Amandalynn Ochoa

UWRT Research Paper

04 April 2015

How Pornography Affects Us

According to the research from The Great Porn Experiment, pornography usage
has seemed to skyrocket since the advancement of technology allowed it to be accessed
via Internet. This has led to the deterioration of relationships and has affected the health
and behaviors of pornography users.
Recently, pornography users and partners of users have found it difficult to
maintain a relationship. According to Clay Olsen, Chief Executive of Fight the New
Drug, writes about how pornography negatively affects the brain. Olsen argues that
porn is like a drug, and in politically correct terms, it is. The affects that Internet
pornography has on the brain are similar to cocaine stimulations. Doctor V.L Hedges
performed a study on mammals; showing how the brain responded similarly to artificial
simulations as it did narcotics, by releasing a naturally produced hormone called
dopamine. Dopamine is a hormone that the brain releases when a person does something
rewarding. Drugs and pornography can give a false sense of reward causing the brain to
release dopamine. According to D.L Hilton, this typically causes users to become
addicted to pornography because of the high levels of dopamine release. Because
dopamine is a hormone released by rewarding feelings, it makes a person harder to feel
rewarded when they abuse pornography. They become more immune to simple pleasures,

making it harder for their partner to please them. This can affect a relationship for the
obvious reason of never feeling pleasure, in any variation, from your partner.
Pornography addictions can also affect future or potential relationships. Clay
Olsen discusses studies that found that people exposed to pornography became more
critical of their partners physical appearance and sexual performance, finding themselves
less in love with their partners. These studies also showed how users became fixated on
the idea of having sexual relationships that reflected those on pornographic websites.
Users would even become disappointed when their partners did not have an
appearance that imitated men or women shown is pornographic videos. On the other end,
users became less comfortable with themselves because they would compare themselves
to the flawless image of a pornographic actor, not understanding that Photoshop and
computer editing software are almost always used while filming sexually explicit
material. Sexual performance and expectations also became altered as users became more
involved in pornography. Users would expect their sexual lives to mirror the rehearsed
and scripted relationships that pornography displays. Overall, pornography users lose
their ability to become satisfied with their real life partners because of sexual ideas and
expectations developed by sexually explicit videos.
A users health is also something that is impacted by the use of pornography. In
recent studies, users have been found to develop Chronic Erectile Dysfunction. Before
Internet pornography, erectile dysfunction was more prominent in men in their late 40s 50s and was caused by old age. However, the Journal of Sexual Medicine, discusses the
incline of Chronic ED in teenagers and males in their late twenties. M. Robinson and G.
Wilson have found that the reason younger males are experiencing erectile dysfunction is

primarily connected to their overuse of pornography. A users brain overuses the

dopamine it produces resulting a weaker response to the pleasure-inducing hormone. The
abuse of dopamine is what causes erectile dysfunction in younger men. This does not just
affect the male involved, but also the relationship that he may be in through sexual
interactions and an overall healthy relationship. The major problem with Chronic Erectile
Dysfunction occurring in young men is that it is not easily curable. Pornography can
almost permanently alter the path ways the brain takes when releasing dopamine,
causing a user to lose their ability to become excited over small things like cuddling and
kissing other people. Eventually, a truly affected user will only feel stimulate while
watching hard pornography, which can involve violence towards a partner.
S.B. Boeringer writes about how pornography alters the behavior of users who
have a difficult time getting aroused by traditional sex. Often, users turn to violent
behaviors to pleasure themselves. Unlike violence where someone hits another person
causing a negative reaction, pornography portrays violence as a pleasurable act. When
pornographic actors get treated violently, they react with positive and pleasurable actions;
this relays the idea that violence is a good thing. The idea that violence is a good thing
causes users to act out on their violent thoughts, potentially causing discomfort to their
partner. M.A. Layden writes about how violent pornographic videos have led to users
committing violent assaults. Layden addresses the sexually violent process and how it
starts with verbal abuse and can lead to the rape or molestation of another person. Layden
also discusses the fact that both non-violent and violent pornography can lead to these
socially unacceptable behaviors. Also, one study found that those who reported higher
past exposure to violent porn were six times more likely to report having raped someone

than those that had low past exposure. This statistic is fairly alarming considering the
increase in pornographic use. This has led to the idea of possible pornographic
restrictions that could be put in place, in order to decrease the amount of pornographic
material being viewed.
Margaret E. Thompson, Steven H. Chaffee and Hayg H. Oshagan, write about the
regulations that should be implemented on pornographic use. They gathered material
from Newsweek, that showed the majority of people, who participated in a poll,
agreeing with regulations set on pornography. They believed that if pornographic use was
monitored and controlled, then relationship problem and sexual violence would be less of
an issue. Claire Easley from Fight the New Drug agreed with this idea when she wrote
about how pornography was becoming an uncontrollable addiction that people needed to
break free from. However, this idea contains a heavy flaw, it is almost impossible to
control the whole Internet. For example, regulations were put into place to control the age
at which people were allowed to view pornographic material; unfortunately it has become
easy to work around the regulation. Pornographic sites are required to have their users
confirm that they are above the age of eighteen; however, there is no way of knowing
whether or not a user is lying about their age or being honest. This is apparent because of
the fact that pornography is becoming apart of peoples lives as young at 14.
All together, research has shown that pornography can lead to unhealthy
relationships, unwanted health disorders, and behaviors that can lead to violence.
Pornography is entering the lives of people at a young age, which is increasing the chance
for people to become more dependent on the Internet for pleasure. Pornography is a
problem right now that will hopefully become safer as technology advances.

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