The research is in. Porn addiction leads to a terrible sex life and broken relationships. Find the list of symptoms here.
A wealth of data is now available showing the effects of pornography on the human brain and the effects that porn addiction has had as a compulsive sexual behaviour disorder.
Porn addiction research hub yourbrainonporn.com has compiled studies showing a sharp rise in youthful sexual dysfunction and low libido.
Translated, porn will cause erectile dysfunction.
More than 30 years ago, the US Surgeon General sounded a warning over the effects of porn.
Porn use has been shown to cause erectile dysfunction.
“Pornography seems to have what I would call a ‘persistent presence’ in … sexual dysfunction,” Dr Charles Everett Koop said in 1985.
“Pornography intervenes in normal sexual relationships and alters them in some way.
“It seems to provoke a dysfunctional response among certain people.
“I think we need to know how prevalent this is and how it works.”
Yourbrainonporn.com has cited that, as of 2019, 75 studies “have linked porn use to poorer sexual and relationship satisfaction”.
The World Health Organisation has now classed compulsive sexual behaviour disorder as a mental health condition.
Common symptoms of porn addiction include concentration problems, low motivation, depression, social anxiety, self esteem issues and erectile dysfunction, with porn addicts often perceived to be irritable, leading a double life, showing guilt and regularly fighting with loved ones.
A 2017 Spanish study found one third of participants:had suffered negative consequences in family, social, academic or work environment. In addition, 33 per cent spent more than 5 hours connected for sexual purposes, using pornography as a reward and 24 per cent had anxiety symptoms if they could not connect.
A recent paper sponsored by the University of South Australia, Monash and Flinders University also found that exposure to porn has had a catastrophic effect on children, who have increasingly been found to show harmful sexual behaviours.
The study surveyed child educators nationally.
Author Dr Lesley Ey said Queensland had accounted for a disturbingly large number of HSB among minors. “One third of the recent convictions of sexual assaults were occurring in Queensland,” Dr Ey said.
She said harmful sexual behaviours were likely to have been learned from accessing online porn. “That has to be the result of sexual abuse or observing those sexual behaviours, which would likely be children viewing pornography,” Dr Ey said.
“It is that sort of behaviour that has to be observed or engaged with for them to ne able to re-enact.
A new university study has shown children are increasingly showing harmful sexual behaviours likely learned from online porn.
“It is not something that is natural at that age range – 10 to 17.
“It is more likely that they are accessing porn, they may have accessed it or have been shown by their friends.”
Dr Ey said children accessing porn suffered from psychological damage and physical harm
“A lot of children are turning to the internet for their sex education; they are interpreting it as how to have sex.
“Children are developing very degrading sexual behaviours.”
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