Is it time to say goodbye to porn?
Photo via npr.org.
Porn is always just a click away. How much harm is this accessibility causing?
Pornhub, the largest adult site on the internet, recently released their 2023 stats. In Canada, 85 per cent of the website’s traffic came from mobile devices. With access easier than ever, gone are the days of looking over your shoulder as you try to watch something on the family computer. It makes me a bit weary of touching other people’s phones, honestly.
Unfortunately, our culture has associated masturbation with porn so closely that they’re almost synonymous. Every study that I’ve looked at that focuses on masturbation on its own highlights the importance of the act for healthy sexual development. The studies that look at pornography on the other hand — no pun intended — aren’t so positive.
Another statistic demonstrates that worldwide, 27 per cent of the website’s visitors are 18–24 years old, making this age group the largest demographic. But there’s a problem with this stat — since you “have” to be at least 18 to access Pornhub, there isn’t any data on how many underage users there really are.
Just look at the most searched video game terms on the site — Fortnite, Overwatch, Minecraft, and Pokemon. These are video games that are primarily marketed to children, so it’s safe to say that there are probably a lot of younger users on there.
I believe that there are two factors that need to be looked at when thinking about the detriments of porn: how it affects you and how it affects others.
How does it affect you? While porn addiction isn’t a medically recognized disorder, as with any substance once it starts affecting or impending on other facets of your life negatively, it’s time to take a hard look at your habits. Studies suggest that once porn consumption becomes problematic, it can result in both physical and psychological issues.
One study shows that erectile dysfunction among young men is alarmingly high. Interestingly enough, this study says that masturbation frequency is not the cause of this dysfunction, but rather the frequency of porn use. Look, it’s normal to get nervous from time to time, and everyone should learn about arousal non-concordance, but a generation of virile young men not being able to physically perform sexually is rather concerning. Other physical issues from overconsumption of porn are premature ejaculation and desire dysfunction. The list of psychological issues that can come from it is unsurprisingly long, ranging from melancholy to low appetite.
For women, the detriments of porn seem to be largely psychological rather than physical. The largest issue with reliance on porn seems to come down to self-image, as the models in porn tend to promote very unreal beauty standards.
And that’s what it all comes down to: porn isn’t real life. Porn is not an accurate representation of what sex is or should be. If a teenager with no sexual experience and limited sexual education starts watching porn, that can instill terrible expectations and values surrounding sexuality.
What’s more, the ethics of the pornography industry are questionable at best. Fight the New Drug is an entire organization based on stopping the harm that porn causes. But is villainizing an entire industry the right way to go about it?
The porn industry has been built on exploitation — especially of women. But saying that all porn is inherently exploitative discredits the autonomy of sex workers all over the world. As our accessibility to it changes, so do the options for the ones creating it. Models willingly creating and participating in porn now have many ways to do it independently.
Just to be clear, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with masturbation on its own. First and foremost, it is by far the most effective way to explore your sexuality in a healthy way. How could you ever communicate to a partner about what you like if you yourself don’t even know? Plus, for men, ejaculating frequently may even lower the risk of prostate cancer. Masturbation has undoubtedly been part of our lifestyle for millenia. Porn in its current state is comparatively brand new, and it’s important to separate the two.
If you are going to consume porn, it’s time to do some due diligence and research what production companies are actually ethical. But more than that, maybe it’s time to go old-school and try just using your imagination during your next alone time.
