Some scientists believe that it is possible to develop erectile disorders from regular consumption of pornography. However, there is no consensus on this opinion, and other experts believe that there is no significant link between impotence and pornography.
The real boom in Internet pornography dates back to 2007, with an exponential proliferation of these sites ever since. The link between porn consumption and sexuality has already been discussed over the years, but a Belgian team (University of Antwerp) has set out to explore the subject further.
A questionnaire (118 questions) was posted online, addressing three main topics: masturbation, the frequency of visits to pornographic sites and sexual activity with a partner. The survey only included men who had had at least one sexual intercourse during the previous month.
On average, each respondent watches 70 minutes of porn per week, between 5 and 15 minutes per session. Since this is an average, some are therefore much more, others much less.
The researchers found that there is a “highly significant association” between the time spent visiting porn sites and the risk of erectile dysfunction (to varying degrees). 23% of men under the age of 35 report experiencing erectile problems from time to time, and the most affected are those who watch porn the most. The researchers say their panel is arguably not fully representative of the male population, but nonetheless, the connection found here is strong enough for some lessons tp be learned.
Very surprisingly, barely 65% of respondents say sex with a partner is more exciting than watching porn. Along those lines, 20% say they are looking for increasingly extreme pornography to keep the excitement going.
“We believe that erectile dysfunction associated with pornography consumption refers to a lack of sufficient arousal when having sex with a partner,” the authors of the study say. “When evaluating a patient with erectile dysfunction, doctors should look at their pornography use,” they added.
The researchers want to conduct further research to determine more precisely which processes lead to erectile difficulties, and to carry out a similar survey concerning the sexuality of women.
