Tough times for sex film fans. Scientists warn of side effects. How much porn is unhealthy? Does porn really make you impotent and addicted? A report on the right dose and surprising similarities between teenagers and prisoners.
Bad news from Great Britain. Sexit looms after Brexit: More and more young Brits can't get it upThe psychotherapist Angela Gregory from Nottingham University Hospitals warned in August 2016 that this is triggered by the very films that make many men so hot in the first place. Angela Gregory fears that porn causes impotence, or in medical terms: erectile dysfunction. More and more male teenagers and men in their mid-twenties are coming to Gregory's practice complaining of lulls in bed, a condition that previously only occurred in old age. "Now the first thing I ask about is porn and masturbation habits," Gregory told BBC Newsbeat. "They may be the reason why these young men can't maintain an erection when they're with a partner."
If there's any truth to this theory, things look bad for gay men. Watching porn is part of everyday life for them. This is confirmed by a survey published by the gay health magazine FS in the summer, appropriately enough in England. The results are not representative, but provide an indication of how naturally gay men consume pornography. 52 per cent of respondents indulge in sex videos several times a week. Almost a third even click on Redtube & Co. every day. The vast majority stay on for a maximum of half an hour. Only 7 per cent watch more than 60 minutes at a time. The biggest difference compared to the last survey: 60 per cent of users now watch porn on their mobile phones, compared to just a quarter in 2012. This means that porn is even more readily available.
Porn is the most natural thing in the world
Hannes from Hamburg also watches regularly and has not noticed any health side effects so far. On the contrary: "Porn is the most natural thing in the world," says the 51-year-old. He watches porn three to four times a week - on his mobile phone or tablet, less often on DVD. "It can go on for an hour," reports Hannes. "I watch very consciously and enjoy it." In his favourite genre, men and women come together. Because more men are involved, they fuck each other. "I have a tendency towards slightly more dominant videos where one person is used," confesses Hannes. The freelancer makes a clear distinction between fucking and fiction: for him, real sex experiences and porn are fundamentally different things. "Of course, the porn is subconsciously inside me, but I don't act out scenes. When I have sex, it's totally dependent on the situation and my partner. It's often very surprising."
Marcus Behrens also considers porn to be harmless to health. The qualified psychologist works for the Mann-O-Meter, a Berlin information centre for gay men, among others. "Pornography and sex are first and foremost a private matter for everyone," emphasises the 48-year-old. "If it's okay with me and I'm not harming anyone, then it's not a psychological problem - and it's nobody else's business either."
So far, at least, porn has not caused any complaints among the men who ask the Mann-O-Meter for advice. If it comes up at all, it is in connection with online addiction. "Some of our clients have the feeling: I can't get my head out of the computer," reports Marcus Behrens. "It starts with Facebook and doesn't stop with Gayromeo." However, the number of cases has not increased over the past ten years - despite smartphones and flat rates.
The reward system is worn out, so to speak.
Even if it rarely occurs in Marcus Behrens' day-to-day counselling: porn has the potential to become a narcotic. As early as 2014, the Max Planck Institute for Human Development announced that porn videos change the brain. The scientists scanned the brain activity of 64 men and found that the brain's reward system was conspicuously small in the test subjects who regularly watched sex films. "This could mean that the regular consumption of pornography wears out the reward system to a certain extent," explains study author Simone Kühn. The researchers suspect a similar effect as with other addictive substances: The user has to constantly increase the dose in order to achieve a pleasurable effect.
But where does the pleasure end and the addiction begin? It is difficult to draw a clear line when it comes to porn consumption. "One possible sign is when I can't get off without porn," says Marcus Behrens. Another indication: Is the fun already harming me in everyday life? For example, do I risk a warning by accessing porn sites on my office computer? As with all addictions, the same applies here: As soon as colleagues, friends or family members are affected, you should take a close look at your consumer behaviour.
According to Marcus Behrens, excessive consumption of sex films - as well as real sex - is often caused by feelings of loneliness and inferiority. In the case of gay men, these are often exacerbated by self-hatred, which experts refer to as internalised homophobia. "Those affected have the feeling that something is not going right with me," explains Behrens. "Then they - consciously or unconsciously - look for a solution and try out various remedies." Porn consumption is just one of many. Several usually work together. "It depends very much on which addictive substance is available and works for me," explains Marcus Behrens. "For one person it's shopping, for another it's porn."
Sick or criminal?
But that doesn't mean that everyone who watches porn is in danger. "It makes sense to help people who are suffering from their sexuality," emphasises Marcus Behrens, "but when it comes to porn consumption and sexuality in particular, people are always quick to say: Uiuiui, that's either sick or criminal. This moralisation is wrong." Most men could easily regulate their porn consumption.
Where does the pleasure end and the addiction begin? It is also difficult to draw a clear line when it comes to porn consumption. "One possible sign is when I can no longer jerk off without porn."
The Berlin psychologist also considers the warning about porn-induced impotence to be exaggerated - even though his British colleague pointed out an interesting phenomenon: Erectile dysfunction caused by too much fantasy sex. Psychologists are familiar with this effect from prisoners. They often can't get it up either when they are finally allowed to sleep with their boyfriend or girlfriend again after a long prison sentence. They have forgotten how to feel pleasure with someone they can not only see, but also smell, taste and feel. "The brain is then polarised to fantasy," explains Marcus Behrens. "The only thing that's hot is what's going on in my mind's eye - a kind of porn that I'm directing." The young Brits are probably facing similar adjustment difficulties: They have to switch from two-dimensional porn to three-dimensional sex - with a flesh-and-blood partner. But don't worry, says Marcus Behrens: "You can always relearn sexuality."
More on the topic:
When porn consumption becomes problematic: Tips and assistance!
MyGaySex: Seven things to remember when watching porn
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