“ Of all activities on the internet, porn has the most potential to become addictive, ” says Dutch neuroscientists Meerkerk et al. 2006.
Many are turning to pornography to self soothe their anxiety or depression, or just find some quick pleasure. The multi-billion-dollar porn industry is taking advantage of so many people feeling bored while stuck at home and are offering free access to premium sites to encourage use. The challenge there is that quick fixes often have hidden risks, such as a gradual dependency that can result in problematic use and even addiction for some.
This article discusses the risks of porn.
Porn has a negative impact on sleep, work and relationships.
The most basic effect of watching too much internet porn or even gaming is how it affects sleep. People end up ‘wired and tired’ and unable to concentrate on work next day. Constant bingeing and seeking that dopamine reward hit, can lead to a deep habit that is hard to kick. It can also cause ‘pathological’ learning in the form of addiction. That is when a user continues to seek a substance or activity despite negative consequences – such as problems at work, home, in relationships etc. A compulsive user experiences negative feelings such as depression or feeling flat when he or she miss the hit or excitement. This drives them back to it again and again to try and restore feelings of arousal. Addiction can start when trying to cope with stress, but also causes a user to feel stressed too. It is a vicious cycle.
Lack of commitment to one’s romantic partner
Research shows that consuming pornography correlates with a lack of commitment to one’s romantic partner . Getting used to the constant novelty and increasing levels of arousal provided by porn and the thought that there may be someone ever ‘hotter’ in the next video, means that their brain is no longer aroused by real life partners. It can stop people wanting to invest in developing a real life relationship. This spells misery for almost everyone: men because they are not benefitting from the warmth and interaction a real life relationship brings; and women, because no amount of cosmetic enhancement can keep a man interested whose brain has been conditioned to need constant novelty and unnatural levels of stimulation. It is a no-win situation.
Therapists too are seeing a big increase in people seeking help for an addiction to dating apps. The fake promise of always something better with the next click or swipe, stops people focusing on getting to know just one person.
Academic Achievement
Consumption of pornography was experimentally shown to decrease an individual’s ability to delay gratification for more valuable future rewards . In other words, watching porn makes you less logical and less able to take decisions that are clearly in your own interest such as doing homework and studying first instead of just entertaining yourself. Putting the reward before the effort.
In a study of 14 year old boys, higher levels of internet pornography consumption led to a risk of decreased academic performance , with the effects visible six-months later.
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