A phenomenon dubbed "pornosexuality" has emerged where people prefer online porn to sex with real people, it has been claimed.

The term describes someone whose "sexual orientation is linked solely to porn", according to Medical Daily.

One self-identified pornosexual quoted by the website said: "If I had to choose to have one or the other for the rest of my life, I would choose porn over real sex any day."

The availability of free, amateur porn online and the anonymity it offers is identified by Medical Daily as a factor behind the rise in the phenomenon.

In 1991, there were fewer than 90 porn magazines in the US, according to Medical Daily, compared to millions of websites today.

Pornosexuality is said to be particularly common among young people as they have had access to the internet since puberty and porn is therefore more likely to have been formative in their sexual development.