Fast Facts

(Park, Wilson, Berger, Christman, Reina, Bishop, Klam, & Doan, 2016; Sun, Bridges, Johnson, & Ezzell, 2016)

Some frequent porn consumers can become so accustomed to the exaggerated forms of sex they see in porn, that they may have a difficult time becoming aroused in real-life sexual encounters unless porn is also present.

Citations

Park, B. Y., Wilson, G., Berger, J., Christman, M., Reina, B., Bishop, F., Klam, W. P., & Doan, A. P. (2016). Is Internet Pornography Causing Sexual Dysfunctions? A Review with Clinical Reports. Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland), 6(3), 17. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs6030017
Sun, C., Bridges, A., Johnson, J. A., & Ezzell, M. B. (2016). Pornography and the male sexual script: An analysis of consumption and sexual relations. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 45(4), 983-994. doi:10.1007/s10508-014-0391-2

How Porn Can Harm Consumers’ Sex Lives

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(Sun, Miezan, Lee, & Shim, 2015)

Research has found that those who enjoy extreme porn tend to prefer porn to real-life sex as a way to achieve sexual arousal.

Citations

Sun, C., Miezan, E., Lee, N., & Shim, J. W. (2015). Korean Men’s pornography use, their interest in extreme pornography, and dyadic sexual relationships. International Journal of Sexual Health. 27(1), 16-35. doi:10.1080/19317611.2014.927048

How Porn Can Harm Consumers’ Sex Lives

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(Tylka & Kroon Van Diest, 2015)

Women whose partners consume porn tend to experience more psychological distress, feel more objectified, have poorer body image, and are even more likely to develop eating disorder symptoms.

Citations

Tylka, T. L., & Kroon Van Diest, A. M. (2015). You Looking at Her “Hot” Body May Not be “Cool” for Me: Integrating Male Partners’ Pornography Use into Objectification Theory for Women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 39(1), 67–84. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684314521784

How Porn Can Hurt A Consumer’s Partner

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(Wright, Tokunaga, Kraus, & Klann, 2017; Perry, 2020)

Studies consistently show that porn is linked to lower relationship satisfaction and lower relationship quality.

Citations

Wright, P. J., Tokunaga, R. S., Kraus, A., & Klann, E. (2017). Pornography consumption and satisfaction: A meta-analysis. Human Communication Research, 43(3), 315-343. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/hcre.12108
Perry S. L. (2020). Pornography and Relationship Quality: Establishing the Dominant Pattern by Examining Pornography Use and 31 Measures of Relationship Quality in 30 National Surveys. Archives of sexual behavior, 49(4), 1199–1213. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-019-01616-7

How Porn Can Negatively Impact Love And Intimacy

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(Rasmussen, 2016; Wright, Tokunaga, Kraus, & Klann, 2017)

Research shows that people who consume porn tend to later experience lower relationship satisfaction.

Citations

Rasmussen, K. (2016). A historical and empirical review of pornography and romantic relationships: Implications for family researchers. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 8(2), 173-191. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12141
Wright, P. J., Tokunaga, R. S., Kraus, A., & Klann, E. (2017). Pornography consumption and satisfaction: A meta-analysis. Human Communication Research, 43(3), 315-343. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/hcre.12108

How Porn Can Negatively Impact Love And Intimacy

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(Ezzell, Johnson, Bridges, & Sun, 2020)

Increased pornography consumption is linked to men’s enjoyment of degrading, uncommon, or aggressive sexual behaviors.

Citations

Ezzell, M. B., Johnson, J. A., Bridges, A. J., & Sun, C. F. (2020). I (dis)like it like that: Gender, pornography, and liking sex. J.Sex Marital Ther., 46(5), 460-473. doi:10.1080/0092623X.2020.1758860

How Porn Can Harm Consumers’ Sex Lives

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(Rasmussen, 2016; Lambert, Negash, Stillman, Olmstead, & Fincham, 2012)

Porn consumers tend to be more accepting of cheating.

Citations

Rasmussen, K. (2016). A historical and empirical review of pornography and romantic relationships: Implications for family researchers. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 8(2), 173-191. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12141
Lambert, N. M., Negash, S., Stillman, T. F., Olmstead, S. B., & Fincham, F. D. (2012). A love that doesn't last: Pornography consumption and weakened commitment to one's romantic partner. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 31(4), 410-438. doi:10.1521/jscp.2012.31.4.410

How Porn Can Negatively Impact Love And Intimacy

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(Wright, Tokunaga, Herbenick, & Paul, 2021)

Research suggests that pornography can make young people more sexually illiterate —in other words, it’s actively spreading harmful misinformation about sex.

Citations

Wright, P. J., Tokunaga, R. S., Herbenick, D., & Paul, B. (2021). Pornography vs. sexual science: The role of pornography use and dependency in U.S. teenagers’ sexual illiteracy. Communication Monographs, 1-22. doi:10.1080/03637751.2021.1987486

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(Tylka & Kroon Van Diest, 2015)

A study of women in relationships with men who consume porn found that the frequency of the man’s porn consumption was negatively correlated with the woman’s sense of self-esteem, level of relationship quality, and sexual satisfaction.

Citations

Tylka, T. L., & Kroon Van Diest, A. M. (2015). You Looking at Her “Hot” Body May Not be “Cool” for Me: Integrating Male Partners’ Pornography Use into Objectification Theory for Women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 39(1), 67–84. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684314521784

How Porn Can Hurt A Consumer’s Partner

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(Rothman, Kaczmarsky, Burke, Jansen, & Baughman, 2015)

Research indicates that young people often feel pressured to imitate porn when having sex.

Citations

Rothman, E. F., Kaczmarsky, C., Burke, N., Jansen, E., & Baughman, A. (2015). "Without Porn … I Wouldn't Know Half the Things I Know Now": A Qualitative Study of Pornography Use Among a Sample of Urban, Low-Income, Black and Hispanic Youth. Journal of sex research, 52(7), 736–746. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2014.960908

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(Perry, 2020)

Porn consumption is linked to poorer relationship quality.

Citations

Perry S. L. (2020). Pornography and Relationship Quality: Establishing the Dominant Pattern by Examining Pornography Use and 31 Measures of Relationship Quality in 30 National Surveys. Archives of sexual behavior, 49(4), 1199–1213. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-019-01616-7

How Porn Can Negatively Impact Love And Intimacy

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(Szymanski, Feltman, & Dunn, 2015)

Research shows that even individuals who are accepting of pornography tend to experience psychological distress when their own partners consume pornography.

Citations

Szymanski, D. M., Feltman, C. E., & Dunn, T. L. (2015). Male partners’ perceived pornography use and women’s relational and psychological health: The roles of trust, attitudes, and investment. Sex Roles, 73(5), 187-199. doi:10.1007/s11199-015-0518-5

How Porn Can Hurt A Consumer’s Partner

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