Do erotic movies really destroy your sex life?

Almost everyone watches it, and yet half the world is arguing about it. Opponents of porn claim that the films have a bad influence on the health and relationship life of the consumer. Proponents refute common porn prejudices and even attribute positive effects to the erotic flicks. So who is really right? Does porn really do any harm?

1. prejudice: porn is addictive

Everyone watches sex films — some more, some less. Some consume regularly, others only in certain phases of life. But at what point does it become too much? Does the diagnosis “porn addiction” really exist? Of course, there are people who would claim that they watch an above-average number of sex films. But very few of them actually develop addiction-like behavior, which, when abstinent, is accompanied by withdrawal-like symptoms such as irritability, difficulty concentrating, exhaustion or nervousness.

There are also men who definitely have problems regulating their consumption and suffer from compulsive behavior. But even in this case, psychologists do not speak of a real addiction in the medical sense. This is confirmed by a study published in the US journal “Biology Psychology”. The neuroscientists found that porn films are not as addictive as alcohol or cigarettes, for example. Doctors diagnose obsessive porn watching as a personality or behavioral disorder. However, this is rare and is easily treatable.

2. prejudice: watching porn leads to penis problems.

Problems with pleasure, potency and orgasm are also said to be due to porn, according to critics. The reason for the so-called porn-induced impotence is that the constant viewing of hardcore clips dulls. This prejudice could be disproved by 2 studies in the scientific journal “Sexual Medicine” (study 1 and study 2). The scientists proved that men who often watch sex movies do not have problems with potency or orgasm more often than men who rarely watch porn. The researchers also did not find an increased risk of erectile dysfunction. They even found something that speaks for a positive influence of erotic films on sex life: the more often and longer the men watch porn, the higher the desire for sex with their partner.

3. prejudice: Only sexists watch porn

Porn is only something for misogynistic men — not only feminists claim that. Nonsense, say Canadian researchers. In a study published in the journal “The Journal of Sex Research”, they proved that test subjects who have regularly watched porn in the last year are more in favor of gender equality than men who rarely watch sex films.

4. Those who watch sex films have unprotected sex more often.

The rumor that men who often consume porn are more risky during sex persists. The suspicion is obvious, since condoms are rarely used in hardcore films. In fact, however, a study in the Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy proved that men who regularly watch sex movies do not have unprotected sex or frequently changing sex partners more often than men who rarely watch porn. So how often a man watches porn has nothing to do with his risk of contracting a sexually transmitted infection.

5. prejudice: sex movies promote sexual violence.

Porn viewers are potential rapists? That’s some pretty tough stuff. The prejudice that men who often watch porn are more likely to engage in sexual violence has now been definitively disproved. A study in the scientific journal “Aggression and Violent Behavior” proved the opposite: men who watch sex films tend to be less sexually aggressive towards women. However, the authors of the study do not want to commit themselves to the idea that sex films even make men more gentle.

6. prejudice: porn ruins the relationship

Does porn really poison your relationship? At least not if you watch the movies with your partner. A study in the journal “The Journal of Sex Research” proved that couples who watch sex movies together are more satisfied with their sex life than those who never watch porn together. The reason: the couples are more willing to experiment in bed. That invigorates love.

On the other hand, another large-scale study, published in the journal Human Communication Research, found that men who watch porn are more often dissatisfied in their relationship. But beware: this doesn’t mean that porn makes men unhappy in their relationship. Rather, it means that men who are unhappy in the relationship are more likely to watch sex movies. The researchers explain that men tend to use porn to distract themselves from relationship problems. Thus, behind a sudden increase in porn consumption may be a more serious problem.

When you watch sex movies, you don’t necessarily ruin the relationship, the character or your health. On the contrary, watching porn together with your partner can even improve your sex life. As long as you don’t suffer from your porn consumption, everything is fine. However, there’s nothing like real sex!