Porn, erotica, pornos, smut…whatever you decide to call it, whether you love it or hate, isn’t going anywhere in the foreseeable future. Is porn good or bad for us? Is it sinful and immoral or liberating and empowering? Usually when these questions are asked it leads to an intense argument of personal opinions and little else.
The sex industry is often looked at as morally corrupt and this doesn’t stop with porn. Anything sex related has a multitude of restrictions. For example, I own an adult sex toy store and marketing for it is severely limited although they are perfectly legal and most adults use and buy sex toys. Social media marketing is completely out of the question and while you can have a page, they will try very hard to make sure it is hidden. YouTube completely demonetizes any type of sex related videos.
I Will Share My Personal Opinion Of Porn In A Bit, But First Let’s Look At Some Facts And Figures:
- The sex industry is the largest and most profitable industry in the entire world.
- The sex industry makes more money than the NBA, NFL and MLB combined every year.
- According to PornHub.com, at any second there are about 30,000,000 people actively watching porn.
- Nearly half of the internet is porn or porn related websites.
- Porn searches account for 25% of internet searches in the U.S.
- According to SexTraffic, 70% of porn is watched during the hours of 9:00 am – 5:00 pm. Naughty!
Clearly, A Lot Of People Watch Porn. What Gives?
Porn isn’t always a great thing for everyone. Just browse Reddit and visit https://www.reddit.com/r/NoFap/ . On this forum you can read detailed, real life stories of people overcoming porn addiction.
The Max Planck Institute for Human Development, in Berlin, conducted a neurological study on viewers of internet porn. What they found is that after years of frequent porn viewing, the subjects showed decreased grey matter in the brain and were desensitized to erotic or sexual photographs. A decrease in grey matter causes a decrease in dopamine. Essentially, these people were wearing out their “reward” center in the brain.
Is Porn Addiction Real?
Once you become desensitized to certain material and wearing out the “reward center” of the brain a person will naturally need more extreme stimulation to get the same effects. Very similar to someone addicted to drugs. In fact, according to the University of Cambridge, brain activity in people who showed sexually compulsive behaviors was similar, if not identical, to that of an illicit drug user. Porn addiction is very real!
Is Porn Bad?
Millions of people watch porn occasionally and have no negative effects. Full disclosure, I enjoy watching porn. To me it’s stimulating and erotic. As much as I enjoy it, I am also able to see some of the potential negative parts of porn. It can be a great thing to watch alone or with a partner. While it is true that men are more visually stimulated than us women, it doesn’t mean we aren’t at all. It can help you spice things up and get in the mood. It may also open up areas of sex that you maybe weren’t sure you were interested in.
You can even use porn as a sex how-to but use this wisely. A lot of my customers will search and browse porn to look at a sex toy they aren’t exactly sure how to use. Not sure what pegging is? Watch a video. I do not, and will repeat, do not suggest you use it as a way to improve sex techniques. Porn is shot for camera angles. Real sex, that feels amazing, will not look like that. The biggest example is a woman receiving oral sex. I can not stress this enough, do not try to imitate their techniques. The camera man will always try to get what looks good on camera but guys, ladies, whoever is eating pussy…..if we can see your face, you’re not doing it right. Hell, if you can breathe, you’re probably not doing it right. Ok, that might be an exaggeration…..sort of.
Just Be Careful
Understand that porn can be a great addition to your sex life but, as with anything, there are always risks. Porn should be used for what it is, entertainment. If you find yourself watching porn and other areas of your life are suffering, reach out and get help. It is more common than you think.
Nikki