The Rise of Porn and Its Impact on Men

In the modern world, porn is frequently used as entertainment, even though it’s often seen negatively. Pornography comprises a massive range of consumable media that includes homemade photos, erotic movies, mass-produced online content, and even homemade sex tapes. For years scientists have studied why men and women watch porn and concluded some interesting findings.

In unsurprising news, recent studies and scientific reports, men are more likely to watch porn, and there’s a higher percentage of men watching porn than women. If men are watching porn more frequently than women and if porn is used as a form of entertainment for men more than women, why is this the case? Also, do these findings suggest that pornography is becoming more accepted amongst the mainstream?

The answers to these questions, unfortunately, aren’t as simple as many might think. Interestingly there are specific reasons men watch porn. Moreover, it turns out that although there are negatives to watching skin flicks, there are also some benefits associated with the consumption of adult movies. If you’ve found yourself intrigued and would like to know some fascinating pornography statistics stick around as it’s sure to be a curious ride. 

What Is Porn?

Before we can delve into the nitty-gritty behind the reasons men watch porn, we should clarify what pornography is. For years international panels and supreme courts have struggled to define what exactly porn is. For most, pornography can be defined as media such as videos or images that contain sexually explicit content. 

With the inception of the internet, porn is far more accessible than ever before. In fact, multiple online porn sites stream paid and free content. On these sites, there are many different categories and fetishes catering to the tastes of different people. These categories add to the complexities surrounding the true definition of porn because often, porn means something different from person to person. 

Five Reasons Men Watch Porn

Scientifically it’s believed men are hard-wired to be easily aroused. This can be traced back to when the main reason for having sex was to procreate. A recent study concluded that mirror neurons light up in a male’s brain when a sexual act is performed or when a man observes a sexual act. It’s believed that this reaction causes arousal and could be what drives men to consume pornographic material. Ultimately, men’s brains ensure they can be easily aroused so that they are ready to participate in sexual acts whenever the opportunity arises. 

However, this is just one of the scientific reasons surrounding why scientists believe men watch porn. Many doctors agree on a few other reasons why men choose to watch porn, and we have listed some of them below. 

• Men enjoy the sexual excitement and the quick release that porn delivers.
• Men find pornography easy to predict and control, unlike the real world, which is fraught with uncertainty and stress.
• Some men cannot overcome the Madonna/Whore complex, which is why they turn to pornography. This complex refers to a man finding it difficult to get aroused by his motherly wife or partner but easily aroused by a wanton woman. 
• Men who have been cut off from sex at home and who are lonely turn to pornography as a way to still receive sexual satisfaction. 
• Some men have specific sexual fantasies and tastes that they cannot participate in with their partners, so they choose to turn to porn to get the gratification they seek. Porn allows many men to virtually watch sexual acts that they are interested in without seeking a physical solution. 

The Percentage of Men That Watch Porn

Now we know why men watch porn, we can look at the percentage of men that choose to consume pornographic material. As you’re reading this article, there are approximately 30,000 people watching porn in the United States. Factually, it’s been proven continuously that men watch porn more often than women, and this has been an ongoing trend for decades.

According to studies, it’s believed a whopping 95% of men have watched porn at least once during their lifetime. In comparison, it’s thought only 70% of women have watched porn at least once during their lifetime. Additionally, the Relationships in America data revealed around 49% of men and only 9% of women watch porn at least once a week. Shockingly, only 6% claim to have never watched porn.

It’s believed men consume the most pornographic media during their 20s and 30s, but this starts to peter out as they become older. Yet, even at age 60, a man only watches slightly less porn than they did when they were in their 20s and 30s. 

Source: Relationships In America

The Benefits Associated With Watching Porn for Men

For years people have claimed watching porn causes men to have affairs, changes a man’s feelings about his wife or partner, and even causes men to seek addictive activities. Although porn gets much wrong about a healthy sexual relationship, there are some benefits associated with men watching porn. 

1. Watching Porn Is Sexually Healthy

Men who watch porn are more inclined towards healthy masturbation. Masturbation increases a man’s fertility, releases tension, improves sleep patterns, strengthens muscle tone in the pelvic region, and even helps reduce the risk of prostate cancer.

Additionally, men who watch porn are participating in a form of safe sex. Unlike physical sex, a man cannot get a sexually transmitted disease, nor can he pass one on to his partner. Moreover, porn also promotes safe sex between a man and his sexual partners as it can be used as a sexual aid or as research.

2. Porn Makes Men Better at Math

Interestingly, watching, listening to, and reading erotica helps alleviate stress. A study from Carnegie Mellon gathered two groups of men together and made one group look at semi-erotic photos. They then made each of the men involved in the study take a mathematics test. You might not believe the study’s results. 

According to the researchers, the men who looked at the semi-erotic photos before taking the test did better than the group of men who looked at different photographs. It’s believed that by looking at the semi-erotic pictures, each man’s cortisol levels were reduced by half. Cortisol is the hormone that causes a person to stress. Effectively the study concluded that when men look at erotic images, they are less stressed and better able to focus. So if you ever get caught watching a naughty movie, you can say it’s helping you de-stress. 

3. It Increases Sexual Satisfaction

Most men who watch porn often state how they experience increased sexual satisfaction. In 2008, researchers decided to explore a group of Danish men and women to determine if it’s true that pornography increases sexual satisfaction. 

At the end of the study, it was concluded that the participants viewed watching hardcore porn as beneficial to their sex lives and their attitudes towards sex and members of the opposite sex. 

The Negatives Surrounding Watching Porn for Men

Arguably at this moment in time, pornography is the king of the internet. It’s also one of the most successful industries in the world, with it seeing more than 12 billion dollars each year. Pornography fuels a man’s desire for synthetic sex, and pornographic websites fuel this desire. We looked at the positives before, but there are some negatives surrounding men watching porn. 

1. Porn Sometimes Causes Erectile Dysfunction

Alarmingly there has been a rise in studies that have shown a link between men who watch porn and erectile dysfunction. It has been proven that for some men, frequently watching porn prevents them from gaining an erection. 

These men can only achieve an erection if they watch pornography, as it is the only thing that can stimulate arousal in them because they have allowed porn to act as psychological conditioning.

2. It Encourages Self Gratification

One of the crucial skills needed in life is the ability to experience delayed gratification and thrive. Delayed gratification allows you to learn how to take control of your life and maintain that control. When men repeatedly give in to the urge to watch porn, they promote self-gratification.

When you turn to self-gratification, you allow yourself to become more focused on the things you find pleasurable, which means losing your ability to delay gratification. If you lose this skill, you lose confidence in your sexual skills, and you also lose the will to control your primal desires. 

3. Causes A Decrease In Arousal

Men who are addicted to porn often experienced a decreased sense of arousal with their wives and sexual partners. Yet, men addicted to porn who constantly sought new partners managed to experience normal levels of arousal. This might sound like a really good thing, but it isn’t. Scientifically it is known as the Coolidge Effect.

This effect relates to a tendency towards participating in novelty-seeking behavior. Essentially, men who are addicted to porn constantly seek new experiences that they often cannot find with their significant others because they have conditioned themselves to believe only porn can grant them sexual satisfaction. 

Source: Pornhub

10 Interesting Pornography Statistics

If you’re interested in uncovering some more pornography statistics that apply to both men and women, you should have a look at the below list. Each of these statistics has been thoroughly researched for accuracy. 

• The virtual reality porn industry will likely be a $1 billion business by 2025.
• One out of every five mobile internet searches is for porn.
• Approximately 55% of adults older than 25 years believe porn to be wrong.
• 43% of teenagers believe porn to be bad for society, while 59% of boomers believe porn to be wrong.
• It is estimated that almost $3,100 is spent on pornography every second on the internet.
• Teenagers and young adults that are between the ages of 13 to 24 believe not recycling is worse than watching porn.
• On average, a man is first exposed to pornography at age 12.
• Men who watch pornography have a higher likelihood of getting divorced.
• Approximately 64% of Christian men admit to watching pornography at least once a month.
• One in seven senior pastors consumes pornographic material regularly.

To conclude, it’s doubtful that the pornography industry is going to experience a decline in viewers. If anything, the industry is expected to see a considerable uptick in viewers with the gradual introduction of virtual reality pornography. 

Based on recent studies and reports, it’s proven that statistically, men are more likely to watch porn than women on an ongoing basis. It’s also evident that there are both positives and negatives surrounding men watching porn. Additionally, it seems that pornography is becoming more accepted amongst the younger generations of users. 

Ultimately the decision to watch porn is in your hands. You will need to evaluate the benefits and disadvantages and evaluate your love life and relationship before deciding how much pornography you should view or if you need to view pornography at all. 

Source: CovenantEyes