The Great Porn Experiment: Nearly Every Young Guy With Internet Access Physiology teacher and founder of yourbrainonporn.com, Gary Wilson asks the audience at TED talk if our brains evolved to handle the hyperstimulation of today’s internet enticement.

As the internet and mobile devices are becoming more accessible to adult sites, more and more young men are suffering from erectile dysfunction. Does watching too much online porn cause erectile dysfunction?

Porn Addiction in Perspective

The statistics on pornography are startling. Over 28,000 people are estimated to be viewing pornography on the internet every second and in that same second, over 3,000 dollars is being spent on pornography. Forty million Americans are estimated to visit a porn site regularly while 74 percent of men between the ages of 18 and 24 visit porn sites in a typical month. This is in addition to the discovery that 35 percent of all internet downloads are pornographic.

The above figures point to the fact that pornography, especially internet-based pornography is a booming industry. Porn addiction occurs when someone views pornography to the point of losing control and it becomes a compulsive behaviour irrespective of the consequences. An addict may or may not be masturbating when watching pornography.

Also Read:

Causes of Pornography Addiction in Men

Statistics show that there are more men involved in watching porn than women. Experts identify many reasons why men succumb to the enticement of porn. Three of them are explored below:

The Necessity to Relax and Find Pleasure

Most men are always on the go in a bid to cover grounds at school, work or business. Such fast-paced lifestyles may lead to stress and a difficulty in switching off the brain during idle moments. Thus, some men would resort to watching pornography to relax in an environment of pleasure. Evidence suggests that pornography triggers a chemical response in the brain that brings a feeling of pleasure. This is because the neurotransmitter dopamine is released during that process and other hormones like oxytocin, adrenaline and serotonin combine to make the addict constantly seeking for more, just like abusers of alcohol and drugs. This has been confirmed by emerging research from Cambridge University.

Visual Stimulation

An estimated 90 percent of men find sexual images a huge source of stimulation. This goes to show that men are naturally wired to respond to the power of images in a more receptive manner compared to women. Therefore, men naturally gravitate towards pornographic content because of the need for sexual stimulation and the pleasure they derive from it.

Pornography in itself is Addictive

Porn watching is a behaviour that is easily addictive. This holds true in the case of men more because of the regular desire for sex that is common with them. The fact that sex material is easily accessed online deepens the tendency of addiction because it can come in handy at anytime. Not surprising that 20 percent of men surveyed in a particular study admitted to watching porn online while at work. The regular desire for sex and the ease of accessibility of online pornographic material have caused many men to succumb to pornography addiction.

Porn Addiction and Erectile Dysfunction in Men

Evidence of erectile dysfunction as a side effect of pornography addiction is increasingly real and copious. So, yes! Porn addiction causes erectile dysfunction in men especially in younger men even though this is more of a mental than a physical dysfunction as we will see in the following lines.

As noted earlier, the arousal that emanates from watching pornography causes a release of dopamine in the brain. Too much of this chemical, like any other thing, is bad, especially for sexual health. If watching pornography becomes too frequent, the nerves in the brain become insensitive and less responsive to dopamine.

The consequence of this is that the person will find normal intimacy with a woman insufficient to produce enough dopamine to aid arousal and pleasure. This will make such person to increasingly require extra help from porn to trigger arousal (erection) and to reach orgasm.

Dr. Elizabeth Waterman, a psychologist at Morningside Recovery Center in Newport California, explains:

“When people start watching porn, there is a huge flood of dopamine in the brain…Over time, the receptors that were once very sensitive become less sensitive, and normal physical intimacy does not produce enough dopamine to stimulate the dopamine receptors.”

Furthermore, frequent masturbation from watching porn has consequences. It consistently raises the bar for what is required for a man to have and maintain an erection and to reach orgasm. As a result, the usual sexual stimuli from one’s partner that would usually create an arousal become insufficient. In this situation, the man would require many other means to function sexually. This is a case of porn-induced erectile dysfunction (PIED).

Some Symptoms of Male Porn-Induced Erectile Dysfunction (PIED)

The porn addict becomes disengaged during sex with his partner The porn addict prefers pornography to normal sexual intercourse and finds the former more stimulating and pleasurable The addict has difficulty getting an erection and reaching orgasm during natural sexual intercourse compared to during pornography sessions The addict can get an erection and reach orgasm with his partner but it would take far longer than the partner would prefer

So does porn addiction really cause erectile dysfunction? A resounding YES! Pornography addiction can cause erectile dysfunction in younger men. This has been proven by empirical studies and real-life confessions. This can be avoided and reversed if the addiction is dealt with and the activity stopped; which is highly recommended.

Need help to your addiction? Check out this ebook: Sexual Reboot The Easy Way