And found policies like the UK's porn filter could reduce useage

Pornography is an 'important factor' in the decline in marriage formation

The rise of Internet pornography could be contributing to lower marriage rates, a study has found.

Men use online porn for ‘low cost sexual gratification’ because they don’t have to deal with the emotional complexities of a relationship.

The researchers said it was ‘disrupting traditional family arrangements’ and backed Britain’s porn filter - because it may increase marriage rates.

The rise of Internet pornography could be lowering marriage rates, a study has found (stock image)

In their paper the researchers write: ‘If one of the important reasons to get married has a low cost alternative, then it is natural to wonder about the extent to which one can replace the other.

‘The results in this paper suggest that such an association exists, and that it is potentially quite large.’

The team looked at American data on how 1,500 men aged 18-35 years old used the Internet between 2000 and 2004, when Internet porn was nowhere near as prevalent as it is now.

In particular they looked at how much time the men spent on the Internet, and how much porn they looked at in the past 30 days.

The general trend was that higher Internet use was linked to lower marriage rates.

However, more than anything else, the use of porn was associated with men who were not married.

By contrast, those who regularly used religious websites were more likely to be married.

The researchers found that the increasing ease in which pornography could be accessed was an 'important factor underlying the decline in marriage formation and stability'.

In their paper the researchers write: ‘If one of the important reasons to get married has a low cost alternative, then it is natural to wonder about the extent to which one can replace the other'

Under changes brought in by British Prime Minister David Cameron, users can now choose to ‘opt in’ to Internet porn rather than having search results come up automatically. The change is a victory for the Daily Mail’s Block Online Porn campaign.

Pornography depicting rape has also been banned under the plans to get rid of ‘poisonous’ content.

The research was published by the The Institute for the Study of Labour in Germany and was led by Dr Michael Malcolm of the University of West Chester, Pennsylvania.

It states: ‘While it is probably impossible to eliminate online access to pornography at this point, policies like those in the UK can at least increase the cost associated with accessing it.

‘If the results in this paper are correct, policies along these lines have the potential to reduce pornography usage and increase marital entry, with its attendant welfare improvements’.

Under changes brought in by British Prime Minister David Cameron, internet users can now choose to ‘opt in’ to Internet porn rather than having search results come up automatically; researchers said policies like Cameron's 'can at least increase the cost associated' with accessing pornography, which could led to a reduction in the amount of X-Rated material being viewed

Statistics released earlier this year showed that married people are now in a minority in England and Wales for the first time.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that 51 per cent of people are 'not married', up from 47 per cent in a decade.

It marks a dramatic shift from the 1930s when nine in 20 people had married by the time they turned 40.

At the same time Internet use has rocketed and last year 36 million adults, or 73 per cent of the grown up population, accessed the Internet every day.

That is 20 million more than in 2006 when comparable records began.