scientific harms of porn. SHARE this article and help to spread the facts.