Let’s talk about porn! For decades, people have been asking themselves the same question about porn; is it good or bad for us? And what does watching porn really do to our body and mind? Most people claim that watching porn is completely normal and thus harmless. But is this really true? Many of us may not know, but there are an increasing amount of researchers and doctors showing that watching porn may, in fact, lead to certain unpleasant individual and social outcomes. These outcomes can heavily affect a person in both the short and long-term.

In today’s world, watching porn is fairly common and considered normal by both men and women. And whilst many people who watch porn occasionally do not suffer from any side effects, there also is a large group of people that do. Especially nowadays, with easy access to the internet, many teens and even pre-teens are obsessed with internet porn. As harmless as this may seem, the effects can, in fact, be devastating.

Especially for younger people whose brains are still developing, watching too much porn can have major consequences. Early brain studies on internet porn users show us that people who have watched porn excessively throughout the past years have a significantly lower amount of grey matter in their brains. Having less grey matter means that you have less dopamine and fewer dopamine receptors. This, more or less, wears out your reward sensitivity and makes it more difficult for you to feel excited or happy.

Having less grey matter, and thus dopamine, inside of your body can be noticed in different ways; some of which directly related to your porn habits, others to everyday life. The easiest way to indicate that the grey matter of porn addicts is reducing is the fact that most people who watch porn find it more and more difficult to get aroused once time passes. As a result, their taste in porn gets more and more extreme. Nowadays, simple pictures of a naked lady won’t turn on most men anymore. This is exactly the reason why Playboy magazine stopped displaying nude ladies after early 2006.

But this is not all. Watching porn does not only affect your taste in pornography, it also affects your everyday life. People who watch porn daily have admitted that they find it more difficult to feel exciting in real life. Added to that, they find it harder to concentrate as a result of which their productivity drops. Also, the sexual health of these people has dropped significantly and many find it hard to get aroused in real life from regular sex with their partner. This may even lead to relationship and attachment problems. As a result, a porn addiction can have significant effects on a person’s social and sexual life. Although often ignored, a study from the University of Cambridge has actually shown that people who have compulsive sexual behavior exhibit a behavioral addiction that is similar to that of having a drug addiction. This proves that watching porn may not be as harmless as it seems.

Many young men who occasionally watch porn admit that it has affected their sexual health. It has become increasingly difficult for them to be aroused by their partner in real life. Added to that, they experience difficulties in meeting other people’s sexual needs as well as reaching an orgasm or even an erection through real-life sexual encounters. In fact, online porn has had such major effects on the brain and behavior of young men, that it has led to a completely new and previously unknown medical phenomenon: porn-induced erectile dysfunction (PIED). Simply put, this means that the mind of young male adults has been affected so much due to watching porn that they find it difficult or even impossible to get an erection by the thought of regular sexual intercourse with a partner.

It is clear that watching porn truly can have some serious effects on your brain, body, and over-all life. As of such, it is highly recommended that you reduce watching online porn. Instead, focus on other activities and, when it is about love and sex, focus on your real-life partner. Below, we have listed down a couple of reasons why it may be a good idea to simply use your laptop for work and watching movies instead of online porn:

• People who watch porn experience a decline in general and sexual arousal over time. As a result, it becomes more difficult to feel happy and excited about things in life and people need more extreme ways to feel excited.
• 20% of all people who watch porn on regular basis admit that the urge to watch pornography controls their life on a daily basis.
• 50% of young male adults who are addicted to porn have never had sex in real life.
• Almost half of all male college students admit visiting porn sites regularly.
• Half of the young male adults who watch porn occasionally developed their porn habit when they were 12 to 14 years old. A staggering 16% of male porn addicts started watching before the age of 12.
• More than 60% of frequent porn watchers admit that their taste in porn has changed and became more extreme or deviant.
• Among young men who occasionally watch porn, 1 out of 5 admits to suffering from premature ejaculation, 1 out of 4 admits to being less interested in their real-life partner, and 1 out of 3 experience difficulties reaching an orgasm or even a simple erection through real-life intercourse.
• After a month of non-masturbation, the majority of young men felt that their sexual functions had improved. Added to that, their overall concentration and productivity levels had also risen.
• Watching less porn has positive effects on the penis too as it helps you to experience stronger orgasms and offers a great way of strengthening your penis.

So there you have it, men. And whilst still more research is needed on the effects of porn on a person’s mind and body, the results of earlier studies are enough to raise concerns. The statistics above certainly indicate that watching porn obsessively does have negative impacts on our lives. As of such, it might be a good idea to give your hand a rest and, instead, try to focus on a real live human woman, instead. Luckily for us, it is never too late to change. Take it step by step and try to reduce the time you spend watching porn. Find yourself a real lady and focus on her. You might not know it, but there are plenty of exciting ways and sex toys that make real-life sex extremely interesting and exciting.