"Excessive pornography viewing is likely to contribute to a risk of sexual dysfunction in men, but not women, according to new research. A panel discussion and presentation held on Friday at the 112th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Urological Association highlights results from surveys conducted on men and women about pornography viewing habits and the long-term effects on sexual health and intimate behavior.
The researchers, led by Dr. Matthew Christman, a staff urologist and program director for pediatric urology at the Naval Medical Center of San Diego, report that while pornography trivially affects women’s sex lives, an excessive habit can be ruinous to men’s psychosexual health. Essentially, many men who are really into internet porn have the potential to become disinterested in sex with a real-life partner. The researchers suggest that the more time men spend on sites such as PornHub, the less able they’ll be to connect with a partner in the bedroom. This can result in severe damage to sexual and romantic relationships and make intimacy challenging, at best.
Roughly 20 percent of men reported using porn three to five times weekly. Nearly 4 percent of men reported they preferred masturbating to pornography over having sexual intercourse with a partner. The researchers also recognized a correlation between men who used pornography frequently and those who reported lack of sexual desire and intercourse satisfaction, as well as erectile dysfunction."
I think they may have it backwards. Many men have erectile dysfunction. Especially older men, starting in their 40's. They may tend to avoid real life sex - because they don't want to fail at it! They don't want to be unable to achieve an erection in the real life presence of the woman they want to have sex with. Non performance is embarrassing, humiliating and depressing for men. So, a lot of men turn to online porn, and masturbation instead. They avoid real life sex. Because, for whatever reason, they don't want to fail at it.
If the guy viewing porn and masturbating fails to become erect or ejaculate, nobody knows and nobody cares except him. Porn presents less performance risk. Less embarrassment. Less humiliation. In other words, men with sexual dysfunction issues may be avoiding real women, and real sex, and turning to porn instead. Maybe it's not the porn causing the intimacy issue, maybe it's the intimacy issues that causes the porn viewing.
Yes, there is Viagra and other ED drugs. Yes, men with ED ought to use them and use them safely. Yes, and if ED drugs aren't already, they should be cheaper. And covered by insurance.
