A new study says that the men, who prefer pornography, might face problems in performing sexually with people when it comes to real life.
Porn addicted men are more prone to erectile dysfunction. They are more satisfied in pornography and are less likely to have sexual intercourse, according to the findings of a recent survey, presented at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA) in Boston.
The researchers investigated over 312 men, aged between 20 to 40, who visited San Diego urology clinic for the treatment. Out of these, only 3.4% men preferred masturbating watching porn over sexual intercourse. Dr. Matthew Christman, the lead researchers, said that a relation between sexual dysfunction and pornography was observed.
“The rates of organic causes of erectile dysfunction in this age cohort are extremely low, so the increase in erectile dysfunction that we have seen over time for this group needs to be explained,” Christman said. “We believe that pornography use may be one piece to that puzzle. Our data does not suggest that it is the only explanation, however.”
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“Sexual behavior activates the same ‘reward system’ circuitry in the brain as addictive drugs, such as cocaine and methamphetamines, which can result in self-reinforcing activity, or recurrent behaviors,” said Christman.
“Internet pornography, specifically, has been shown to be a supernormal stimulus of this circuitry, which may be due to the ability to continuously and instantaneously self-select novel and more sexually arousing images,” he added.
Men, who watch too much porn on the internet, might have higher tolerance level. Regular watching of porn may reduce their response to real-life sex.
“Tolerance could explain the sexual dysfunction, and can explain our finding that associated preferences for pornography over partnered sex with statistically significantly higher sexual dysfunction in men,” said Christman.
In the study, about 26% men said that they watch porn less than once a week, 25% accepted that they view one to two times a week, 21% said that see 3-5 times a week, 5% said they watch porn 6-10 times a week and rest 4% said more than 11 times a week. The investigation indicated that 72% of the participants used computer to watch pornography, while 62% used smartphones.
A separate survey was conducted on 48 females that showed no relation between pornography and sexual dysfunction, despite of the fact that 40% women accepted to watch porn.
Christman suggested that the parents should spend time with their kids, show interest in their activities and block their access to pornography. He also said that men should go for counselling if they think that pornography is ruining their sex life.
Christman commented, “Presently, mental health professionals and those with a focus on dealing with addictive behaviors may be best suited to help individuals with pornography addiction”. He further said that some reports showed that sexual function could improve if an affected man stops viewing porn.