Disclaimer: Fight the New Drug does not have a stance on masturbation. We exist only to provide individuals the opportunity to make an informed decision regarding pornography by raising awareness on its harmful effects using science, facts, and personal accounts. Our fight is against porn and porn only. The following quotes from medical professionals, not by Fight the New Drug.

“Porn isn’t just risky business; it’s a killer for your sex life.”

The quote above is by Harry Fisch, MD, a clinical professor of urology and reproductive medicine at Cornell University. Dr. Fisch is one of the nation’s leaders in the diagnosis and treatment of men’s health issues, specifically sexuality issues. This guy knows his stuff when it comes to men and their ability to have sex. So it is no surprise that Dr. Fisch has spoken extensively on the harms that watching porn creates in male sexual health.

Dr. Fisch states, “When a man chronically watches porn and gets off on it…the sensory stimulation he gets from the virtual world makes it much more difficult for him to get aroused, stay aroused, and be happily aroused by the real, live woman in his life. … In other words, his frequent, porn-fueled masturbation leads to sexual dysfunction with a partner. If he can only have an orgasm when watching porn, and if he becomes accustomed to having orgasms only in a certain way or while watching a certain thing, he’s in trouble. … Porn isn’t just risky business; it’s a killer for your sex life.”

Related: Why Are Some Men Choosing Porn Over Getting Married?

Porn is to sex what Twinkies are to health

Dr. Fisch is adding a respected voice to something that research has been showing for years: porn hurts your sex life. Porn promises a virtual world filled with sex—more sex, better sex, and different types of sex. What porn doesn’t mention, however, is that the further a consumer goes into that fantasy world, the more likely their reality is to become just the opposite. [1] Porn often leads to less sex and less satisfying sex. [2]

In his book “The New Naked,” Fisch warns:

“Speaking of pleasure, and there is, of course, much to be had in bed, one of the biggest pleasure-killers available is streaming 24/ 7 into bedrooms across America and the rest of the world. You already know I’m talking about— pornography. … When I say that porn is killing America’s sexual behavior, I am not kidding, nor am I exaggerating. I see the detrimental and grave effects of porn on men and women and their relationships every day in my office, and I hear about it every time I go on the radio. I’m particularly blunt about this topic because I believe porn is the single, largest non-health issue that makes relationships crumble. It’s harming every aspect of sexual health… A man who masturbates frequently can soon develop erection problems when he’s with his partner. Add porn to the mix, and he can become unable to have sex and then start allowing his fantasies to cloud his judgment. [9] He can, unwittingly or not, start comparing you to the women he’s viewing… Porn can set these men up for very warped and hurtful encounters with women who won’t ever play by the totally ludicrous rules of porn.”

In other words, when porn consumers condition their brains to be aroused by these totally amped up, exaggerated versions of sex, they have serious problems when it comes time to actually get between the sheets with a real person. [3] Basically, porn is to real sex as Twinkies are to real food—a cheap, exaggerated imitation that does more harm than provide health benefits.

Porn and erectile dysfunction

And not only is porn leading to worse sex, but it is even taking away men’s ability to have sex at all. [4]

“Internet porn is killing young men’s sexual performance. … It starts with lower reactions to porn sites. Then there is a general drop in libido, and in the end, it becomes impossible to get an erection,” says Dr. Carlo Foresta, past president of the Italian Society of Andrology and Sexual Medicine. “With proper assistance, recovery is possible within a few months,” Foresta said.

See, thirty years ago, when a man developed erectile dysfunction (ED), it was almost always because he was getting older, usually past 40, and as his body aged, his blood vessels would get blocked, making it harder to maintain an erection. [5] Chronic ED in anyone under 35 was nearly unheard of. [6] But those were the days before internet porn. These days, online message boards are flooded with complaints from porn consumers in their teens and 20s complaining that they can’t maintain an erection. [7] But for what’s now being referred to as porn-induced erectile dysfunction, the problem isn’t in the penis—it’s in the brain. [8]

Related: My Husband Has Porn Induced Erectile Dysfunction & Refuses To Have Sex With Me

Dr. Abraham Morgentaler, associate professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School and director of Men’s Health Boston says, “A lot of the men who grow up now watching internet porn learn their sexuality and how to get stimulated down there in a way that is not mimicked by actual sex.”

Bottom line: porn ruins your sex life. And that is most definitely not worth it. Click here to read how there’s hope for someone struggling with PIED.

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