Porn consumption can have an impact on young consumers health; sexuality, life style, relationships and attitudes.
Pornography
Research indicates a strong causality between pornography consumption, and sexually aggressive attitudes, which is a risk factor for sexual crime. Pornography consumption increases the statistical likelihood of buying sex, which is one of reasons Changing attitudes includes pornography in the preventive work against sex-buying. Another reason is that pornography consumption can have an impact young consumers health: sexuality, life style, relationships, and attitudes.
Simple version: Watching porn can lead to a whole lot of things. It increases the risk of sex-buying and sexually aggressive attitudes, and can change the way we view stuff like sexual expectations and relationships.
Pornography and attitudes
Pornography consumption can change our attitudes. Both so-called experimental and non-experimental studies show an overall statistically confirmed positive connection between pornography consumption and attitudes that support or trivialize violence (against girls/women). In addition, the more physically and verbally aggressive the pornography is, the greater the impact it has on our attitudes: here research shows a statistically confirmed greater connection. But even pornographic material like Playboy magazines from the 50’s, has a statistically confirmed impact on our attitudes.
Source: NCBI
Simple version: Using porn can change our attitudes. Someone who uses porn could for example start believing that violence (against women/girls) isn’t as bad as someone who isn’t using porn will think. The more aggressive the porn is, the more it will change our attitudes, but even non-aggressive porn will have an impact on our attitudes.
Pornography and sexually aggressive attitudes
Consumption of violent as well as non-violent pornography makes, with statistical certainty, men in the general population more sexually aggressive, and produces attitudes which promotes or trivializes violence against women (so-called rape-myths), shown by new research analyzing close to 50 years of so-called experimental and naturalistic quantitative studies on the connection between pornography consumption and men’s violence against women.*
Psychologists have shown that pornography consumers tend to categorize women as either promiscuous or asexual, “whores” or “Madonnas”. Commercial pornography reinforces such impressions of promiscuity which then becomes a target for aggression and is also used to justify the trivialization of men’s violence against women; these psychological processes explain why non-aggressive pornography gives rise to consumption effects similar to those of aggressive pornography**.
In simulated rape trials, people who have watched common non- violent pornography over a period of several weeks recommend prison sentences half as long as the control group, which clearly shows how pornography consumption affects our attitudes toward sexual crime***.
*For meta studies, see for example Wright, Tokunaga, & Kraus 2016; Allen et al. 1995a; 1995b; Hald, Malamuth, & Yen 2010; för analytiska litteraturgenomgångar och stora enkätundersökningar se t.ex. Malamuth, Addison, & Koss 2000; Foubert, Brosi, & Bannon 2011.
**Zillman & Weaver 1989, 109–21; Leonard and Taylor 1983.
***Zillman & Bryant 1982, 17 tbl.3; jfr. Zillman & Weaver 1989, 115–21 & tbl.4.3, efter korttidsexponering.
The text above has been borrowed from Unizon.
Source: Unizon
Simple version: Using porn can produce the idea of dividing women/girls into “whores” or “madonnas”. Those who use porn, both aggressive and non-aggressive porn, more often think that violence (against women/girls) isn’t as bad. Studies show that they’re more likely to suggest that the penalty for rape be lowered by half.
Pornography and sexual crime
A new American study from 2017 with youths, found over time that those who had watched violent pornography, compared to those who hadn’t watched any kind of pornography at all, ran a greater risk of committing their first sexual assault or their first sexual harassments in the future. This connection is statistically confirmed.
A similar so-called “longitudinal study” with teenage boys published in 2009, found that those who generally consumed more pornography (without elements of violence) in the age range of 12 to 14, performed more sexual harassments two years later.
Beyond this, there are many well-made experiments validating causations, and naturalistic studies pointing to the experiments being consistent with reality. They’re close to hundreds today. Different methods and measuring instruments to the same statistically confirmed connections between more pornography consumption and more sexual violence and sexual aggressions against women, including more sex-buying.
A study from 2013 with 4600 participating youths in the Netherlands found that pornography was one of the factors affecting the participants’ sexual behavior, for instance a more experimental sex-life and sex-buying.
*Brown & L'Engle
Source: JSM
Simple version: There is a higher risk that young people who’ve watched aggressive porn would commit their first sexual assault or their first sexual harassment, compared to those who haven’t watched any porn at all. One study found that teenage boys (12-14 years old) who’d had watched porn preformed more sexual harassments two years later, compared to those who hadn’t watched porn. Youths who watch porn are also at greater risk of buying sex.
Pornography and sex-buying
When comparing sex-buyers who don’t consume pornography with sex-buyers who consume pornography, the latter group is statistically more prone to buying more sex. Compared to non-sex buyers, sex-buyers also seem to consume more aggressive and offensive pornography.
In a study about sex-buyers in Scotland, 79 percent stated that the type of sex that they bought were sexual acts that they either didn’t feel comfortable asking their partners to preform, or acts which their partner refused to perform. In Chicago, that number was 48 percent. The majority of sex-buyers states that they imitate pornography with people in prostitution, which could mean anal sex, sado masochism, or gang rapes, that they have seen and want to preform when buying sex.
A study from 2013 with 4600 participating youths in the Netherlands found that pornography was one of the factors impacting the participants’ sexual behavior, for example a more experimental sex life and sex-buying.
Source: JSM
Simple version: It’s more common for sex-buyers who also watch porn to buy more sex, than for sex-buyers who don’t watch porn. Sex-buyers also seem to watch more aggressive porn. Many of those who buy sex states that they buy the kind of sex that they either don’t dare asking their partner to preform, or that their partner simply refuses to preform these acts. Most sex-buyers states themselves that they try to imitate what they’ve seen in porn.
Pornography and youths
In a Swedish study from 2013, it appeared that 96 percent of high school boys (age 16) at some point had consumed pornography. Out of these, 70 percent consumed pornography at least once a week and 10 percent consumed pornography every day.
More than half of the girls (65 percent) had at least some experiences with consuming porn, almost one third (30 percent) did it occasionally. Most girls, however, consumed pornography less than once a week, and only a few consumed a lot of pornography.
The overall assessment from the study is that more boys than girls consume pornography.
Source: UU
Simple version: Almost all Swedish boys in first grade in high school (96 percent) have watched porn. Out of these boys, 70 percent watches porn at least once a week, and 10 percent watches porn everyday. More than half of the girls (65 percent) have watched porn. More boys than girls watch porn.
Pornography and sexual experiences
When it comes to girls who consume pornography, compared to those who don’t, we mainly see a difference in sexual experience: girls who consume pornography are more sexually interested and more sexually experienced compared to their peers.
Almost half of the girls who consume porn (43 percent) fantasizes about copying the sexual acts they’ve seen in pornography and an almost equal proportion of girls state that they have actually copied it. Still, less than every tenth girl have experiences with group sex, which, according to a Swedish study from Uppsala University, was the second most common sex fantasy.
The proportion of girls who have sexual experiences in terms of intercourse, oral sex, or anal sex, are persistently higher among the girls who consume pornography, compared to the girls who don’t. Regarding the girls who consume pornography, 38 percent have experienced having sex with a friend, and 45 percent claim to have experienced one-night-stands. Compared to girls who don’t consume pornography, these proportions are approximately twice as high.
Compared to girls who don’t consume pornography, the girls who do consume pornography have considerably greater difficulties with friendships. Every sixth girl who consumes pornography states these problems.
Research shows an obvious connection between pornography consumption and some sexual practices. For instance, porn consumers have more experience in anal and oral sex than people who haven’t consumed porn*.
A study from 2013 with 4600 participating youths in the Netherlands found that pornography was one of the factors affecting the participants’ sexual behaviors, e.g. a more experimental sex life and sex-buying.
*Rogala och Tydén 1999; Haggstrom-Nordin 2005
Source: JSM
Simple version: Girls who watches porn are more sexually interested and more sexually experienced compared to their peers who don’t watch porn. Almost half of the girls who watches porn fantasizes about copying what they’ve seen in porn. An almost equal amount states that they’ve actually copied it. Girls who watch porn have more sexual experiences and think maintaining friendships are more difficult compared to the girls who don’t watches porn.
Young people’s attitudes towards pornography
Many young people experience negative effects from porn. It can cause sexual performance anxiety and affect the body image. According to researcher Magdalena Mattebo at Uppsala University, pornography conveys a stereotypical image of how women and men are expected to preform and look.
Source: UU, Koll på porr
Pornography and the brain
Pornography can “kidnap” the brain’s reward pathway system. The younger you are, the more sensitive you are to the neurotransmitter dopamine, which is the main rewarding chemical released in the brain when consuming pornography. Pornography consumption rewires the brain in the same way as with someone who’s addicted to physical substances like cocaine and alcohol.
Psychological experiments have shown how consumers become less sensitive and start searching for more extreme material*, which could explain why aggressions and more extreme features are perceived to have increased in pornography during the last few years. Back in the 1980’s researchers were forced to put together fragments from different porn movies to be able to preform experiments, since finding a pornographic movie that didn’t include dehumanization, violations, or physical aggression was impossible** - which demonstrates the minimal request for “alternative” so-called “equal pornography” or “feminist pornography”.
*Zillman & Bryant 1986
**Check & Guloien 1989, 163
Source: Visuell drog, Your Brain on Porn, NOFAP, Gary Wilson’s TEDx Talk
Simple version: Pornography can “kidnap” the brain’s reward path system. When you watch porn, the brain gets a dopamine kick. Watching porn changes the brain in the same way as it does for someone who’s addicted to e.g. cocaine or alcohol. You can also begin to feel less sensitive to porn after a while and may therefore need more and more, or more extreme porn to experience the same kick. The request for so-called “equal” or “feminist” porn is therefore always going to be very small.
Pornography addiction
Neuroscientists have found that pornography hijacks the reward pathway and can become a compulsive behavior with addictive qualities. In 2014, Dr. Valerie Voon, a global authority on addiction and the leading researcher in the neuroscience department at the University of Cambridge, released her long-awaited study which provided groundbreaking findings on how viewing pornography affects the brain: the study showed how compulsive porn users have real similarities, on several levels, to those addicted to drugs.
A study from Uppsala University found that more girls than boys (80 percent vs. 69 percent) thinks pornography can be addictive. The same study showed that 7 percent of boys who consumed porn (age 16) “consume more pornography than I want to”, which could indicate pornography addiction. Pornography addiction is not included in the American DSM-5 yet, however many believe it’s only a matter of time.
In the link below (Asapscience) you can see a short summary on pornography addiction:
Source: Asapscience TEDx Talk “Let’s Talk Porn” Should compulsive sexual behavior be considered an addiction?
Simple version: Using pornography can become a compulsive behavior.Compulsive users of pornography have real similarities, on several levels, to those addicted to drugs. More girls than boys believe that pornography addiction exists. Out of boys (age 16) 7 percent say they watch more porn than they want to. Pornography is not included in DSM-5 (where all diagnoses are included) yet, but many people think it’s only a matter of time.
Check out Marias TEDx “Let’s talk porn”!