Can pornography cause erectile dysfunction (ED)?

What is pornography?

Psychologists Kraus and Rosenberg defined pornography in their research “The Pornography Craving Questionnaire: Psychometric Properties” as “any material designed to cause or enhance sexual arousal or sexual excitement in the viewer. Such materials show clear and explicit sexual acts such as vaginal intercourse, anal intercourse, oral sex, group sex etc. Pornography does not include materials such as underwear catalogs or materials containing men and women posing naked unless these images portray clear and explicit sexual acts.”

• Pornography, or porn, is described as the depiction of sexual acts and nudity via written, visual, or other means intended to sexually stimulate people.
• While porn is available through a number of mediums, including magazines, films, books and others, the internet has proven to be an especially appealing alternative due to its accessibility, cost, and anonymity.
• Porn has become widely available and easily accessible on the internet since 2006, with the advent of “porn tube sites.” With a single click, the customer has access to sexually explicit content and can satisfy his desires in ways that would be impossible to achieve in real life.
• According to some studies, about 50% and 70% of adult men use pornographic material on a regular basis, with teenage lifetime consumption exceeding 80%.

What is erectile dysfunction (ED)?

Erectile dysfunction is the inability to obtain or maintain an erection; it can be caused by penile problems, other organic disorders such as diabetes and hypertension, or psychological causes such as depression, stress, general anxiety, or performance anxiety; we are discussing Psychogenic ED in this case. Young guys are more likely to experience the latter, in fact, its prevalence among them has risen dramatically over the last decades.

Can porn cause ED?

Throughout the years, scientists have discussed this issue and conducted several investigations that either confirm or contradict it.

Professionals who confirmed the connection between porn and ED:

• Harry Fisch, a professor of urology, was one of the academics who backed this theory. He stated in his book The New Naked that excessive Internet pornography consumption affects sexual performance.
• Some others adopted the term “Problematic Pornography Consumption (PPC)”, which is characterized by a pattern of overindulgent, obsessive, or otherwise unhealthy pornographic usage that interferes with everyday functioning, distresses a person, or has negative effects on their lives. This can include watching pornographic films over an extended period of time. PPC is classified as an impulse control disorder, hence, it may affect a person’s sexual health.
• There is a hypothesis that suggests that compulsive exposure to porn resulted in a decreased responsiveness and escalated user’s tastes to extreme hardcore, specialized or “kinky” tools to attain sexual arousal and excitement. In other words, when a user’s sexual arousal has been conditioned by repeated and excessive online porn exposure, sex with actual people may register as “not meeting expectations” owing to real-life partners not living up to the idealized pictures viewed online, and real life sex not having enough novelty and variety as porn content does. This unfulfilled desire, when combined with the inability to switch to greater stimulation, may perpetuate the impression that partnered sex is less pleasant than watching Internet pornography.
• Furthermore, online pornography gives a voyeur’s perspective that is not generally present in partnered sex and that is considered by many as an additional sexual stimuli. This can be one of the reasons why people who are used to porn stimuli may struggle to feel aroused during real-life sexual situations.

On the other hand, some others denied any links between porn and ED:

• According to a  2015 research, there wasn’t enough evidence supporting the link between pornography use and male sexual health disturbances. Based on their findings, they concluded that “contrary to raising public concerns, pornography does not seem to be a significant risk factor for younger men’s desire, erectile, or orgasmic difficulties.”
• Porn does not cause ED, but decreased sexual desire for a relationship, sex with a partner who does not fulfill expectations, and personal feelings of sexual inferiority can.

Overall, these two perspectives can be summarized in the fact that even though research showed no consistent association between porn use and ED, problematic use of porn content may cause psychological factors that can lead to psychogenic ED. This latter, can be reversible by quitting Internet porn and prevented by limiting its consumption and utilizing it properly. If you’re on the road to quitting porn, you can try the Easy Peasy method.

What is porn-induced ED?

Porn-induced erectile dysfunction (PIED) is a condition first described by Kinsey Institute researchers in which an individual has trouble obtaining or sustaining an erection during sexual engagement as a consequence of their exposure to pornography.

Several sexologists questioned and opposed this concept, claiming that the frequency and duration of masturbation (related to watching porn content), rather than pornography use, are the main elements leading to these negative repercussions.

Because of the lack of scientific proof for a causal association between pornography usage and ED, this notion is not widely accepted and has been regarded with skepticism.

Is porn good for sexual health?

Porn use was proven to have positive impacts on sexual health:

• Improves one’s perspective of sexuality
• Increases the diversity of sexual knowledge in terms of sexual practices and sexual education
• Normalizes some sexual behaviors which helps with self-acceptance and sexual comfort
• Increases pleasure and sexual arousal
• Improves quality of life and sexual experience
• Helps some people with penile rehabilitation following pelvic surgery or radiotherapy

However, the improper usage of porn content may have negative impacts, including:

• Increased risk of developing sexual dysfunctions such as ED, delayed ejaculation, decreased sexual satisfaction and diminished libido
• Unrealistic material that misrepresents sexual conduct and body ideals which distorts viewers’ expectations of real-world encounters, alters their body perception, and leads to anxiety and depression
• Normalizing and imitating violent behavior such as rape, abuse, non-consensual acts, token resistance, sexual coercion, pedophilia …
• Lack of contraception use
• Compulsive use of sexually explicit material
• Desensitization and habituation

How to use porn properly?

Here are some tips to help you use porn in a healthy manner:

• Sex education is a key point as it is crucial to have a healthy understanding of sexuality
• Use porn in moderation and do not limit your fantasies or expectations to porn content
• Don’t use it as a substitute for real intimacy with a partner.
• Not everything you see in porn is true, it is not an accurate representation of real-life sex.
• Be mindful of potential risks associated with excessive pornography use, such as reduced sexual satisfaction for real-life sexual activities.
• Learn to embrace your body as it is; all bodies are lovely and pornographic images of bodies are rarely accurate.
• Communicate with your sexual partner(s) about desires and expectations to avoid unrealistic expectations that can lead to psychogenic ED.
• Understand consent and make sure that the content you are watching involves consensual adults. Non-consensual pornography (also known as revenge porn) is illegal and harmful.
• Restrict from videos that show abuse, non-consensual violence, child pornography…
• Do not imitate everything you see in porn, certain activities may be damaging or unacceptable to your partner(s).
• Always use protection (condoms or others)
• Seek help if you’re experiencing any negative effects on your sexual health or your overall well-being or if you find yourself unable to control your use of porn.