A Critical Analysis on the Effects of Pornography
How harmful is pornography? The research is more nuanced than what people believe it to be.
I consider this review to be a comprehensive examination of the impacts of pornography, presenting unique arguments that are rarely found in other sources but hold significant relevance to the ongoing debate. It represents the culmination of extensive research conducted over the course of several years, aiming to provide a comprehensive resource for arguments and discussions on the topic. I am committed to updating the review as new studies come to my attention through ongoing research.
Chapters:
Introduction
Self-Reported Effects
2.2: Children
Effects on Relationships
3.2: The Impact of Pornography on Real Sexual Encounters
3.3: Processing into Relationships & Marriages
3.4: Effects on Relationship Outcomes
Sexual Functioning
4.2: Porn-Induced Erectile Dysfunction
Psychological Well-Being (Paywall)
Behavior and Attitudes
6.2: Aggression
6.3: Attitudes Towards Women
6.4: Criminality
The Pornography Industry
7.2: Sex Trafficking
7.3: Violence in Pornography
7.4: Well-being of Pornography Actors
7.5: Onlyfans
Pornography Addiction
8.2: Defining “Addiction”
8.3: Pornography as a Drug
8.4: Ephemeral Nature of Addiction
Reboot Programs
9.2: Issues with “Reboot” Claims
9.3: Reboot Users and Well-Being
Introduction
In the early 1980s, concerns about the proliferation and accessibility of pornography in the United States led to increased public debate on the subject. The Reagan administration, known for its conservative stance on social issues, appointed a commission to study the effects of pornography and make recommendations on potential policy changes. The Meese Commission conducted extensive research and analysis over a two-year period. The report would be called The Meese Report (1986).
The Meese Commission conducted extensive research and analysis over a two-year period. The report concluded that pornography posed significant social, legal, and personal harms. It argued that pornography could lead to a variety of negative consequences, including an increase in sexual violence, the objectification of women, and the erosion of traditional family values. The report emphasized the need for stricter enforcement of obscenity laws and the implementation of measures to protect vulnerable individuals, such as children, from exposure to explicit materials.
The Meese Report generated considerable controversy and debate. Supporters praised its findings and recommendations, seeing it as a call to action against the perceived negative effects of pornography. They believed that the report provided a basis for tighter regulation of the adult entertainment industry and the protection of individuals from harmful material. Critics, however, raised several concerns about the report. Some argued that it had a biased agenda, reflecting the moral views of the conservative Reagan administration rather than objective research. Critics also pointed out methodological flaws in the report's research and questioned the validity of its conclusions. They argued that the report's focus on obscenity laws and increased regulation infringed on First Amendment rights, such as freedom of speech and expression.
In Nobile and Nadler’s (1986) work United States of America vs. Sex: How the Meese Commission Lied About Pornography, Nobile and Nadler argue that the Meese Commission's findings were based on flawed research and that the commission's conclusions were politically motivated. For example, one study that the commission cited found that exposure to pornography led to an increase in aggressive behavior in men. However, the study was later found to be flawed because it did not control for other factors that could have contributed to the increase in aggressive behavior, such as men's exposure to violence in other forms of media. The Meese Commission cherry-picked the data that it used to support its conclusions. For example, the commission cited a study that found that exposure to pornography led to an increase in rape fantasies in women. However, the commission did not mention that the study also found that exposure to pornography did not lead to an increase in actual rape, and made no mention of data displaying that exposure to pornography did not lead to an increase in violence against women. (See Berger 1991 for more information and a review of The Meese Report.)
Overall, the Meese Report was influential in shaping the public discourse on pornography in the 1980s and beyond. While some of its recommendations led to increased enforcement efforts and changes in legislation, others faced legal challenges and were not widely implemented. The report remains a topic of discussion in debates surrounding pornography, censorship, and the balance between protecting individuals and preserving constitutional rights.
The ghost of the Meese Report continues to live on in contemporary times. In January 2023, two Arkansas senators proposed a bill that would require digital identification to access pornographic material online to create liability for the production or distribution of material considered “harmful to minors on the internet” (THV11 Digital 2023). The Protection of Minors from Distribution of Harmful Materials Act bill states that pornography is harmful towards adolescents. Pornography is considered a “public health crisis”, leads to the hyper-sexualization if minors, causes damage to one’s psychological well-being, promotes pornography addiction, impacts brain development and function, leads to “problematic” and “risky” sexual behavior, and causes deviant sexual arousal (Protection of Minors from Distribution of Harmful Materials Act, Senate Bill 66, 94th General Assembly, 2023: 2). This bill is reminiscent to a law passed in Louisiana at the start of 2023 that requires ID to access pornographic content online (Pollina 2023), with the passed law also making the same statements on pornography’s effects as the Arkansas’s bill (ACT No. 444, House Bill No. 142, 2022: 2).
Following the proposed Arkansas bill, Utah state senator Sen. Todd Weiler has proposed a similar bill requiring online identification to watch pornography online (Schott 2013). Utah’s fight against pornography is not new as it was labeled a “public health crisis” in 2016 (Stuckey 2016). In fact, Weiler claimed that, at the time, he was “...not advocating action by the government.” After the proposed Arkansas bill, however, Weiler took government intervention as the next step against pornography. The panic against pornography is not restricted to a small number of states. As Quinn (2016) notes, many other states have adopted the view that pornography is a public health crisis, which includes “Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia.” Even France has required verification for watching online pornography content (Samuel 2023).
Where are legal bodies getting the idea that pornography is harmful, though? As Quinn remarks, “Most of the passed resolutions were adopted by model legislation written by the center, which didn't respond to multiple requests for an interview.” The center refers to The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE), previously known as Morality in Media. Since its inception, NCOSE has been anti-pornography. According to their own website, the organization’s mission was to “counter the effects of pornography” on children and adolescents, and to enforce obscenity laws (National Center on Sexual Exploitation). A look through NCOSE’s online history page displays that they supported the findings of the Meese Report and have decided to take their anti-pornography crusade online since “Many of the children coming of age in this decade are exposed to voluminous amounts of pornography.” However, despite the name changes, NCOSE is not simply against pornography but has also waged a war on sex education (Heins 2007: 176) and same-sex marriage (Cahil 2006). However, as other organizations have noted, NCOSE uses "misleading 'research reports' to fabricate a false medical consensus about the harms of pornography" (in Chapman-Schmidt 2019). Brown (2015) echoes a similar statement, “Several recent studies have offered results opposite those NCSE claims.” (See Heins: 175-176 for more examples from NCOSE’s early days.)
Writing for Fox News, Marcus (2022) makes a similar case against pornography and its harm to children as NCOSE. Marcus argues that “The United States should seek to ban hardcore pornography from the internet. The most obvious reason to do this is that children are inundated with an avalanche of smut.” Leonardi (2021) in The National Review says when discussing a ban on pornography, “But there is a middle ground, one that gives parents greater control over how they choose to raise their children and protects the mental and psychological health of those children: banning free online porn.” Conservative commentator Matt Walsh also argues for the banning on pornography because of its “harmful” effects on children (Walsh 2019) — with some of the studies and arguments he makes even being indirectly responded to in this article.
Groups and star individuals have also followed in the footsteps of NCOSE, also using science [emphasis added] to bolster their claims. Fight The New Drug seems to be one of the more popular anti-pornography groups, being referenced in many anti-pornography articles and works. Based on their name, they believe pornography is as harmful as drugs, and have multiple articles detailing how pornography is harmful through multiple citations. Akin to Fight The New Drug, Your Brain on Porn also acts as a one-stop-shop for resources on how pornography is harmful. Created by Gary Wilson, a dubious figure in his own right, Wilson attempts to drown the reader in multiple sources on how pornography is harmful. A look at some of the studies cited by Wilson, however, displays his misrepresentation of these studies — some examples to be included in this article, but also deserving of a standalone work. Wilson makes extraordinary claims, making causal implications from correlative analysis, and seemingly being a scholar in multiple scientific areas, despite not grasping an understanding of how to read simple social science papers, and having a tendency to refer to his critics as being in bed with the pornography industry.
Exodus Cry is another anti-pornography group hiding behind the mask of being anti-sex trafficking. The group is a heavily religious organization, being against abortion, and sex work, too. As they state in their website, “Porn is rife with the rape, trafficking and exploitation of men, women and children, and propagates a culture of sexual objectification.” Exodus Cry spawned Traffickinghub, spearheaded by Laila Mickelwait, a character to be discussed later in the article. According to Mickelwait’s Traffickinghub movement, the online pornography giant Pornhub was guilty of promoting sexual abuse of minors and hosting illegal sexual content. Through unfortunate cases, Mickelwait was able to get Visa and Mastercard to be blocked from being used on the site (Bently 2020). The end goal was to have Pornhub banned, however. The use of blocking payment was the first step to a larger war against pornography.
After the successful attack on Pornhub, Exodus Cry targeted Onlyfans, the online site where users can post sexually explicit content for subscribers. They attempted to payment providers and banks to stop allowing users to use their services on Onlyfans, with Onlyfans almost going as far as to ban sexual content on their site (Stokel-Walker 2021; See Hochman 2021 for a right-wing perspective on the issue ). Despite their failures, Exodus Cry, NCOSE, and Laila Mickelwait continue their crusade against pornography.
Smaller figures have also helped the scene, but one figure, in particular, has provided strong ammunition for years. Nicholas Kristof is an American journalist and political commentator and has also spent years arguing against sex work and pornography. It’s no surprise his articles have been used as evidence against sex work and the pornography industry. In his influential New York Times article that was used by Mickelwait for her Traffickinghub movement, Kristof said
Its site [Pornhub] is infested with rape videos. It monetizes child rapes, revenge pornography, spy cam videos of women showering, racist and misogynist content, and footage of women being asphyxiated in plastic bags. A search for “girls under18” (no space) or “14yo” leads in each case to more than 100,000 videos. Most aren’t of children being assaulted, but too many are.
Where is this evidence? Who knows. Kristof describes a horrific site, but even he fails to show that this issue is as widespread as he and Mickelwait describe it by saying “Most aren’t of children being assaulted…” and trying to bring back the emotional hit of his sentence by ending it with “but too many are.” While one child having their recorded sexual abuse online is bad enough, it does not justify attempting to paint Pornhub as a resource filled with illegal content. Kristof says, “I came across many videos on Pornhub that were recordings of assaults on unconscious women and girls. The rapists would open the eyelids of the victims and touch their eyeballs to show that they were nonresponsive.” Kristof makes no mention of reporting these videos, or anything that implies he took action, which leads to doubt on the validity of his story.
The reader might wonder why I am being very critical of Kristof’s personal story, but this is because Kristof does not have a good record as a man of honesty. In describing Kristof’s anti-beer crusade, Olson (2012) says if “there [is] a New York Times columnist as insufferably moralistic, or as neglectful of facts that contradict his argument, as Nicholas Kristof?” Focusing directly on Krisotf’s anti-sex work campaigns, Sullum (2012) discusses how Kristof launched a war on the now-defunct site Backpage, where users could find products to buy, sell stuff, find roommates, and even sexual services. Kristof popularized the story of a 16-year-old girl named Allisa, who was supposedly sex trafficked on the site in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Atlantic City. What was not mentioned was the fact that Alissa could not have been on Backpage.
The company adds that Alissa, who testified that she had been compelled to work as a prostitute in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Atlantic City, said she left prostitution in August 2005, and "in the summer of 2005 Backpage.com did not exist in Boston, New York, Philadelphia or Atlantic City."
Facts do not matter to Kristof, and his use of backtracking and saving face is not exclusive to Pornhub. As Sullum notes when talking about how Kristof mentioned Backpage as a site for sex trafficking,
Kristof concedes that "many prostitution ads on Backpage are placed by adult women acting on their own without coercion," and he says "they're not my concern." Yet he cites the National Association of Attorneys General, which routinely equates all prostitution with slavery, to back up his claim that Backpage.com is "the premier Web site for human trafficking in the United States,"
Kristof even attempted to attack Goldman Sachs for having a stake in the site Village Voice Media, which ran Backpage (Sullum 2012b). Kristof argued that because Goldman Sachs had a stake in Village Voice Media, they were complicit in horrific crimes. Sullum (2015) makes a similar case against Kristof as this article, noting that how Kristof’s hyperbolic statements spread without evidence.
Whatever the actual number, Kristof says some of these teenagers are exploited by pimps who take out "ads in which they sell 15-year-old girls as if they were pizzas." How many of those ads have appeared on Backpage.com? Kristof doesn't know that either, but he wants us to think it's a lot. "Almost every time a girl is rescued from traffickers," he avers, "it turns out that she was peddled on Backpage." He mentions two examples.
That anti-pornography activists have a disdain for the facts is not new, as is evidenced by their citations. Perry (2022) found that people with lower trust in science were more likely to support banning pornography. Being a conservative protestant, biblical literalist, and other variables were significantly associated with support in banning porngraphy.
This article seeks to separate fact from fiction for the science of pornography, especially in the contemporary climate where many groups and activists claim that pornography is harmful. For the sake of clarification, those who believe pornography is harmful are labeled as “anti-pornography critics”, although some may not necessarily be against pornography. This is neither a pro or anti-pornography, but a sober look at the facts.
Self-Reported Effects
When examining the impact of pornography on individuals, a distinct dichotomy arises between the assertions made by critics and the accounts provided by individuals when questioned about the effects of pornography. Fight The New Drug frequently presents narratives from individuals who attest to the detrimental effects of pornography on their lives (Fight The New Drug 2019a; 2019b; 2019c). These narratives consistently convey the notion that pornography has only engendered adverse outcomes, without any reported instances of it being beneficial. Such findings are unsurprising, given the singular perspective through which Fight The New Drug perceives pornography. However, upon a closer examination of the available evidence, disparate outcomes emerge in contrast to the assertions propagated by anti-pornography platforms.
Hald and Malamuth (2008) conducted a study involving a sample of 688 Danish participants, consisting of 316 men and 327 women. The researchers employed the Pornography Consumption Questionnaire to assess various factors, including sociodemographic characteristics, sexual behavior, and patterns of pornography exposure. Subsequently, the participants completed the Pornography Consumption Effect Scale/ This scale aimed to measure attitudes towards sex, sexual knowledge, general life satisfaction, attitudes towards and perceptions of the opposite gender, and the perceived impact of hardcore pornography on participants' sexual behavior and overall sex life.
The results of the study revealed that both men and women reported experiencing more positive effects than negative effects associated with their consumption of pornography, with effect sizes ranging from d = .76 to 2.04. Specifically, men were more likely to report greater positive effects in relation to their sex life, general life satisfaction, attitudes towards and perceptions of the opposite gender, as well as attitudes toward sex.
In terms of the impact on women, significant positive effects were reported in relation to their sex life, general life satisfaction, and attitudes towards sex. However, no discernible effect was found regarding women's attitudes towards and perception of the opposite gender. Examining the correlations, it was observed that among men, greater pornography use exhibited a positive correlation with perceived positive effects (r = 0.41, p < .001), displaying a linear trend. This suggests that as pornography consumption increased, individuals reported a corresponding increase in perceived positive effects. Conversely, there was no statistically significant correlation or trend found between greater pornography use and negative effects among men (r = 0.08, p = 0.22).
Similar patterns emerged when examining the effects on women. For women, a positive correlation was observed between greater pornography use and perceived positive effects (r = 0.45, p < 0.01), displaying a linear trend. The perceived positive effects were associated with several factors, including greater pornography consumption, male gender, higher frequency of masturbation, perception of pornography as depicting a realistic portrayal of sex, and an earlier age of first exposure to pornography. On the other hand, perceived negative effects were correlated with male gender, younger age of first exposure to pornography, lower frequency of masturbation, greater pornography consumption, and decreased frequency of intercourse. In a combined analysis of the variables related to positive effects and their correlations, it was found that they collectively explained 30.1% of the total variance. In contrast, the variables associated with negative effects and their correlations accounted for 2.6% of the total variance.
In a related investigation conducted by Hald, Smolenski, and Rosser (2013), the effects of pornography consumption were assessed in terms of cognitive, affective, and behavioral outcomes. The study also examined additional measures, such as exposure to sexually explicit material, positive and negative effects, social desirability bias, compulsive sexual behavior, and engagement in unprotected anal intercourse with male partners.
Results from both samples indicated that pornography use was associated with increased knowledge of various sexual acts, heightened interest in exploring new sexual acts or positions, and greater enjoyment of masturbation. Notably, among homosexual men, a striking majority of 97% reported experiencing positive effects of pornography, while only 3% reported any negative effects. Moreover, the consumption of sexually explicit material was found to significantly correlate with an increased interest in engaging in protected anal intercourse, whereas there was no significant increase in the interest in engaging in unprotected sex.
Regarding specific items assessed, it is noteworthy that "acceptance of your body" was the sole item that displayed a negative effect, indicated by a zero score suggesting a decrease. It is worth mentioning that social desirability did not appear to play a significant role in the self-reported negative effects reported by the participants.
Mulya and Hald (2014) conducted a study involving 249 Indonesian university students (112 male, 137 female) who reported having watched pornography within the past 12 months. The researchers analyzed the data, and Table 3 presented notable findings. The results indicated that both men and women reported significantly larger positive effects compared to negative effects resulting from their exposure to pornography, with effect sizes ranging from d = 0.78 to 1.69. Notably, women reported significantly larger effects in the context of life in general (d = 0.96), while men did not report significant effects (d = 0.13). However, no significant differences were found between men and women concerning positive effects.
Both men and women reported positive effects stemming from pornography in their sex life, with women reporting a stronger effect than men (d = 1.69 for women, d = 1.30 for men). Moreover, both genders reported positive effects in terms of sexual knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes, as well as life in general. Both reported negative attitudes toward sex. Various factors, including relationship status, sensation seeking, sexual attitude, sexual behavior, parental involvement, acceptance of pornography, perceived realism of pornography, and pornography consumption, collectively accounted for 40% of the variance in the positive effects of pornography. In the case of self-reported negative effects, the variables of age of first exposure, acceptance of pornography, perceived realism of pornography, and pornography consumption explained 6% of the variance.
In a study conducted by Miller, Kidd, and Hald (2018), a sample of 312 heterosexual men from community and college settings across various countries including Australia, the United States, Singapore, Canada, the United Kingdom, and other European nations was examined. The study aimed to assess demographic variables, pornography use patterns, and scores on the Pornography Consumption Effects Scale (PCES), specifically focusing on domains such as sex life, attitudes towards sex, life satisfaction, perceptions and attitudes towards the opposite gender, and sexual knowledge.
The findings revealed that the majority of participants reported experiencing positive effects across all domains of the PCES, as measured by both the long version and the short-form version of the scale. While self-reported positive effects outweighed self-reported negative effects, it is noteworthy that the negative effect size, as indicated by the Negative Effects of Pornography Short-Form (NED-SF), was close to two, suggesting a small negative effect. This implies that while some individuals reported problems associated with pornography, the majority reported positive effects.
In summary, the results indicate that most individuals who consumed pornography reported positive effects in terms of their sex life, attitudes towards sex, life satisfaction, perceptions and attitudes towards the opposite gender, and sexual knowledge.
Hesse and Pedersen (2017) conducted a study involving 337 participants who were recruited through online forms and from a research participant pool in a large Western Canadian city. The researchers administered the Falsification Anatomy Questionnaire and the Modified Pornography Consumption Questionnaire to collect data. The objective was to investigate the relationship between the frequency of sexually explicit material consumption, knowledge of anatomy, physiology, and sexual behavior, as well as the effects of sexually explicit material on various aspects.
The findings indicated that the frequency of sexually explicit material consumption did not predict poorer knowledge of anatomy, physiology, and sexual behavior. Both genders reported experiencing more positive effects than negative effects from consuming sexually explicit material. These positive effects were observed in terms of sexual knowledge, attitudes towards sex, sexual behaviors, perceptions and attitudes towards the opposite gender, and overall life quality. Interestingly, the frequency of sexually explicit material consumption was found to predict more accurate knowledge of anatomy, physiology, and sexual behavior.
It was noted that men were more likely to report both more negative effects and more positive effects. However, these negative effects were associated with a higher number of oral, anal, and vaginal intercourse partners. The interpretation of these correlations as negative appears to be influenced by personal values and judgments regarding sexual behavior among individuals.
In contrast to the aforementioned studies, Wright et al. (2017) present a more critical perspective on the effects of pornography. Their meta-analysis encompassed 50 studies examining the impact of pornography on interpersonal satisfaction and intrapersonal satisfaction. The analysis revealed a negative correlation based on all the aggregated effect sizes, indicating that pornography use was associated with decreased interpersonal satisfaction (r = -0.10, p < 0.001). When examining the specific variables, the average effect sizes between pornography use and relational satisfaction were found to be -0.09 and -0.11, respectively. Moreover, the average effect size for pornography use and intrapersonal satisfaction was -0.3. It should be noted, however, that these effect sizes were small and weak. In response to the literature's harm-focused orientation and assumptions regarding causality, Kohut, Fisher, and Campbell (2017), as noted by Miller, Hald, and Kidd, provided criticism of the empirical literature used in the aforementioned meta-analysis.
“Kohut, Fisher, and Campbell (2017) have however heavily criticized much of the empirical literature used in this meta-analysis for its harm-focused orientation and assumption of direction of causality (see also Campbell & Kohut, 2017). Accordingly, these authors conducted their own qualitative investigation into pornography’s impact on men’s and women’s relationships. They found that participants reported positive effects much more frequently than negative effects. Interestingly, the most commonly reported negative effect was that pornography created unrealistic expectations of sex, in relation to what is expected of both females (e.g., willingness to engage in, and enjoyment of, certain sexual practices) and males (e.g., muscularity, penis size, erection quality, sexual stamina).”
While the majority of individuals tend to report positive effects from pornography consumption, it is important to acknowledge that there are some individuals who report negative effects. However, it is worth noting that certain variables can help explain why some people experience negative effects.
One such variable is moral incongruence towards pornography, which refers to having moral conflicts or issues with pornography despite engaging in its consumption. This concept is further elaborated in the subsequent mental health section, but in summary, individuals who hold moral objections to pornography but still engage with it may experience psychological distress. Therefore, it is plausible to suggest that self-reported negative effects can, to some extent, be attributed to moral incongruence.
Indeed, religiosity is another important variable that can contribute to the self-perceived negative effects of pornography. In a study by Stulhofer et al. (2021) involving a national probability-based sample of 4,177 individuals in Germany, it was observed that participants who reported negative effects of pornography were more likely to have a religious upbringing. This finding suggests a significant relationship between an individual's religious background and their perception of negative effects associated with pornography use.
When considering the factors of moral incongruence and religious upbringing, it becomes evident that self-reported negative effects may not solely stem from the inherent nature of pornography itself, but rather from moral concerns and religious beliefs regarding pornography. Individuals who hold strong religious beliefs and have been raised in environments that emphasize the potential harms or immorality of pornography may be more inclined to perceive negative effects when engaging with it.
The variable of dominance, particularly associated with traditional masculine ideology, can play a role in self-reported negative effects related to pornography consumption. Borgogna et al. (2019) conducted a study in which higher scores on dominance, as measured by the Traditional Masculinity Ideology (TMI) scale, were found to be associated with higher functional problems in relation to pornography use. Functional problems encompassed various areas such as personal relationships, social situations, work, and other important aspects of life.
One plausible explanation for the association between behaviors associated with traditional masculinity and functional problems could be a perceived incongruence between pornography consumption and one's own view of masculinity. Engaging with pornography might conflict with an individual's personal ideals or beliefs regarding masculinity, leading to potential psychological distress or moral concerns with pornography. Therefore, there may be an interaction effect between moral issues surrounding pornography and the influence of traditional masculinity, contributing to the self-reported negative effects experienced by individuals.
The aforementioned studies provide evidence suggesting that pornography consumption is generally associated with positive effects, such as increased sexual knowledge, attitudes, skills, relationships, and overall life satisfaction for the majority of individuals. However, it is important to acknowledge that there are individuals who report negative effects, and these experiences can be influenced by factors like moral incongruence and adherence to traditional masculinity norms.
2.2: Children
Concerns regarding the exposure of children to pornography are treated with great seriousness, often employing terminology associated with detrimental consequences when discussing instances where children are exposed to or may encounter sexual content. Within the context of child development theories, Benedek and Brown (1999) frequently employ the term "harm" when describing the effects of pornographic exposure on children. Similarly, Baxter (2014), in an article published by the American Bar Association, aligns with Benedek and Brown, contending that children's exposure to pornography is detrimental as it normalizes sexual harm, fosters aggression towards women, promotes negative attitudes and behaviors towards women, hampers affectionate relationships, and can lead to addiction. Echoing these arguments, Quadara, El-Murr, and Latham (2017) assert that pornography detrimentally affects children and young people across various domains, including mental health, sexual behaviors, and practices. These authors draw upon similar arguments as Baxter.
Flood (2009), when discussing his own research, highlights that his "review explores the harms among children and young people associated with pornography exposure." This underscores the prevailing perspective among commentators, who perceive pornography not as a helpful or neutral variable but rather as a negative one, engendering solely adverse effects. It is important to note that the effects attributed to pornography primarily stem from studies conducted on adolescents rather than children. However, commentators tend to generalize these findings to children, despite the differences in age groups. The ensuing section will delve into the negative effects posited by these commentators, with a particular focus on sexual development in children and adolescents.
The commentators consistently emphasize the concern that exposure to sexually explicit material may impart distorted perceptions of real sexual experiences, leading to the consensus that children, in general, should not be exposed to such material. This notion is encapsulated in the concept of sexual script theory. Horner (2020) explicates this theory, stating that pornography can introduce new sexual scripts to users (acquisition), reinforce existing scripts (activation), and through its portrayal of sexual behaviors as normal, appropriate, and rewarding, encourage the adoption of these scripts in both thought and behavior (application).
Supporting this perspective, Sun et al. (2016) discovered that frequent pornography consumption among men serves as a guide for their sexual behavior. Furthermore, Martellozzo et al. (2017), in a study conducted with a representative sample from the United Kingdom, found that 44% of boys reported that pornography influenced their perceptions of the types of sexual encounters they desired.
These findings underscore the influence of pornography in shaping individuals' sexual scripts and highlight the potential impact on young people's understanding and expectations of real-world sexual encounters. It is within this context that commentators express apprehension regarding children's exposure to pornography, as it may contribute to a distorted understanding of healthy and consensual sexual relationships.
Contrary to the negative perspective on pornography's influence on sexual behavior, it is important to consider that individuals may utilize pornography as a source of sex education rather than solely viewing it as having detrimental effects. In a systematic review exploring the use of pornography for sexual learning, Litsou et al. (2020) identified a prevalent theme across the included studies: the utilization of pornography as a form of sexual education.
The studies reviewed consistently highlighted that individuals turned to pornography due to a lack of comprehensive sexual education and limited access to sexual information from other sources. Pornography served as a medium through which individuals sought to learn about various aspects of sexuality, including sexual performance, roles, and positions. However, it is worth noting that participants in these studies also expressed certain limitations associated with pornography. They recognized that pornography often focused on specific kinks and fetishes, leading to insufficient coverage of diverse sexual experiences and information. As a result, unrealistic expectations could arise from exposure to pornography, further underscoring the need for improved and comprehensive sex education.
These findings suggest that individuals may turn to pornography as an alternative means of acquiring sexual knowledge in the absence of proper sexual education. Rather than solely attributing negative effects to pornography, it is crucial to acknowledge the complex role it plays in fulfilling informational gaps while recognizing the importance of comprehensive and inclusive sexual education to address these limitations.
It is important to critically examine the assumption that learning about sex from pornography is inherently negative, as critics of pornography often fail to provide a clear rationale for why this form of sexual learning is deemed problematic. Instead, their arguments often stem from the presumption that certain types of adolescent sexual behavior are inherently undesirable. The act of watching pornography and incorporating elements observed therein into one's own sexual experiences is often portrayed as inherently wrong solely because it originates from pornography, rather than being viewed as a positive exploration of personal preferences and boundaries within consensual relationships.
If commentators aim to mitigate the potential negative effects of pornography on sexual scripts, they should advocate for comprehensive sex education and the promotion of pornography literacy. Although still in the early stages of research, pornography literacy programs have shown promising results. For instance, in a study involving a small sample of 24 youths aged 15 to 24, implementing a pretest-posttest design, Rothman et al. (2018) found that providing individuals with education on pornography, healthy relationships, and the unrealistic sexual scripts depicted in pornography led to a shift in their perception of pornography as unrealistic and an inadequate source of sexual knowledge.
These findings highlight the potential benefits of incorporating pornography literacy programs into sex education initiatives. By imparting critical thinking skills and knowledge about the limitations and distortions often present in pornography, individuals can develop a more nuanced understanding of its influence on their own sexual scripts. Promoting comprehensive sex education and incorporating discussions on pornography can empower individuals to navigate their own sexual experiences with a more informed and critical perspective, fostering healthier attitudes toward sex and relationships.
The exposure of individuals to sexual education through pornography does not inherently imply negative attributes about pornography itself. Instead, it highlights the necessity for enhanced sex education and the development of pornography literacy. If critics of pornography intend to assist individuals in navigating the potential influence of pornography on their sexual scripts, it is imperative that they also advocate for improved sex education and the cultivation of pornography literacy. These educational approaches can serve as effective means to mitigate the effects of pornography on the sexual scripts of young individuals.
By promoting comprehensive sex education and integrating discussions on pornography, individuals can acquire the knowledge and critical thinking skills needed to navigate the complexities associated with sexual content, including pornography. Comprehensive sex education offers a foundation for understanding healthy relationships, consent, sexual diversity, and effective communication. Furthermore, incorporating pornography literacy into educational initiatives empowers individuals to develop a discerning perspective regarding the limitations, potential risks, and unrealistic portrayals commonly found in pornography.
When examining the sexual development of children, it appears that critics of pornography tend to perceive children through the lens of the "romantic child" model, which is commonly depicted in children's literature. This model portrays children as inherently pure, untainted by sin, and free from corruption by the external world. Consequently, according to this perspective, children should not be exposed to pornography since they are not yet at an appropriate age to learn about sex. However, this idealized view of childhood does not align with the reality of children's sexual development.
As discussed by McKee (2010), toddlers and preschool-aged children often exhibit behaviors related to self-exploration and engage in sexual activities with their peers. Between the ages of 2 and 6, children may engage in activities such as playing doctor, touching their own genitals, and displaying curiosity about the human body in its natural state. These observations indicate that children already possess an inherent interest in sexual development, challenging the assumption that they are completely unaware of sexual acts.
While the intention behind anti-pornography campaigns aimed at protecting children is commendable, it is important to acknowledge that assuming children are oblivious to sexual matters—beyond the oft-repeated "think of the children" sentiment—is based on a false premise. If children already have an inherent curiosity and interest in sexual development, the act of watching pornography, in and of itself, does not necessarily lead to negative sexual development.
Indeed, it is crucial to consider the age at which individuals are first exposed to pornography and its potential association with negative effects. According to the reasoning of anti-pornography critics, one would expect individuals exposed to pornography at a young age to report more negative effects, and age could be a relevant variable in explaining a significant portion of the variability in self-reported effects resulting from early exposure to pornography.
By examining the relationship between age at first exposure to pornography and the reported effects, researchers can gain insights into potential associations and shed light on the impact of early exposure. This approach allows for a more nuanced understanding of the potential consequences of early exposure to pornography on individuals' well-being and attitudes toward sexuality.
To begin, it is important to challenge the assumption that individuals who were exposed to pornography at a young age attached significant importance or meaning to it. As highlighted by McKee (2007), interviews conducted with individuals who encountered pornography before reaching puberty often described their experiences as lacking in significance and instead found them amusing. According to McKee, these interviewees, as pre-pubescent children, generally had little interest in pornography and found it to be a source of amusement.
McKee further notes that other factors discussed by the interviewees had a greater impact than pornography itself, including exposure to television and influences from religious education, such as Sunday school. This suggests that the potential harm associated with pornography may be overshadowed by other contextual factors that play a more substantial role in shaping individuals' experiences.
Additionally, the research by Litsou et al. supports the understanding that individuals who were exposed to pornography at a young age recognized its unrealistic nature. However, they did not view this recognition as inherently harmful, contrary to the arguments put forth by critics. These findings are consistent with the study conducted by Lebedikova et al. (2022), which revealed that exposure to pornographic content elicited neutral reactions among the majority of the participants in their sample.
Taken together, there is no compelling reason to assume that individuals who were exposed to pornography at a young age necessarily ascribed significant significance or negative effects to it. The interviews conducted by McKee indicate that pre-pubescent children generally had little interest in pornography and found it amusing. Moreover, the studies by Litsou et al. and Lebedikova et al. highlight that exposure to pornography, even among children, often evoked neutral reactions. These insights challenge the assumption that early exposure to pornography inherently leads to harmful consequences and emphasize the importance of considering individual experiences and contextual factors in understanding the impact of pornography on young individuals.
When examining the relationship between age at first exposure to pornography and self-reported negative effects, research indicates that age explains only a small portion of the variance. Mulya and Hald (2014) found that age at first exposure accounted for approximately 1.96% of the variance in self-reported negative effects stemming from pornography. Similarly, Miller, Hald, and Kidd did not find a significant relationship between age at first exposure and negative effects in their correlation matrix. Furthermore, in a multivariate regression analysis, an increase in age was associated with a slight decrease in negative effects, with the standardized beta coefficient indicating that age accounted for approximately 4% of the variance. These findings suggest that while age at first exposure may contribute to the understanding of self-reported negative effects, it explains only a small proportion of the overall variability.
The evidence presented suggests that age at first exposure to pornography may not be a substantial or highly influential variable when it comes to the perceived negative effects of pornography. This is supported by findings indicating that exposure to pornography before puberty may not be taken seriously by individuals and instead viewed as meaningless or amusing.
Given this understanding, it is possible that the variance explained by age at first exposure is overestimated, potentially masking its true coefficient. Furthermore, considering the inherent correlations between variables, it becomes questionable whether age at first exposure should be controlled for, especially in light of the findings from McKee's research.
Regardless, if critics of pornography are genuinely concerned about the well-being of children, it is recommended that they support initiatives such as pornography literacy classes and comprehensive sex education. These measures would represent a step forward for critics, as historically, even in the 1967 commission, there was hesitation to support sex education programs despite acknowledging the potential harm of pornography.
While it is commonly assumed by some anti-pornography critics that the average consumption of pornography occurs during the tween years, it is important to examine the available data to gain a clearer understanding of the actual ages of pornography consumption. Contrary to this assumption, the data often present conflicting information regarding the ages at which individuals engage with pornography. McKee (2020) and FTND (Fight the New Drug 2021) may suggest that pornography consumption occurs predominantly during the tween years, but it is crucial to critically evaluate the evidence supporting this claim.
The research findings provide valuable insights into the age of first exposure to pornography among males and females. According to Sabina, Wolak, and Finkelhor (2008), the majority of males (22.9%) reported their first exposure to pornography at the age of 15, while 33.0% of females reported it to be at 16. The data also indicates that a significant proportion of males (80%) reported first exposure at the age of 13 and above, compared to 90.9% of females. Exposure to pornography prior to the age of 13 was relatively uncommon, with the average age of first exposure for both males and females being 14. Furthermore, Lim et al. (2017) found that among individuals who had ever viewed pornography, 77% of females reported watching it at the age of 14 or older, whereas only 32% of males reported the same. On the other hand, 24% of females reported viewing pornography at 13 years of age or younger, in contrast to 69% of males. Additional data from Lewczuk, Wojcik, and Gola (2019) revealed that 25.99% of individuals between the ages of 7 and 12 had watched pornography, while the percentage increased to 32.0% for individuals aged 13 to 17. The remaining percentage accounted for individuals aged 18 and above. Sanz-Barbero et al. (2023) found the average age for males to be 14 and for females at 17.
These findings collectively shed light on the age distribution of first exposure to pornography, indicating that the majority of individuals experience it during adolescence, not childhood. Of course, a possible retort is that adolescents are still children — but there are fundamental differences between children and adolescents that do not allow for interchangeability in the words used.
Childhood typically refers to the period of human development from infancy to the onset of adolescence. It is a time of rapid growth and development, marked by significant physical and cognitive changes. During childhood, individuals undergo milestones such as learning to walk, talk, and develop basic cognitive skills. Children are typically dependent on adults for care, guidance, and protection. Their experiences are largely centered around family, play, and early educational environments. Childhood is characterized by a sense of curiosity, imagination, and a gradual acquisition of foundational knowledge and skills.
In contrast, adolescence is a transitional period that bridges childhood and adulthood. It is a time of profound physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional changes. Adolescence generally begins with the onset of puberty, which triggers rapid physical growth, the development of secondary sexual characteristics, and hormonal changes. This period is marked by increased independence, self-identity exploration, and a shift in social relationships. Adolescents strive for autonomy, seek peer acceptance, and grapple with questions of self-identity, values, and future aspirations. They undergo significant cognitive development, including the ability to think abstractly, engage in critical thinking, and consider multiple perspectives. Adolescence is a time of heightened emotional intensity and an increased capacity for forming intimate relationships.
In summary, childhood and adolescence represent distinct stages of human development. Childhood encompasses the early years of life, characterized by rapid growth, learning, and reliance on caregivers. Adolescence, on the other hand, denotes the transitional period between childhood and adulthood, marked by significant physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional changes as individuals navigate toward greater independence and self-identity (see Bronski 2021 for more). Recognizing and understanding these differences allows for tailored approaches to providing appropriate support, education, and interventions that align with the specific needs of children and adolescents.
For the sake of argument, let us assume that the average age when someone first watches pornography is at tween years. What can explain this? As was noted Ghorayshi (2022), puberty is beginning to start earlier. This is important as puberty predicts watching pornography among adolescents, according to Pirrone et al. (2020).
Hence, it is important to acknowledge that children possess an awareness of sexuality and engage in sexual activities. Furthermore, the onset of puberty has been found to be a significant predictor of pornography viewing, and some individuals do turn to pornography as a source of sex education. If critics genuinely wish to discourage children and young people from relying on pornography to learn about sex, it is imperative that they advocate for the implementation of sex education programs (Black 2022a; b) or support the introduction of pornography literacy classes. These initiatives aim to provide comprehensive and accurate information on sexual health, relationships, consent, and the potential implications of pornography. By offering robust sex education and promoting pornography literacy, critics can help equip children and young people with the knowledge and critical thinking skills necessary to navigate their sexual development in a healthy and informed manner, thereby reducing the reliance on pornography as a form of sex education.
Critics of pornography may argue that individuals who consume pornography may rationalize or justify their behavior, leading to a higher likelihood of reporting positive effects. This raises concerns about potential bias in self-reporting. Therefore, it is crucial to employ diverse methodologies and approaches to analyze the effects of pornography on various aspects, including relationships and mental health. By using different research methods and examining multiple dimensions, we can obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the impact of pornography, reducing the potential influence of self-justification biases.
By conducting research across different domains and utilizing a range of measurement tools, researchers can gain a more nuanced and balanced perspective on the effects of pornography on individuals. This approach helps to address concerns regarding potential biases in self-reporting and allows for a more robust analysis of the complex dynamics involved in the relationship between pornography and various aspects of individuals' lives.
Relationship Effects
In contemporary society, the widespread availability and accessibility of pornography have sparked significant discussions and debates regarding its potential effects on individuals and their relationships. As the consumption of pornography continues to increase, it is crucial to understand the implications it may have on various aspects of intimate relationships. This chapter delves into the complex interplay between pornography and relationship outcomes, specifically focusing on its potential to hinder individuals from engaging in real sexual encounters, impede the formation of meaningful relationships or marriages, and influence dynamics within established relationships.
One key concern regarding pornography's impact on relationship outcomes is its potential to affect individuals' ability to transition from virtual sexual experiences to real-life sexual encounters. Engaging with explicit sexual content on screen may create a distorted perception of sexual intimacy, leading to unrealistic expectations and inhibitions when it comes to engaging in actual sexual activities. This chapter explores the existing research examining the possible hindrances that pornography consumption may pose in individuals' pursuit of real sexual experiences.
Furthermore, the influence of pornography on relationship formation and marriage is a subject of significant interest. It is essential to investigate whether pornography consumption affects individuals' attitudes, values, and behaviors related to establishing long-term partnerships. The chapter critically examines studies that explore the potential impact of pornography on relationship initiation, commitment, and the decision to enter into marriage. By analyzing the available evidence, we gain insights into how pornography may shape individuals' perceptions and choices regarding intimate relationships.
Moreover, the chapter delves into the effects of pornography within established relationships. It explores the potential consequences of one or both partners engaging in pornography consumption on relationship satisfaction, intimacy, trust, communication, and overall relationship functioning. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for comprehending how pornography may influence the dynamics between partners and the overall health of their relationship.
In addressing these issues, this chapter emphasizes the need for a nuanced and comprehensive understanding of the effects of pornography on relationship outcomes. By examining empirical studies from diverse perspectives and methodologies, we aim to provide a balanced assessment of the potential positive and negative consequences of pornography consumption on individuals' ability to engage in real sexual encounters, form meaningful relationships or marriages, and navigate the complexities within their existing relationships.
Ultimately, the goal of this chapter is to contribute to a deeper understanding of the impact of pornography on relationship outcomes, shedding light on the potential challenges and opportunities it presents for individuals seeking fulfilling and healthy intimate connections. By exploring the existing body of research, we hope to foster informed discussions and guide future investigations in this important area of study.
3.2: The Impact of Pornography on Real Sexual Encounters
According to Williams (2016) in The Independent, individuals associated with the NoFap movement argue that the prevalence of pornography among millennials has contributed to a decline in their sexual activity. These individuals claim that exposure to pornography has had a detrimental impact on their mental state, leading to a diminished desire for genuine sexual intimacy. Fradd further supports this notion by likening pornography to a synthetic and highly concentrated pheromone, suggesting that prolonged exposure to pornography can result in confusion or disinterest in engaging in real sexual encounters.
The apparent inhibition of individuals' inclination towards real sex due to the influence of pornography provides a compelling rationale for advocating against its consumption. Albright (2008) conducted a study that revealed a positive correlation between engaging in online sexual activities, such as erotic chatting, viewing pornography, interacting sexually with someone on the web, or seeking offline sexual encounters, and reduced arousal towards real sex for both males (r = 0.362) and females (r = 0.104).
Notably, it is important to acknowledge that a higher percentage of individuals reported increased sexual activity, as indicated by 14% of males and 17% of females.
In a study conducted by Sun et al. (2013) focusing on Korean men with a higher interest in extreme or degrading pornography (N = 470), a correlation was observed between this interest and a preference for pornography as a means to attain and sustain sexual excitement over engaging with a real partner (β = 0.18, p < 0.10). However, it is worth highlighting that factors such as older age (β = 0.20, p < 0.01) and relationship status (β = 0.24, p < 0.001) exhibited stronger predictive value in determining the preference for pornography over a genuine partner.
These findings suggest that while an inclination towards extreme or degrading pornography may be associated with a preference for pornography in achieving sexual arousal, other factors such as age and relationship status play a more significant role in determining individuals' choice between pornography and engaging in real sexual relationships.
While the aforementioned studies contribute to the discussion, it is important to critically examine the findings and consider the limitations of the research. The Albright study, for instance, reported weak-small correlations between seeking sex online and reduced arousal by real sex. These effect sizes indicate a relatively modest relationship and should be interpreted with caution.
Additionally, the Sun et al. study raises concerns regarding the use of an alpha level of 0.10 in their analysis. This choice of significance threshold may lead to increased risk of false positives or Type I errors, thereby casting doubt on the reliability and robustness of the reported associations.
To further investigate the potential impact of pornography on individuals' engagement in real sexual relationships, a viable approach would involve examining the relationship between pornography consumption and the number of sexual partners. By assessing individuals' pornography use patterns alongside their sexual behaviors, a more direct exploration of the potential influence of pornography on partner selection and engagement in real sex can be conducted. This approach would provide valuable insights into the association between pornography consumption and individuals' actual sexual experiences.
When considering the relationship between pornography consumption and sexual behavior, it is important to establish the default hypothesis as a starting point for discussion. The default hypothesis posits that individuals who engage in pornography consumption are more likely to experience heightened sexual arousal, and this arousal is expected to increase with greater consumption of pornography. Under the default hypothesis, it is assumed that individuals who consume pornography have a strong inclination and desire to engage in sexual activities with others.
However, it is crucial to emphasize that the default hypothesis does not assert a direct causal relationship between pornography consumption and sexual desire and the number of sexual partners. Rather, it suggests that individuals who are more frequently sexually aroused are more likely to consume pornography and also engage in sexual activities with others. It is important to distinguish this perspective from the alternative hypothesis put forth by critics of pornography, who may imply a causal link between pornography consumption and reduced sexual desire or fewer sexual partners.
Nevertheless, there is empirical evidence that supports the default hypothesis.
Pfause and Prause (2015a) conducted a study involving 288 men to explore the relationship between pornography consumption and the desire for sex with a partner. The findings of this study revealed that individuals who consumed higher amounts of pornography exhibited a stronger desire to engage in sexual activities with a partner. This supports the notion put forth by the default hypothesis that increased pornography consumption is associated with heightened sexual desire in the context of partner-based sexual encounters. Additionally, it is worth noting that Pfause and Prause (2015b) provided a response to Wilson's site, further contributing to the scholarly discourse on this topic.
In a study conducted by Bennet et al. (2019), the relationship between pornography consumption, sexual desire for one's partner, and relationship satisfaction was examined. The findings of this study indicated that pornography consumption did not have a negative impact on sexual desire for one's partner. Rather, the level of trait affection was found to be positively associated with greater sexual desire for one's partner. Furthermore, sexual desire was identified as a significant predictor of relationship satisfaction. Interestingly, the study also revealed that feelings of guilt associated with pornography consumption negatively influenced sexual desire for one's partner. These findings provide evidence that challenges the alternative hypothesis by suggesting that pornography consumption is not directly associated with lower sexual desire for one's partner, but rather guilt related to pornography use may have a negative impact on sexual desire within the context of a relationship.
In a study conducted by Willoughby et al. (2013), the association between pornography use and the number of sexual partners was examined, taking into account gender differences. The findings revealed that among men, higher levels of pornography use were associated with a greater number of casual sexual partners. However, this association was not observed among women. Instead, for women, moderate levels of pornography use were found to be associated with a higher number of sexual partners.
According to Rissel et al. (2016), the association between pornography use and the number of sexual partners was investigated among men and women. The findings revealed that individuals who reported watching pornography in the past year were more likely to have had multiple sexual partners in the same time frame. Specifically, both men and women who reported watching pornography in the past year had higher odds of having two or more sexual partners compared to those who did not watch pornography, with odds ratios of 3.58 for men and 3.83 for women.
Furthermore, the study found that there was an association between overall pornography use and the likelihood of having a single sexual partner. Both men and women who reported watching pornography overall had higher odds of having one sexual partner compared to those who did not watch pornography, with odds ratios of 1.31 for men and 1.67 for women.
In a study conducted by Komlenac and Hochleitner (2022), the relationship between pornography use and partnered sex was investigated among a sample of 644 medical students. The findings indicated that there was a positive association between pornography use and the frequency of engaging in partnered sexual activity for both men and women.
Among male participants, a significant positive association was observed between pornography use and the frequency of partnered sex, with a beta coefficient of 2.83. This suggests that as pornography use increases, men tend to engage in sexual activity with a partner more frequently.
Similarly, among female participants, there was a significant positive association between pornography use and the frequency of partnered sex, with a beta coefficient of 1.98. This indicates that women who reported higher levels of pornography use were more likely to engage in sexual activity with a partner more frequently.
In Braun-Courville and Rojas (2008), the impact of exposure to sexually explicit websites on sexual behavior among adolescents aged 12-22 was investigated. The study included a sample of 492 participants, and the findings revealed significant associations between exposure to sexually explicit websites and the number of sexual partners.
Specifically, adolescents who reported exposure to sexually explicit websites were found to have a higher likelihood of having more than one sexual partner in the last three months, with an odds ratio of 1.8. This suggests that adolescents who were exposed to sexually explicit websites were more likely to engage in sexual activity with multiple partners within a relatively short period. Furthermore, the study also found a significant association between exposure to sexually explicit websites and the number of lifetime sexual partners. Adolescents who reported exposure to such websites were more likely to have had multiple sexual partners throughout their lifetime, with an odds ratio of 1.8.
In Häggström-Nordin, Hanson, and Tydén (2005), the relationship between pornography consumption and sexual behavior among 718 students from 47 high school classes in Sweden was examined.
The findings of the study indicated that high pornography consumption was indeed associated with an increased likelihood of having sexual intercourse with a friend. Specifically, the odds ratio (OR) for engaging in intercourse with a friend among individuals with high pornography consumption was 1.75. This suggests that students who reported consuming pornography at a high frequency were more likely to engage in sexual activity with a friend compared to those with lower levels of pornography consumption.
Braithwaite, Coulson, and Keddington (2015) conducted a study to investigate the relationship between pornography consumption and engaging in friends-with-benefits relationships, as well as the number of unique friends-with-benefits partners. The study aimed to examine whether an increase in pornography consumption was associated with a higher incidence of friends-with-benefits relationships and a greater number of unique partners in such relationships.
The findings of the study revealed a positive association between pornography consumption and both the likelihood of having friends with benefits and the number of unique friends with benefits partners. Specifically, individuals who reported higher levels of pornography consumption were more likely to engage in friends-with-benefits relationships and had a greater number of unique partners in such relationships compared to those who reported lower levels of pornography consumption.
Wright, Bae, and Funk (2013) found a positive association between pornography consumption and the number of sexual partners among women. Specifically, women who reported consuming pornography had a greater number of sexual partners in both the prior year and the prior 5 years compared to women who did not consume pornography.
These results are similar to the ones found in Wright (2013), but this one focused on males rather than women.
The data presented from various studies shed light on the relationship between pornography consumption and sexual encounters. Overall, the findings suggest that higher pornography use is associated with certain patterns in sexual behavior, although the effects may differ based on gender and other factors. It is important to note that these findings align with the default hypothesis, which posits that individuals who consume pornography are more likely to be sexually aroused and have a stronger desire for sexual activity.
The accumulation of research findings on pornography consumption and sexual encounters provides support for the default hypothesis rather than the alternative hypothesis. The default hypothesis suggests that individuals who consume pornography are more likely to experience heightened sexual arousal and have a stronger desire for sexual activity. The data discussed, including studies by various researchers, consistently indicate that higher pornography use is associated with an increased number of sexual partners and engagement in certain sexual behaviors. These findings align with the notion that individuals who are more sexually aroused are inclined to consume pornography and subsequently engage in sexual encounters. In contrast, the alternative hypothesis, which implies a negative impact of pornography on sexual desire and engagement, is not strongly supported by the available evidence.
3.3: Processing into Relationships & Marriages
Among some of the more reactionary arguments, it’s said that pornography stops its consumers from forming relationships with other people. Fradd hints at this assumption, saying,
Which activity sounds more “mature” and grown-up: making love for a lifetime to one real flesh-and-blood woman whom you are eagerly serving and cherishing, despite all her faults and blemishes (and despite your own), or sneaking away at night to troll the Internet, flipping from image to image, from one thirty-second teaser to another, for hours on end, pleasuring yourself as you bond to pixels on a screen?
Zillman and Bryant (1988) exposed students and non-students to either a pornography film or an R-rated film for 6 consecutive weeks. After the end of the 6-week, it was found that individuals exposed to pornography had a lower view of marriage being an essential institution. Unfortunately, Zillman and Bryant do not offer the standard deviations in each group to calculate Cohen’s d to estimate the magnitude of the difference, an issue given the inability of p-values to tell us if an effect truly does exist or not (see Wasserstein, Schirm, and Lazar 2019 for more).
Questions #26-#29 were used to examine the effects continued exposure to pornography had on one’s views on marriage as an institution. Those who were part of the experimental group saw a decrease in their support for question #26 (38.8%), no significant results for question #27, an increase of 36.2% for question #28, and regulation from the government was viewed as less needed.
Although pornography may lead to a lower view of marriage being important as an institution for society, this does not translate to being less likely to be married or a lower desire to be married. Individuals may not consider marriage an important institution, but this does not mean they would not like to be married.
In another study, Malcolm and Naufal (2014) find that pornography consumption is consistently negatively associated with the probability of being married.
While the study can not show causation given its cross-sectional nature, it clearly indicates a negative coefficient in all the different models used. However, an issue with Malcolm and Nafual’s analyses is that pornography consumers are assumed to be equal across class; in other words, those who watch low amounts are the same as those who watch moderate and high amounts of pornography.
Both Zillman and Bryant and Malcolm and Nafual’s work rely on assumptions that are not borne out by the literature. First, Zillman and Bryant assume that attitudes toward marriage are predictive of behavior. Zillman and Bryant’s assumption assumes that consumers will think less of marriage, and thus be less likely to be married. Second, Malcolm and Nafual assume pornography consumers are a monolithic group, with no differences between those who differ in the amount of pornography they watch. The former assumes that views are predictive of behavior, and the latter assumes no group differences. This is not the case.
Perry's (2020) analysis of the 2012 New Family Structure Study (NFS) and the Relationships in American Survey (RAS) indicates a positive association between pornography consumption and the desire to be married. The study found that individuals who reported higher levels of pornography use were more likely to express a desire for marriage. These findings suggest that the notion of pornography diminishing individuals' interest in marriage may not hold true and that other factors may contribute to individuals' attitudes and desires regarding marriage.
If Zillman and Bryant’s findings were consistent in predicting actual behavior, we should not expect individuals who watch pornography at a higher rate to have a higher desire to be married, to begin with. The Zillman and Bryant findings should, theoretically, predict a lower desire to be married. This does not align with Fradd’s argument that pornography consumption would lead to the “belief that marriage is sexually confining” if consumers have the desire to be married. Why would those who view marriage as “sexually confining” have a desire to be married?
Fradd, Zillman, and Bryant might object to this response, possibly arguing that desire may not translate to actually becoming married. Indeed, it’s possible for an individual to desire marriage, but this does not mean they will actually become married. In the case of pornography and getting into marriage, the relationship is nuanced.
According to Perry and Longest (2019), their findings suggest that heavy pornography consumption decreases the chances of marriage for men but not for women. Interestingly, both abstinent individuals and those who watch pornography at a high frequency exhibited lower chances of getting married. This indicates that there may be distinct differences between individuals who consume pornography moderately, those who consume it heavily, and those who abstain entirely.
Again, assuming Bryant and Zillman’s findings were accurate predictors of behaviors, we should not expect pornography consumers to even transition into marriage. It’s possible that there may exist interaction effects between individuals who watch high amounts of pornography and those who watch no pornography at all and their personalities. In other words, personality differences might lower the odds of getting married and might decrease their chances of being a good partner. Personality differences between groups of pornography consumers are noted more in-depth in Chapter 5. To conjoin the chapters quickly, it’s found that individuals who watch high levels of pornography report more mental health issues than individuals with low-frequency use, and these mental health issues might lower the odds of getting married. However, it’s important to note that pornography consumption is not associated with these mental health issues in a causal or linear way.
However, not everyone wants to be married, to begin with. So, it’s possible that pornography consumers are less likely to be in general relationships than in marriage. Herbenick et al. (2020) found a high OR for women between pornography consumption and being in another relationship, meaning not single or in a relationship, but just something else, but a low OR for everything else but “other.” This suggests that women with more niche sexual desires in the target-sexual behaviors may simply be in something else besides a standard relationship.
For men, there was a high OR across the board and no relationship between pornography consumption and being single.
3.4: Effects on Relationship Outcomes
Since pornography does not stop one from having sex or finding a real partner, we should expect pornography to possibly have effects on relationship outcomes, even if they do not hinder one from forming relationships, to begin with. The prevailing perspective, particularly espoused by critics of pornography, posits a negative association between pornography consumption and various relationship outcomes. The Christian Broadcasting Network states that watching pornography can lead to domestic violence, increase the divorce rate, fosters insecurity, creates worthlessness, and can decrease sexual satisfaction with one’s partner (Gibbons 2018). Fradd (2017: 105) remarks that, based on his acquired evidence from the literature, pornography affects “…our ability to form and to maintain meaningful relationships.” These views align with how other critics of pornography discuss the issue (e.g., Paul 2006; Wilson 2015; Foubert 2016). One of the most popular slogans that claim pornography is harmful to relationships comes from Fight the New Drug, specifically their saying that “Porn kills love” (Fight the New Drug 2022). These discussions by critics have shaped public perception, leading many to believe that pornography poses a threat to their own relationships.
One frequently cited study by critics supporting their claim is the research conducted by Kenrick, Gutierres, and Goldberg (1998). In this experiment, a sample of individuals who were either married or in a relationship (N = 65) was exposed to different sets of photographs based on their assigned condition. The experimental group consisted of men exposed to explicit slides from Playboy and Penthouse, while women were exposed to slides from Playgirl. The control group, on the other hand, was exposed to slides featuring abstract art only. Subsequently, participants in each group rated their feelings toward their relationship and their partner's attractiveness.
Results revealed that males exposed to pornographic images reported lower levels of love for their partner and perceived them as less attractive compared to males in the control group. These effects were specific to men, as women in both the experimental and control groups did not exhibit significant differences in their feelings of love or perceived attractiveness towards their partner. Notably, these findings have been frequently cited as evidence supporting the harmful impact of pornography on relationships by various scholars (e.g., Yamoah and Dei 2015; Doran and Price 2014).
In a similar vein, Weaver, Masland, and Zillman (1984) conducted an experiment involving 46 participants who were graduates (no information was provided on the distribution across condition groups). The participants were exposed to a 6-minute video clip depicting different scenarios: a nature clip, a beautiful nude female in provocative poses or engaging in sexual activities, or an unattractive female engaging in the same poses or activities. Subsequently, participants completed a questionnaire assessing their perception of their significant other's body aesthetics. Results indicated that participants exposed to the beautiful, nude woman rated their partner's body less aesthetically pleasing (M = 4.51, SD = 0.99) compared to unattractive women (M = 5.58, SD = 1.32). The group exposed to nature scenes rated their partner's bodies in the middle range (M = 5.10, SD = 0.98). Importantly, participants' satisfaction with their partners was not significantly affected by the exposure conditions. These findings highlight how exposure to sexually explicit stimuli can influence perceptions of one's partner's body aesthetics without necessarily impacting overall relationship satisfaction.
Indeed, it is important to consider the limitations and inconsistencies in the findings of studies examining the impact of pornography exposure on relationship outcomes. Dermer and Pyszczynski (1978) conducted a study involving male undergraduate students who rated their love for their significant other and were then assigned to either an experimental group (exposed to an erotic story) or a control group (exposed to a story on herring gull mating behavior). Following exposure, participants reported their feelings and perceptions toward their partners. The results of ANOVA analyses indicated no significant differences between the condition groups in terms of love (F = 0.41, p = 0.53) and physical attractiveness ratings of their partners (F = 1.18, p = 0.2). These findings challenge the generalizability of the notion that exposure to erotic materials invariably leads to negative impacts on relationship perceptions.
The study conducted by Amelang and Pike (1992) further contributes to the discussion on the impact of erotica exposure on relationship perceptions. In their replication attempt with a sample of 60 women and 16 men, participants were assigned to either a control group or an experimental group exposed to erotica. The results of ANOVA analyses revealed no significant differences between the control and experimental groups in terms of love, liking, attractiveness, and sexual receptivity. These findings add to the body of evidence suggesting that exposure to erotica may not consistently lead to negative effects on relationship-related variables.
The findings of Balzarini et al. (2017) present a contrasting perspective to the original study by Kendrick and colleagues. In their high-powered, pre-registered replication attempt and meta-analysis involving three experiments with a total of 830 participants, exposure to nude pictures from adult magazines did not yield significant differences in partner attractiveness and love ratings compared to a control group exposed to abstract art. The meta-analysis, which also included Kendrick et al.'s study, further supported the lack of significant effects. These results suggest that the original findings may not hold robustly.
The meta-analysis conducted by Balzarini et al. (2017) revealed that exposure to pornography had negligible effects on one's perception of their partner's attractiveness (d = 0.02, 95% CI: -0.21, 0.24) and their feelings of love towards their partner (d = 0.02, 95% CI: -0.22, 0.26). These findings, coupled with the lack of consistent support from earlier research, cast doubt on the notion that pornography significantly influences individuals' love for their partner or their perception of their partner's attractiveness.
Of course, there are other data displaying pornography to be negatively associated with relationship outcomes. Shumway and Daines (2012) suggested a causal association between pornography, as measured by Playboy magazine sales, and divorce rates in the 1960s and 1970s, attributing 10 to 25 percent of divorces to pornography. However, their proposed explanation assumes a causal link between pornography and divorce without providing definitive evidence. Contrary to Shumway and Daines, Wongsurawat (2006) found a negative relationship between Penthouse subscriptions and divorce rates in the early 1990s.
Similarly, Doran and Price (2014) found associations between pornography consumption and higher odds of divorce, extramarital sex, and lower odds of marital and overall happiness. While these findings suggest a potential relationship between pornography and negative relationship outcomes, it's important to consider that correlation does not necessarily imply causation.
Stewart and Szymanski (2012) reported a negative correlation between pornography consumption and relationship quality as reported by partners of college women in their sample. The correlation coefficient of -0.16 suggests a small but statistically significant association between pornography consumption and lower relationship quality.
Perry and Schleifer (2018) conducted a study on a large sample of couples (N = 2,210) and found that watching porn at time one was associated with higher odds of being divorced at time two (OR = 2.19, p = 0.05). However, they did not find a significant relationship between quitting pornography use and reduced likelihood of divorce overall. Notably, gender moderated this effect, with women who quit pornography consumption between waves being significantly less likely to be divorced than men (b = −1.90, OR = 0.15, p = 0.05). Furthermore, the association between pornography use and divorce decreased as age increased. These findings suggest that the relationship between pornography use and divorce is complex, with relatively small effect sizes, and can vary depending on factors such as gender and age.
Perry (2019) conducted a comprehensive analysis of multiple datasets and found that the average correlation between pornography use and being "very happy" in marriage was small, with a correlation coefficient of r = -0.20 (OR = 0.82, p = 0.001). The effect was more pronounced for males, as indicated by the interaction model, with a coefficient of b = -0.26 (OR = 0.77, p = 0.001). Rasmussen (2016) argues similar issues stemming from pornography on relationship outcomes. Stewart and Szymanski found that partners of pornography consumers reported lower relationship quality (r = -0.16, p = 0.05) and lower sexual satisfaction (r = -0.09, not statistically significant). Perceptions of problematic pornography use were also associated with lower relationship quality (r = -0.21, p = 0.05) and lower sexual satisfaction (r = -0.25, p = 0.05).
It is important to exercise caution when referencing studies that lack verifiable sources and are not widely accessible for review. The studies mentioned, such as Dr. Jill Manning's research on the role of pornography in divorces and the survey conducted by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, appear to lack credible documentation or readily available evidence for an independent analysis. While online blogs and some academic sources may reference these studies (e.g., Manning 2007; Herland 2017), the absence of functional papers and the inability to locate them raise concerns about their validity and reliability. It is unclear why these studies continue to be cited without supporting evidence, but it is advisable to rely on studies with transparent methodologies and accessible data for more robust academic discourse.
The relationship between pornography use and negative relationship outcomes is indeed complex and multifaceted. It is important to consider factors such as variations in pornography consumption within couples, attitudes toward pornography, and individual perspectives on masturbation. Research has suggested that these factors play a significant role in shaping the impact of pornography on relationships. Therefore, it is essential to approach the topic with a nuanced understanding and consider multiple factors when examining the effects of pornography on relationship outcomes.
Daneback et al. (2009) conducted a study involving 398 Norwegian couples who were either married or cohabiting. The researchers examined various factors related to pornography use, including using pornography to enhance the sex life, online pornography use, communication about sexual issues, frequency of sexual problems, and habitual negative perceptions of oneself. The findings revealed that couples in which both individuals watched pornography tended to have lower levels of sexual dysfunctions and a more positive erotic climate compared to couples where only one partner consumed pornography. Couples in which neither partner used pornography fell between the other two groups in terms of sexual dysfunctions and erotic climate. However, couples in which only one person watched pornography exhibited a permissive erotic climate but reported more sexual dysfunctions compared to the other two groups. These findings highlight the potential influence of mutual pornography use on sexual functioning and the overall climate within a relationship.
Grov et al. (2011) conducted a study using the Cyber-Sex and Romance survey, which included a sample of 8,376 heterosexual participants from the United States. The study aimed to examine the impacts of pornography on relationships. The results indicated gender differences in how pornography consumption influenced relationships. Men were more likely than women to report that pornography consumption led to increased sexual activity (V = 0.03) and used it to enhance arousal (V = 0.03). These findings remained statistically significant even after multivariate modeling.
Both men (22.9%) and women (23.8%) reported that pornography helped them become more open to new experiences. A considerable proportion of participants, both men (14.9%) and women (17.1%), reported viewing pornographic websites with their partner to enhance sexual arousal. Additionally, about one in five men and women stated that pornography facilitated easier communication about their sexual desires.
Some negative effects were reported by both women and men. Women reported experiences such as body criticism from their partner, a decrease in sexual frequency, and feeling pressured to reenact what was depicted in pornography. Some men also reported being critical of their partner's bodies and decreased arousal during real sex. However, the majority of participants, both males (74.8%) and females (67.3%), did not report any negative effects.
Notably, when couples consumed pornography together, several positive effects were observed. These included an increase in sexual activities (OR = 8.37, V = 0.37), engagement in new sexual activities (OR = 11.59, V = 0.45), easier communication about sexual desires (OR = 10.95, V = 0.44), a reduced likelihood of experiencing a decrease in sexual frequency (OR = 0.27, V = 0.10), less boredom in sexual routines (OR = 0.52, V = 0.06), decreased body criticism (OR = 0.70, V = 0.03), and decreased likelihood of being less aroused by real sex (OR = 0.45, V = 0.06). All of these effects were statistically significant at the 0.05 level.
Maddox, Rhoades, and Markman (2009) found a higher relationship length and sexual satisfaction between couples who watched no pornography and those who watched pornography together only. Much in line with prior research, those who watched pornography alone tended to score lower on different variables.
Kohut et al. (2018) conducted a study involving 200 heterosexual participants and their partners to investigate the associations between pornography use, sexual communication, closeness, and relationship outcomes. The findings revealed interesting patterns regarding shared and solitary pornography use within couples.
The study found that shared pornography use was positively associated with openness in sexual communication (β = 0.22, p = 0.006). This means that couples who watched pornography together demonstrated greater openness in discussing their sexual preferences and desires compared to couples who did not share pornography. On the other hand, when couples watched pornography alone, it had a negative impact on their sexual communication (z = -2.33, p = 0.020). This suggests that individual pornography use without partner involvement may hinder effective sexual communication within the relationship.
Interestingly, the study also observed that individuals who engaged in solitary pornography consumption more than once a day had more open sexual communication (z = 1.97, p = 0.049). Although this finding may seem contradictory, it indicates that a higher frequency of solitary pornography use was associated with increased openness in sexual communication. Regarding closeness, couples with shared pornography use demonstrated higher levels of closeness (β = 0.33, p = 0.002) compared to couples with solitary use (β = -0.17, p = 0.027). This suggests that engaging in pornography together as a couple was associated with greater feelings of closeness, while solitary use was linked to lower levels of closeness.
Discordant pornography use, where one partner consumed pornography while the other did not, was associated with negative relationship outcomes. However, couples in which neither person consumed pornography exhibited positive relationship outcomes.
Kohut et al. (2021) conducted multiple studies to examine the relationship between pornography consumption and relationship quality. Here is a summary of their key findings:
In the first cross-sectional study involving 200 individuals, couples who reported more frequent pornography use had higher relationship quality (β = 0.17, p = 0.004). However, when looking specifically at the frequency of partners' solitary pornography use, there was initially a positive association with lower relationship satisfaction (β = 0.10, p = 0.042). However, this effect became insignificant when gender was adjusted for (β = 0.10, p = 0.061). Solitary pornography use was associated with lower sexual satisfaction (β = 0.16, p = 0.043), while shared pornography use was associated with better sexual satisfaction (β = 0.14, p = 0.014). Notably, the negative effects of solitary use were pronounced when one partner used little to no pornography and their partner frequently consumed it.
In the second study involving 135 American newlyweds, participants' views on pornography were negatively related to their sexual satisfaction if their partner disliked pornography. Conversely, there was a positive correlation between participants' views on pornography and sexual satisfaction when their partner had a positive view of enjoyment towards pornography. Relationship satisfaction did not show a significant relationship with partners' views on pornography in this study.
In the fourth longitudinal study with 529 participants, shared pornography use was positively associated with relationship satisfaction (b = 0.13, p = 0.002) and sexual satisfaction (b = 0.34, p = 0.001). Solitary use was associated with lower sexual satisfaction, particularly for men. However, the authors noted that this should not be interpreted as evidence of pornography being harmful. They suggested that differences in sex drive between partners may be a contributing factor to the negative relationship between solitary pornography use and sexual satisfaction.
Kohut, Fisher, and Campbell (2017) had their sample of 430 heterosexual participants answer open-ended questions which measured experience using pornography while in a relationship, reasons for using pornography, and perceived effects of pornography, and measured how many times a theme was discussed in their data set and coded them as “references.” Many participants indicated that there were no negative effects (621 references), 353 references noted that pornography was a source of information that helped in an educational sense, and 33 references noted how pornography helped people figure out what they like in their sex life and sexual fantasies. When discussing sexual communication, 299 references said that pornography helped sexual communication between partners, showing “...that being non-judgmental about pornography use fosters more open sexual communication.” Beyond the betterment of sexual communication, pornography also helped couples with their communication overall by increasing openness and honesty and leading to helping couples learn more about each other. Only a small minority of people reported that pornography replaced their partner, loss of intimacy and love, no positive effects, damaged relationships, relationship dissolution, being less satisfied with one's partner, and enjoying real sex, to name a few, as based on the low amounts of references below 100.
In response to Kohut, Fisher, and Campbell’s research, Wilson (2021a) notes multiple flaws in their analysis that lead him to cast aside their study showing the positive effects of pornography. Wilson’s first criticism is that the study did not make use of a representative sample because according to Wilson’s cited study (Doran and Price 2014), only 2.6% of married women had visited a pornographic website in the past month compared to Kohut et al.’s 83% of women who had used pornography since the beginning of their relationship. Wilson’s argument suffers from the same issue that the studies on how many people watch pornography by gender do: different studies find differing values. In another study that made use of a nationally representative sample, Carroll et al. (2017) found that 35% of married women reported watching pornography, a 32.5% difference from Wilson’s cited study. It’s possible that social desirability bias plays a role in self-reported pornography consumption among those who are married as it does when looking at pornography consumption by gender. Wilson’s first criticism is therefore null given that a different study with another representative sample found higher pornography use among married women. Wilson’s argument that Kohut et al.’s sample is not representative because it found high rates of pornography use among women is unwarranted since even nationally representative data show different percentages in pornography consumption among women in relationships.
The 2nd criticism is their lack of regressions showing the correlation between pornography use and different relationship variables, an issue for Wilson since their use of open-ended questions allowed the participants to “ramble on and on about porn.” However, even when effect sizes are utilized, like in Grov et al., watching pornography together is associated with positive effects. It’s possible Wilson is referring to the fact that other studies have found a negative correlation between pornography use and relationship quality, but as was noted prior, this relationship is driven by multiple variables, some to be discussed below, but which also included variation in how individuals within couples consume pornography. Instead, Wilson focuses on a few responses that reported negative effects and assumes that these few responses beat most answers. As the authors make clear, many of the reported negative effects received fewer than 100 references in their data set.
Looking at a sample of older individuals between the ages of 50 and 85, Gillespie (2016) measured different variables related to sexuality, like sexual satisfaction, sexual frequency, and sexual communication, for example, and relationship satisfaction among a sample of 9,164 adults. While most couples reported infrequent sex lives, those with low sexual frequency and high sexual satisfaction and those with high sexual frequency and high sexual satisfaction were more likely to report watching pornography together. Couples with low sexual frequency and low sexual satisfaction and those with high sexual frequency but less sexual satisfaction were less likely to watch pornography together. Thus, even watching pornography together is associated with greater sexual frequency and sexual satisfaction among older couples.
Watching pornography together as a couple is important since discordance in viewing is associated with less positive communication (b = -0.16, p = 0.001), more relational aggression (b = 0.12, p = 0.001), less relationship satisfaction (b = -0.15, p = 0.001), and less stability (b = -0.11, t = -4.76, p = 0.001). These effects were adjusted for sexuality, education, socioeconomic factors, relationship length, number of previous divorces, number of children they had with their partner, income, religiosity, age, and race (Willoughby et al. 2016).
The studies cited show that the negative relationship between pornography consumption and relationship outcomes is partially explained by variations in how couples consume pornography, with partnered use being associated with positive relationship outcomes and solo use being associated with negative relationship outcomes.
However, attitudes towards pornography also affect the negative relationship argued by critics. As Willoughby et al. found, acceptance of pornography use was positively associated with positive communication (male acceptance: β = 0.06, p = 0.039; female acceptance: β = 0.04, p =0.028). Male acceptance was associated with higher satisfaction (β = 0.05, p = 0.016) and lower relational aggression (β = -0.06, p = 0.003).
Maas et al. (2018) found an interaction effect between views on pornography and relationship satisfaction among 6,626 couples. For males more accepting of pornography use, it was associated with higher relationship satisfaction. For men against pornography use, higher pornography use is associated with lower relationship satisfaction. For females, low acceptance of pornography use is associated with lower relationship satisfaction.
Another study of 136 women found that lower acceptance of pornography use was associated with lower emotional intimacy (β = -0.29, p = 0.001), sexual intimacy (β = -0.23, p = 0.007), intellectual intimacy (β = -0.22, p = 0.011), and recreational intimacy (β = -0.18, p = 0.038), according to Adamson et al. (2021).
Floyd et al. (2020) found that moral disapproval of pornography, but continuing to watch it anyways, was associated with lower relationship satisfaction. Being morally against pornography but watching anyways while in a relationship may cause one to experience negative emotions, thus leading to lower relationship satisfaction.
Issues with masturbation might also be the culprit that is associated with negative effects. Semantically, one would not see a difference between masturbation and pornography as one follows the other, but individuals in relationships seem to be able to separate the two concepts. In a study of 392 Americans and 200 Spaniards, Negy et al. (2018) found those in relationships did not have an issue with pornography as they did not consider it a form of cheating (USA: 73%, Spain: 77%). However, lower attitudes towards pornography (USA: r = -0.58, p = 0.001; Spain: r = -0.42, p = 0.001), higher religiosity (USA: r = 0.34, p = 0.001; not significant in the Spain sample), higher prolaticity for jealousy (USA: r = 0.13, p = 0.01; Spain: r = 0.24, p = 0.001), and lower self-esteem (USA: r = -0.11, p = 0.05; not significant in the Spain sample) were associated with believing that pornography was a form of cheating. Dowdle (2022) noted that among 1,020 people, only 25% of people considered watching pornography alone as cheating, but 85% of people considered genital stimulation as cheating. The order of severity displayed pornography at the bottom of the list out of 29 variables and was at the bottom of variables considered as cheating. Borgogna (2015) conducted an analysis on 254 college students and found that 23% of males considered pornography a form of cheating, compared to 19% of females. Taylor (2016) also found that most males and females don’t consider pornography a form of cheating, as based on their Likert-scale ranging from 1 to 5 (male: M = 1.85, female: M = 2.48), similar findings were also noted in Schonian (2013).
Indeed, a study by Perry (2019), which analyzed data from the Relationships in America (RIA) data set and the New Family Structure Study (NFSS), found that pornography was negatively correlated with relationship happiness in both data sets (RIA: -0.11, p = 0.05; NFSS: -0.07, p = 0.05). However, when OLS regressions are conducted to hold multiple variables constant, the negative relationship goes away. In the OLS model using RIA data, in Model 5 once all variables are held constant, pornography use is positively associated with relationship satisfaction (b = 0.07, β = 0.04) and masturbation is significantly associated with relationship satisfaction in a negative way (b = -0.06, β = -0.09, p = 0.01). Similar effects were found in the NFSS OLS regression (pornography use: b = 0.07, β = 0.04, n.s.; masturbation: b = -0.06, β = -0.09, p = 0.01). When the model is constrained to examine gender differences, pornography use is positively associated with relationship happiness for men and women, but statistically insignificant in both models (males: b = 0.02, β = 0.01; females: b = 0.02, β = 0.02). Masturbation is consistently negatively and significantly associated with lower relationship satisfaction for both men and women (males: b = -0.07, β = -0.09, p = 0.01; females: b = -0.05, β = -0.07, p = 0.001).
This finding is important since low intimacy in relationships leads to masturbation (Carvalheria, Træen, and Stulhofer 2018), and low intimacy in relationships can lead to cheating on one’s partner (Selterman, Garcia, and Tsapelas 2020). This can explain the relationship between pornography use and higher infidelity (see Maddox, Rhoades, and Markman 2009). It’s worth noting that the relationship between pornography use and infidelity may not be causal, but rather infidelity might be associated with pornography use (Stack, Wasserman, Kern 2004).
Vaillancourt-Morela et al. (2023) found that “Findings showed that when an individual’s solitary pornography use was unknown by their partner, they reported lower same-day relationship satisfaction and intimacy as well as a lower initial level of relationship satisfaction. When an individual’s solitary pornography use was known, they reported higher intimacy over one year and their partner reported lower intimacy over one year.” I am unable to access this study, so I am unsure how significant the decrease is in one’s partner’s intimacy.
Among women, pornography viewing frequency, perceptions of excessive use, and control difficulties were unrelated to relationship satisfaction. Using pornography to escape negative emotions was associated with lower relationship satisfaction (Borgogna, Lathan, Mitchell 2018). This can reflect an issue of not dealing with one’s problems and turning to pornography as a form of escapism, rather than pornography itself leading to lower relationship satisfaction.
When Perry’s study and prior studies showing people to not consider pornography consumption as cheating are combined, it casts doubt on a causal relationship between pornography use negatively correlating with relationship satisfaction, with this argument further being helped by how attitudes and variations within couples influence the relationship.
Based on the studies cited, it can be concluded that the relationship between pornography consumption and relationship outcomes is not straightforward and is influenced by various factors. The findings suggest that the way couples consume pornography, such as shared use versus solo use, can have different effects on relationship quality. Shared pornography use tends to be associated with positive relationship outcomes, including better sexual communication, increased closeness, and higher relationship satisfaction. On the other hand, solo pornography use is often linked to negative relationship outcomes, such as lower relationship satisfaction and sexual dissatisfaction.
Attitudes towards pornography also play a significant role in shaping the impact on relationship quality. Acceptance of pornography use within a relationship is associated with positive communication, higher satisfaction, and lower relational aggression. Conversely, lower acceptance of pornography use is linked to lower relationship satisfaction and reduced intimacy.
The studies also shed light on the complex relationship between pornography use, masturbation, and perceptions of cheating. While the majority of individuals do not consider pornography consumption alone as cheating, attitudes may vary based on factors like religiosity, self-esteem, and cultural background. It is worth noting that the negative correlation between pornography use and relationship satisfaction may be influenced by the negative effects of masturbation, which is associated with lower satisfaction.
Overall, these studies highlight the need for a nuanced understanding of pornography's impact on relationships. It is crucial to consider individual differences, variations within couples, and attitudes toward pornography when examining its effects. The findings suggest that it is not the mere act of consuming pornography that determines relationship outcomes but rather the context, attitudes, and dynamics surrounding its use within the relationship.
Sexual Functioning
4.2: Porn-Induced Erectile Dysfunction
Issues of increasing erectile dysfunction being downstream from pornography have been a claim among anti-pornography critics for some time now. Fight The New Drug suggests that E.D. “has been increasing in sexually active men under 40” (citing Park et al. 2016). To support their claim, Park et al. multiple studies on the increase in erectile dysfunction among young men. Fradd’s comment on the issue seems to imply a causal relationship, saying “With the increasing availability of pornography has come an increase in the number of cases of sexual performance issues, such as erectile dysfunction (ED), among young men” (93). This is what FTND and Park et al. also believe. Foubert (2017) is more direct with a causal argument, saying that “rates of erectile dysfunction among young men are skyrocketing, and are directly related to the more frequent use of increasingly interactive Internet pornography.” McDougal (2012: 63) says that a failure to maintain an erection “...can be caused by porn.” Begovic (2019) conducted an odd study looking at YouTube videos, diaries, and texts of individuals who attempted to quit pornography, and concluded that, based on these mediums, pornography was causally associated with erectile dysfunction. Dickson (2017) remarks that among some individuals who experienced erectile dysfunction and who post on anti-pornography forums, many who experienced this dysfunction have a “…healthy diet of Internet porn.”
That there is an increase in erectile dysfunction does not tell us if pornography is the culprit, and some studies cited by critics used to show a relationship require scrutiny. In Wilson’s Your Brain on Porn book (Wilson 2014), he cites Wery and Billeux (2016) to substantiate his assertion that there exists "evidence of reduced erectile function and reduced overall sexual satisfaction," thereby supporting his claim that "there was already evidence that porn video viewers tended toward... declining sexual responsiveness." A close look at this study displays incompetence from Wilson in interpreting studies. In their study encompassing 434 men involved in online sexual activity (OSA), Wery and Billeux established a negative association between lower erectile functioning and OSA (β = -0.35, p = 0.017).
Wilson assumes this means that the authors are finding that OSA predicts lower erectile functioning, but this seems to come from a misreading of the research. As the authors state, “…and lower erectile function predict problematic use of OSAs.” This does not fall in line with how Wilson described the study, saying that pornography predicts erectile dysfunction.
Wilson also cites Janssen and Bancroft (2006) to argue that pornography leads to erectile dysfunction. As Wilson says about the study,
Ominously, as early as 2007 renowned sexology researchers Janssen and Bancroft had stumbled upon evidence that streaming-porn viewing apparently caused erectile difficulties, and that, ‘high exposure to erotica seemed to have resulted in a lower responsivity to “vanilla sex” erotica and an increased need for novelty and variation.’ Unfortunately, they chose not to raise the alarm, and investigated no further.
A look at the original Janssen and Bancroft paper does not seem as if it agrees with Wilson. When erectile difficulties are discussed, it’s not in the context of pornography causing erectile dysfunction. The first mention is from Barlow, but this was a study comparing men with erectile dysfunction and men without erectile dysfunction and how they process and respond to sexual stimuli. The second mention comes from a 1995 paper from Bancroft, but this citation too makes no mention of pornography causing erectile dysfunction. When discussing erectile dysfunction in the overall findings, Janssen and Bancroft make no mention of pornography causing erectile dysfunction in their sample. It’s unknown where Wilson got the idea that the authors had “stumbled upon evidence that streaming-porn viewing apparently caused erectile difficulties.” The only truth to Wilson’s representation is that “Conversations with the subjects reinforced our idea that in some of them a high exposure to erotica seemed to have resulted in a lower responsivity to “vanilla sex” erotica and an increased need for novelty and variation, in some cases combined with a need for very specific types of stimuli in order to get aroused.”
Park et al., which was also co-authored by Wilson, cite Pizzol, Bertoldo, and Foresta (2016) to show that pornography harms sexual functioning. Interestingly enough, this is a case of omitting findings that contradict the argument set by Park et al.
While the study is cited to show that non-pornography users are different from pornography users in some aspects of sexual functioning, no mention is made that the reported rate of erectile dysfunction among individuals who consume pornography once a week and less than once a week (both 4%) is the same for those who do not consume pornography (4%). Wilson and Fradd also both cite a lecture from Carlo Foresta entitled “Sessualita Mediatica e Nuove Forme Di Patologia Sessuale Campione 125 Giovani Maschi” (“Sexuality Media and New Forms of Sexual Pathology Sample 125 Young Males, 19-25 Years”). Unfortunately, no current paper exists to examine the methodology of the study.
Dwulit and Rzymiki (2019) conducted a comprehensive examination of existing literature, uncovering a total of seven studies pertinent to the subject matter. However, the findings they present regarding the association between pornography and erectile dysfunction lack clarity. It is worth noting that the review by Dwulit and Rzymiki suffers from a particular limitation: the inclusion of Park et al.'s research as indicative of a relationship. By relying on case studies that suggest a connection, the review authors conclude that the evidence is inconclusive. Nevertheless, this approach raises concerns regarding the amalgamation of studies varying in quality. The inclusion of both higher-quality and lower-quality studies within the review potentially compromises its credibility. As a result, it is advisable to approach Dwulit and Rzymiki's review with caution and not accord it significant weight in the overall discourse.
It’s clear that critics have not done a proper job of accurately presenting their cited studies, and the overlap between, for example, Wilson and Fradd’s work displays evidence of citation bias. Fradd even goes as far as to cite a now-defunct survey of No Fap users, clearly an unbiased sample. Despite the pitfalls of critics, their assumption that pornography is associated with erectile dysfunction is not bared out in the literature, where the results are often insignificant and inconsistent.
Landripet and Stulhofer (2015) conducted two separate studies to explore the potential relationship between pornography use and erectile dysfunction. The first study involved a sample of 2,737 men from Croatia, Norway, and Portugal, while the second study focused specifically on 1,211 Croatian men. Participants in both studies completed a questionnaire that assessed their pornography use and erectile functioning.
Upon analyzing the data at the bivariate level, it was found that there was no statistically significant association between pornography use and erectile dysfunction among the Norwegian and Portuguese groups. However, in the Croatian sample of the first study, a weak correlation was observed between pornography use and erectile functioning, with a Cramer's V coefficient of 0.14. Frequent pornography use was associated with higher odds of experiencing erectile dysfunction compared to infrequent use, but this association was specific to the Croatian sample and not observed in the other groups.
In the second study, no statistically significant correlation was found between pornography use and sexual functioning. Furthermore, individuals who exhibited an increase in pornography use were not more likely to experience erectile dysfunction when compared to those with more stable usage patterns.
In their study conducted at the Naval Medical Center San Diego, Berger et al. (2019) examined a cohort of 362 men and women from the urology clinic. The researchers aimed to assess the relationship between craving for pornography and obsession with pornography, and their impact on sexual functioning. The findings revealed a weak and statistically insignificant correlation between craving for pornography (r = 0.05, not significant), obsession with pornography (r = 0.04, not significant), and sexual functioning
Grubbs and Gola (2019) looked at 147 undergraduates from the United States, 297 men who matched a nationally representative norm, and a convenience sample from MTurk who took part in a 1-year longitudinal study with 4 waves. In their first sample, average daily pornography use measured through hours was not associated with erectile functioning (r = -0.18, not significant) or problematic pornography use (r = -0.20).
Similar results were found in their second sample of men who matched a nationally representative norm. Average daily pornography use measured through minutes was not associated with average daily pornography use (r = -0.05, not significant), and frequency of pornography use (r = 0.00, not significant), but was associated with problematic pornography use (r = -0.21, p < 0.05). Using a standardized path coefficient for both samples, average pornography use and frequency of pornography use was all unassociated with erectile functioning. In their 3rd longitudinal sample, average pornography use was negatively correlated with erectile functioning (r = -0.20, p = 0.05).
However, when conducting a latent growth curve model which allows researchers to estimate growth trajectories over time, average pornography use was not significantly associated with younger men’s desire, erectile functioning, or orgasmic difficulties.
Buchholz et al. (2019) conducted a study involving a sample of 4,370 young men from the Cohort Study on Substance Use Risk Factors. The objective was to examine the relationship between pornography use and erectile dysfunction. The results demonstrated that pornography use did not predict erectile dysfunction. Instead, the study revealed that testosterone levels and sex drive were predictive factors for erectile dysfunction.
In a study conducted by Jacobs et al. (2020), a total of 3,419 men and women participated and were administered the Cyber Pornography Addiction Test, International Index of Erectile Function, and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Concise online. The authors observed a significant correlation between problematic pornography consumption and erectile dysfunction. However, the study did not find any relationship between the duration of pornography consumption and erectile dysfunction (p = 0.17), nor was there a significant association with the frequency of masturbation.
Prause and Pfause (2015) investigated a cohort of 288 men and explored the relationship between pornography consumption and erectile dysfunction. Their findings indicated that increased pornography viewing among participants was not associated with erectile dysfunction (Prause & Pfause, 2015a, 2015b).
According to a study conducted by Prause and Binnie (2022) on users of the porn Reboot program, the findings revealed that pornography consumption was not significantly associated with erectile dysfunction (E.D.). Instead, the study indicated that anxiety was correlated with erectile dysfunction, while pornography use did not show a significant relationship with this condition.
Rowland et al. (2022) conducted a comprehensive study involving 3,932 males from various countries including the United States, Canada, England, other English-speaking countries, and Hungary. The participants were surveyed regarding their frequency of pornography use, masturbation frequency, and completed four items from the International Index of Erectile Function-5 to assess erectile functioning.
The study categorized males into different groups based on their erectile dysfunction status, including those with overall erectile dysfunction (n = 3,574), erectile dysfunction without premature ejaculation (n = 1,774), and males over the age of 30 (n = 919). The analysis revealed that neither the frequency of pornography use nor the frequency of masturbation was associated with erectile functioning. Specifically, for males without erectile dysfunction, there was no significant relationship between pornography use (b = -0.026, p = 0.170) or masturbation frequency (b = -0.012, p = 0.520) and erectile functioning. Similar findings were observed for males with erectile dysfunction but without premature ejaculation (pornography use: b = -0.038, p = 0.130; masturbation frequency: b = -0.021, p = 0.385) and males over the age of 30 (pornography use: b = -0.059, p = 0.105; masturbation frequency: b = -0.004, p = 0.909).
Furthermore, when examining the severity of erectile dysfunction among all men with erectile dysfunction and those with pure erectile dysfunction, no significant associations were found between the frequency of pornography use (E.D. overall: b = -0.017, p = 0.794; pure E.D.: b = -0.089, p = 0.392) or masturbation frequency (E.D. overall: b = -0.081, p = 0.229; pure E.D.: b = 0.113, p = 0.279) and erectile dysfunction.
Janssen et al. (2020) found that when a control group was compared to hypersexual men, a group that consumes a large amount of pornography and cybersex, no difference in genital response was seen between hypersexual men and the control group when exposed to erotic stimuli.
Pornography use and pornography addiction also don’t predict erectile dysfunction or sexual dissatisfaction, but rather self-perceived pornography addiction does (Whelan 2021).
Indeed, when rigorous statistical tests are employed, the overall findings indicate a lack of a significant or consistent relationship between pornography use and erectile functioning. However, it is worth noting that there might be some association observed among problematic pornography users. It is important to recognize that problematic users represent a small percentage of the overall pornography-consuming population.
One possible explanation for the occurrence of erectile dysfunction in some males who consume pornography is related to the fear and anxiety induced by anti-pornography commentators. The negative messages and criticisms surrounding pornography use may instill feelings of guilt or shame, leading to psychological distress. This emotional burden, in turn, can potentially contribute to the development of erectile dysfunction. If someone hears how pornography is bad, they may feel shame about their pornography use, which in turn can lead to erectile dysfunction.
Feeling guilty about masturbation can lead to severe depression and erectile dysfunction, according to Chakrabarti, Chopra, and Siha (2011); anxiety and depression can lead to erectile dysfunction (Manalo, Bierman, and Patil 2021). Similar results were found in Beiberman and Patil (2021), who found that anxiety and depression were higher in males with erectile dysfunction than in the control group before being diagnosed with erectile dysfunction (17.1% vs. 12.9%), and higher in the months following the diagnosis.
Another possible issue might be performance anxiety when having sex with another person. As Jacobs et al. noted,
“Experiencing performance pressure (“Pressure to perform in bed or to maintain an erection while having sex on a scale from 1 to 10”) resulted in an OR of 1.30 (95% CI 1.24-1.38; P<.001). Being single or having a new relationship was found to raise the odds of ED (OR 2.12, 95% CI 1.34-3.36; P=.001 and OR 2.27, 95% CI 1.40-3.66, P<.001, respectively) as compared with men in a longstanding (>6 months) relationship.”
Performance anxiety associated with having sex, being single, or being in a new relationship predicted erectile dysfunctions, issues unrelated to pornography use. Having other issues, like psychological distress, can also lead to erectile dysfunction. Rowland et al. found that anxiety was significantly associated with erectile dysfunction across their different cohorts (males without E.D.: b = -0.117, p < 0.000; E.D. with premature ejaculation.: b = -0.103, p < 0.000; males older than 30: b = -0.116, p = 0.001) and those with erectile dysfunction overall and pure erectile dysfunction (E.D. overall: b = -0.117, p = 0.037; pure E.D.: b = 0.230, p = 0.009).
In the context of NoFap/ other Reboot users, Taylor and Jackson (2018) found that abstaining from pornography and masturbation was seen as a form of passage toward masculinity (see Burnett 2021 for more). Failing to abstain from these vices is in contrast to one’s masculinity. This is important as these types of views about masculinity—that it’s hard to obtain, easy to lose, and must be proven—are associated with erectile functioning issues (Walthers, Rice, and Eggenberger 2023).
Based on the studies cited, which collectively examine a range of sample sizes and methodologies, it can be concluded that there is no consistent or significant relationship between pornography use and erectile dysfunction. Numerous studies have failed to find a direct causal link between the two variables, with many indicating that other factors, such as mental health issues, relationship dynamics, or physiological factors, are more influential in the occurrence of erectile dysfunction.
While some studies have reported weak associations between problematic pornography use and erectile dysfunction, it is important to note that problematic users represent a small subset of the overall population of pornography consumers. Furthermore, these individuals often have pre-existing mental health issues, suggesting that the observed correlations may be attributed to confounding factors rather than a direct causal relationship.
Overall, it is crucial to approach the topic of pornography and erectile dysfunction with nuance and consider multiple contributing factors, rather than assuming a simplistic cause-and-effect relationship. Pornography may also not harm other forms of sexual functioning.
Sommet and Berent (2022) found a negative relationship between pornography use and sexual functioning, but only among males. However, this relationship may not be causal. Komlenac and Hochleitner (2021) find no relationship between pornography use and sexual functioning in their regression.
Moral issues may, again, also play a role. Floyd et al. (2020) found that moral issues with pornography but consuming it anyway was associated with lower sexual satisfaction.
Thus, pornography is not casually or consistently associated with erectile dysfunction and sexual functioning (see Hoagland and Grubbs 2021 for more).
Psychological Well-Being
It is important to acknowledge that concerns about the potential effects of pornography on mental health have been raised by anti-pornography groups. Organizations, like Fight The New Drug (2021), argue that pornography can have long-term detrimental effects on mental health. Additionally, authors such as Maltz and Maltz (2010) suggest that pornography can harm both mental and physical health, although their arguments may rely less on scientific studies. Marchi et al. (2021) claim that scientific evidence exists, demonstrating the significant impact of online pornography on adults' sex lives, as well as their physical and mental well-being.
While it is true that some studies have indicated a negative correlation between pornography consumption and mental health among its consumers, it is essential to approach these findings with caution. The relationship between pornography and mental health is complex and multifaceted. Factors such as individual differences, pre-existing mental health conditions, and other contextual variables may influence the observed associations.
The study conducted by Butler et al. (2018) involved 1,247 participants who completed an online questionnaire, which assessed the frequency of pornography use and utilized the University of California-Los Angeles Loneliness Scale to measure loneliness. The researchers employed a measurement model and structural equation models to analyze the data.
The findings of the study indicated a significant association between viewing pornography and self-reported loneliness. Specifically, the analysis revealed a positive relationship between pornography use and self-reported loneliness, with a coefficient of b=0.20. Moreover, the study also identified a reciprocal relationship, demonstrating that loneliness was associated with increased pornography use, with a coefficient of b=0.16.
The findings indicate that a one-unit increase in pornography consumption is associated with a 0.20 standard deviation increase in self-reported loneliness. Conversely, a one-unit increase in loneliness is associated with a 0.16 standard deviation increase in pornography use, suggesting a reciprocal relationship between the two variables.
Koletic et al. (2017) conducted a narrative review encompassing 20 studies focusing on the correlation between pornography use and teenage mental health. Their findings suggested that pornography use was associated with lower levels of self-esteem among teenagers.
In another study by Brown et al. (2017), which involved 457 college students, a model consisting of three classes was developed: pornography abstainers (n=285), auto-erotica pornography users (n=85), and complex pornography users (n=87). Interestingly, a significant proportion of the sample did not engage in pornography use, potentially influenced by the higher religiosity scores observed among the pornography abstainers. It is worth noting that this finding may be attributed to social desirability bias among religious individuals.
Nevertheless, Brown et al. discovered that compared to pornography abstainers, individuals who consumed pornography reported lower levels of self-esteem. This finding suggests a negative association between pornography use and self-esteem, as reported by the participants.
Harper and Hodgins (2016) surveyed 191 college students and found that the frequency of internet pornography use negatively correlated with their satisfaction with life scale to a weak and statistically insignificant degree (r=-0.137). Self-reported internet pornography is also negatively correlated with anxiety, distress, lower life satisfaction, and relationship satisfaction at weak to moderate effect size strengths.
Similar results were also found in Willoughby, Young-Peterson, and Leonhardt (2015) who found pornography users to be more likely to report lower life satisfaction, but not depression, even after adjusting for gender, race, relationship status, age, parent’s marital status, impulsivity, and religiosity. Kraus et al. (2015) examined 103 individuals who were seeking help at a private clinic; the mental health of the sample was measured during their initial screening and follow-up. Men who watched pornography at a higher frequency reported higher rates of depression and anxiety. Finally, other studies have also found pornography to affect relationship attachment functioning, body satisfaction, and can lead to social isolation (see Tylka 2015 and Owens et al. 2012).
Based on the cited evidence, it is evident that the relationship between pornography consumption and mental health is a complex and multifaceted issue. While some studies suggest a negative impact of pornography use on mental health outcomes such as self-esteem and loneliness, the overall evidence remains mixed.
Morrison et al. (2017) found no significant correlation between pornography magazine consumption and body satisfaction (r = -0.2) and body self-esteem (r = -0.04). Similar results were also found between internet pornography and body satisfaction (r = -0.01) and other types of pornography exposure (r=-0.13). No significant correlation was also found between pornography exposure and satisfaction with parts of the body that “...clearly possess aesthetic emphasis in Western culture…” (r = -0.14 to 0.6). When looking at genital esteem, there was a significant negative correlation with being exposed to internet pornography (r = -0.27, for other types of pornography exposure: r = -0.19). Self-esteem did not significantly correlate with pornography magazine exposure, but it was negatively correlated with internet pornography (r=-0.39). Morrison et al. (2004) found a positive correlation between exposure to sexually explicit material on television/ DVDs and sexual self-esteem (r =0.20, p < 0.05) and genital self-image (r = 0.13, p <0.07), but the latter used an odd alpha cut-off rather than the standard 0.05 or below.
Peter and Valkenburg (2010) looked at 1,445 Dutch adolescents, a nationally representative sample of 833 Dutch adults, and measured their sexually explicit internet use, attachment to friends, and life satisfaction, among other things. Attachment in relationships was weakly associated with pornography use (B = -0.016) and life satisfaction (B = -0.044).
Peter and Valkenburg (2016) found pornography use to be unrelated to peer attachment.
Body satisfaction sounds possible since pornography stars tend to have exaggerated features. For example, female pornography stars tend to have slim bodies, large breasts, and a "clean" body, and male stars are tall. have large penises and are physically fit. Being exposed to this could cause consumers to have lower body satisfaction, but this could also be due to how someone views masculinity and feminity.
Komlenac and Hochleitner (2021) found that high-frequency pornography consumption was associated with lower body satisfaction in a sample of 261 heterosexual men, but this was only true in men who had endorsed the idea that men must be dominant.
Low pornography use and high pornography use were not associated with lower body satisfaction in men who did not endorse high dominance. The top results showing a correlation between pornography use and lower body satisfaction seem to be confounded by how someone views masculinity.
Similarly, among women, pornography viewing frequency, perceptions of excessive use, and control difficulties were unrelated to body image. However, using pornography to escape negative emotions was associated with lower body image (Borgogna, Lathan, Mitchell 2018). It seems, then, that using pornography to escape other issues might lead to other issues rather than being harmed by simply watching pornography for reasons unrelated to escapism.
The question of causality between pornography consumption and mental health is a significant one, and it is not definitively answered by the available evidence. The relationship between the two factors is likely bidirectional and influenced by various individual and contextual factors.
One possibility is that consuming pornography may have a negative impact on mental health outcomes. It has been proposed that excessive or problematic pornography use may contribute to feelings of guilt, shame, or distorted body image, which in turn can lead to lower mental well-being. Some studies have reported associations between pornography use and negative mental health outcomes, such as lower self-esteem or increased loneliness.
On the other hand, it is also plausible that individuals with pre-existing mental health issues may be more prone to engaging in pornography use as a coping mechanism or as a manifestation of their psychological distress. This perspective suggests that lower mental health could be a risk factor for pornography consumption rather than a consequence of it.
Looking at a non-clinical sample of 672 individuals, Bőthe et al. (2019) broke down the sample into 3 types of classes of pornography users. Those classes were non-problematic low-frequency users (NPLFU), non-problematic high-frequency users (NPHFU), and problematic high-frequency users (PHFU).
Most people did not group into PHFU (3.3%), but rather in NPLFU (68.1%), and NPHFU (28.6%). This suggests that the majority of pornography consumers do not have problematic pornography consumption and those that do reflect a minority of the overall user base. The researchers then measured their life satisfaction, self-esteem, depressive symptoms, sensation-seeking, and basic psychological needs.
Most people did not report mental health issues, especially among the NPLFU and NPHFU classes. However, those in PHFU reported more mental health issues than the first 2 classes reported. They reported higher hypersexuality levels, depressive symptoms, boredom susceptibility, and uncomfortable feelings regarding pornography, lower self-esteem levels, and basic psychological needs satisfaction (e.g. felt less relatedness, competence, and autonomy) than the NPLFU and NPHFU class.
These results suggest interaction effects between personality and the amount of pornography watched, suggesting between-group differences in the type of people who watch certain amounts of pornography. These results fit in line with a previous longitudinal analysis finding personality traits to be associated with higher pornography use.
Doornwaard et al. (2016) utilized data from Project STARS (Studies on Trajectories of Adolescent Relationships and Sexuality), a large longitudinal research project on romantic and sexual development within Dutch adolescents. Compulsive use of sexually explicit internet material, psychological well-being, sexual interests, behavior, and impulsive and psychopathic personality was measured among the sample of 331 boys. Longitudinally, higher levels of depression, psychopathic personality traits, excessive sexual interests, and lower self-esteem, were associated with later higher levels of pornography use.
Taken together, these findings suggest that mental health issues come before pornography use, and users who do not have problematic pornography consumption do not experience mental health issues but those who do have pre-existing issues rather than pornography harming their mental health through a causal relationship. Fight The New Drug’s claim that pornography harms mental health, in the long run, is worth investigating, especially since it’s important to know if pornography does have long-term effects on mental health, assuming the relationship is causal, to begin with.
tuholfer, Tafro, and Kohut (2019) collected data from the Prospective Biopsychosocial Study of the Effects of Sexually Explicit Material on Young People’s Sexual Socialization and Health, with their final sample being 931 people. The sample’s pornography use and mental health were measured throughout 6 waves. At the baseline, there was a negative correlation between pornography use and anxiety and more depressive symptoms (r=0.19, p<0.001), and lower self-esteem (r=-0.19. p<0.001). For males, however, there was no significant relationship.
The latent growth model for females showed a decrease in depression and anxiety as time went on, which was followed by an increase in pornography use and self-esteem. Similar results were found in the latent growth model for males, where anxiety and depression decreases as time went on. This shows no long-term effects between pornography use and mental well-being, contrary to Fight The New Drug’s claim, assuming a causal relationship.
Further studies have also indicated no relationship, an inconsistent one, or the relationship goes away once further variables are adjusted.
Looking at three Swedish surveys, Svedin et al. (2022) found no consistent relationship between pornography consumption and lower mental health among males or females. Deviant porn (child, animal, violence) was associated with lower mental health, but it’s unknown if this relationship was causal or not. It could be that individuals with psychological issues might be more drawn to deviant pornography.
Rissel et al. (2016) looked at a nationally representative sample of Australians from the Second Australian Study of Health and Relationships and found a correlation between watching pornography and psychological distress, but this relationship became statistically insignificant when other variables were adjusted.
Charig et al. (2020) found no relationship between pornography consumption and mental well-being in their regression.
It is possible that an association between pornography consumption and lower mental well-being exists, but it may not be directly caused by pornography itself. Rather, this association could be attributed to moral incongruence experienced by individuals who hold negative attitudes towards pornography but still engage in its consumption. These individuals may experience feelings of guilt, shame, or internal conflict, which can negatively impact their psychological well-being. In such cases, the discrepancy between personal values and behaviors may contribute to the observed negative mental health outcomes. However, it is important to note that not all individuals who consume pornography experience this moral incongruence, and the effects of pornography on mental well-being may vary across individuals. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the complex interplay of personal values, attitudes, and psychological factors when examining the relationship between pornography consumption and mental health outcomes.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature by Grubbs et al. (2019, see 2019b for a response to critics), looked at studies measuring the correlation between moral disprove of pornography and psychological distress, with the correlations found being larger than 0.50. In their meta-analysis, religiousness was associated with moral incongruence about pornography, and moral incongruence about pornography was also consistently the best predictor in belief about one experiencing problems related to pornography (aggregate Fisher’s Z=0.67).
Furthermore, longitudinal data has also shown a moral incongruence at baseline to predict compulsivity, distress, and disruption due to pornography a year later for undergraduates (r=0.46) and adults (r=0.61). This relationship held true even after baseline levels of pornography use, religiousness, gender, and personality were held constant.
In their 2019 paper responding to critics, Grubbs et al. note that their critics cast doubt on their narrow model, leading Grubbs et al. to run conservative tests on their model to see if the results would change. According to the authors,
Even with this extremely conservative reanalysis, the same pattern of findings reported in our original analysis persisted, with one notable exception. The direct association between religiousness and self-reported problems did decrease (k=20, aggregate rz=.23, 95% CI [.184, .279]), becoming smaller
than the association between use and self-reported problems (k=19, ag. rz=.34, 95% CI [.275, .398]). However, although the association between moral incongruence and self-reported problems also decreased (k=14, ag. rz=.46, 95% CI [.363, .557]), it remained the strongest associate of self-reported problems in the meta-analysis. Moreover, the association between religiousness and moral incongruence remained largely unchanged (k=12, ag. rz=.61 [.523, .688]).
In other words, moral incongruence was still the best predictor of self-reported issues with pornography.
This was also the finding in a sample of 296 people in Floyd et al. (2021). where moral disapproval drives sexual shame concerning pornography consumption
Similar results were found in Perry (2017), where men who were against pornography for moral reasons experienced distress at the lowest pornography consumption frequency when compared to those who were not morally against pornography. At the highest levels of pornography consumption frequency, those who were not morally against pornography did experience distress, but as Perry noted, this has more to do with coping with psychological issues than pornography itself.
This effect was stronger for men than it was for women. For women, they did not differ greatly in terms of those who were conflicted pornography consumers and those who weren't.
The available data suggest that there is no clear causal or consistent relationship between pornography use and lower mental health among consumers. Instead, it appears that certain personality traits associated with mental health issues may contribute to problematic pornography use. Longitudinal studies have failed to establish the long-term effects of pornography consumption on mental health outcomes. Furthermore, the relationship between pornography use and mental health appears to vary across individuals and contexts. If one were to assume an indirect causal relationship, it is more likely attributable to moral incongruence rather than the inherent nature of pornography itself. It is important to recognize that feelings of shame or distress related to one's natural sexual urges may be the underlying cause of psychological distress, rather than pornography consumption itself.
Behavior and Attitudes
6.2: Aggression
In addition to concerns surrounding mental health and relationships, another aspect frequently raised by critics pertains to the alleged association between pornography consumption and increased aggression among viewers. This viewpoint suggests that engaging with pornography may heighten aggressive tendencies, potentially resulting in detrimental consequences. Fradd argues that “In one of the first studies of observational learning, children watched an adult act aggressively toward an inflatable punching bag—throwing it in the air, hitting it with a mallet, and sitting on it. When allowed to play with the same punching bag, the children who had witnessed the adult’s aggressive behavior tended to copy it. Observational learning can be seen in how pornography use affects the behavior of its viewers.” Fradd is referring to the classic Bobo doll experiment, which has been subject to criticism, an issue left out by Fradd (McLeod 2023). Issues include the fact that we do not know if these effects were long-term and the fact that children who were not exposed to the doll still acted aggressively toward it. Regardless of these issues, Fradd argues that the same happens in pornography: since pornography is a depiction of violence, consumers of pornography would, in turn, act violent, too.
Allen, D'Alessio, and Brezgel (1995) conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis (k = 33) examining the impact of nudity, non-violent sexual behavior (such as autoerotica and fondling of genitals, oral, and vaginal activities), and violent sexual behavior on individuals' aggression levels. The findings revealed an average correlation of 0.132 between pornography consumption and aggression. When specifically considering violent pornography, the correlation increased to 0.216. However, it is important to note that the authors highlighted a small, negative correlation between self-reported arousal and aggression, indicating that as arousal levels rose, observed aggression tended to decrease across all groups. Additionally, the analysis indicated that nudity was associated with decreased aggression (r = -0.137), while non-violent pornography showed a slight increase in aggression (r = 0.171).
In a more recent meta-analysis conducted by Wright, Tokunaga, and Kraus (2015), which included studies from seven different countries (k = 22), the findings indicated an average correlation of 0.28 (p < 0.001) between pornography consumption and acts of aggression.
The assertion that pornography is unequivocally linked to increased aggression among consumers should be approached with caution due to several factors. Firstly, it is important to recognize that while experimental studies provide valuable insights into the potential effects of a variable, they do not necessarily reflect real-world scenarios or capture long-term effects accurately. The controlled nature of experimental studies may limit their generalizability.
Moreover, the methodologies employed in experimental studies investigating the relationship between pornography and aggression often involve intentionally provoking participants. Allen et al. (1995) found in their meta-analysis of experimental studies that only provoked participants exhibited an increase in aggressive behavior, while those who were unprovoked did not show such effects. Participants in these studies are sometimes deliberately angered or subjected to unfair treatment prior to exposure to pornography (Donnerstein et al. 1994; Donnerstein and Berkowitz 1981). This aspect was also highlighted in Allen et al.'s findings, where non-angered groups did not show an increase in aggression when exposed to pornography, while angered groups exposed to nudity exhibited a decrease in subsequent aggression, and angered groups shown sexual content demonstrated an increase in subsequent aggression. Therefore, the contextual factors surrounding the experimental procedures and the emotional state of participants can significantly influence the observed outcomes.
These findings suggest that the relationship between pornography and aggression may be mediated by individual personality traits rather than indicating a straightforward causal relationship. It is important to recognize that participants in experimental studies may not encounter the same factors and experiences in the real world, where the consequences of their actions have tangible impacts. Therefore, the findings from experimental studies should be interpreted with caution, as they may be more applicable to controlled laboratory settings rather than real-world contexts.
Malamuth, Addison, and Koss (2012) conducted a critical analysis of the relationship between pornography and aggression. While acknowledging a link between the two, they highlight the presence of confounding variables such as personality traits and intelligence that contribute to this connection. Their findings indicate that high-risk men, who are more likely to engage in sexually aggressive behavior when exposed to pornography, demonstrate a stronger association between pornography use and aggression compared to non-high-risk men.
Moreover, when examining studies involving criminals, it was observed that criminals exhibited a higher susceptibility to the influence of pornography on aggression compared to non-criminals. It is worth noting that criminals represent a group already predisposed to violent behavior.
In their own study involving 1,000 individuals, the researchers assessed participants' pornography use, sexual aggression, sexual promiscuity, and levels of hostile masculinity. The results revealed that while hostile masculinity and promiscuity were stronger predictors of aggression, pornography use still emerged as a significant predictor.
These findings suggest that while other factors, such as hostile masculinity and promiscuity, play substantial roles in predicting aggression, pornography use also contributes to the overall prediction of aggressive behavior. However, it is crucial to consider the multifaceted nature of the relationship and the influence of confounding variables.
In their subsequent analysis, Malamuth, Addison, and Koss (2012) discovered that individuals in the low-risk group did not exhibit significant effects of pornography on their sexual aggression. On the other hand, individuals in the high-risk group demonstrated higher levels of sexual aggression in relation to pornography consumption. This finding indicates that the impact of pornography varies depending on the individual's risk level, as determined by their predisposition to engaging in high-risk behavior.
While pornography remained a significant predictor of sexual aggression in their earlier analysis, the subsequent examination revealed that its influence differed based on the individual's risk level. This suggests that the relationship between pornography and sexual aggression is complex and contingent upon individual characteristics and predispositions.
In a comprehensive review of existing literature, Malamuth (2018) examined the impact of pornography exposure on aggression and identified a relationship between the two primarily among individuals who already display aggressive tendencies. This finding provides further support to the notion that the association between pornography consumption and aggression is primarily attributable to pre-existing aggression in individuals, rather than a direct causal link in which pornography itself leads to increased aggression.
By highlighting the importance of individual predispositions and aggressive tendencies, Malamuth's review underscores the complexity of the relationship between pornography and aggression. It suggests that factors such as pre-existing aggression and individual characteristics play a crucial role in determining the extent to which pornography may influence aggressive behavior.
In a more recent review of the literature, Seida and Shor (2020) note that,
"Furthermore, later research has shown that the effects of exposure to aggressive pornography have only been established for certain individuals who were already disposed to sexual aggression and those who share some underlying psychological traits (Hald, Seaman, & Linz, 2014; Kingston, Malamuth, Fedoroff, & Marshall, 2009; Malamuth, Hald, & Koss, 2012; Seto, Maric, & Barbaree, 2001)."
Seida and Shor's comment on the issue demonstrates the importance of moderating variables between the relationship between pornography consumption and aggression. Seida and Shor continue with the issue of mediating variables that continues to support the idea that previous aggression is an important variable in this relationship.
"The relationship between pornography use and aggression is further complicated by moderating factors, primarily individual characteristics such as antisocial or aggressive tendencies (see Kingston et al., 2009; Malamuth & Hald, 2017). Psychological studies on male pornography users have reported that
traits such as hostile masculinity, narcissism, and low agreeableness were associated with a greater risk for real-life sexual aggression (Hald & Malamuth, 2015; Hald, Malamuth, & Lange, 2013; Malamuth, 2018). Malamuth (1981), one of the first to suggest this interaction, found that exposure to nonconsenting pornography was more evocative of sexual aggression for men who already exhibited tendencies toward sexual aggression (as measured by survey responses that determined the degree of “force orientation”)."
In a recent longitudinal study by Kohut, Landripet, and Stulhofer (2021), the researchers investigated the association between pornography use and sexual aggression. The study utilized data from two independent samples in Croatia, consisting of N1=936 participants and N2=743 participants. In addition to measuring sexual aggression, the study also assessed various factors such as hostile masculinity, impersonal sexuality (including variables like the number of sexual partners and age at first intercourse), pornography use, masturbation, pubertal status, sensation seeking, impulsiveness, and social desirability.
For the first sample, it was found that at all times of measurement, pornography use weakly correlated with sexual aggression and was not statistically significant at any time.
In the 2nd sample, the same findings were found in the effect sizes. Pornography use was weakly associated with sexual aggression and was never statistically significant. However, it did predict aggression at a later time, but only weakly.
Contrary to previous studies, the results of Kohut, Landripet, and Stulhofer's (2021) study revealed different findings after adjusting for additional variables. Specifically, in the first sample, once further adjustments were made, neither hostile masculinity nor pornography use were found to predict sexual aggression. However, in the second sample, previous sexual aggression and sensation seeking were significantly associated with sexual aggression.
In the final non-lagged analysis, the study demonstrated that hostile masculinity remained a significant predictor of sexual aggression in both the first (OR = 1.33, p = 0.038) and second samples (OR = 1.44, p = 0.001). These findings suggest that the presence of hostile masculinity is linked to increased sexual aggression. The study highlights the importance of considering multiple variables and conducting comprehensive analyses to better understand the complex relationship between different factors and sexual aggression.
A good example of interaction effects is the issue of pornography exposure and sexual coercion toward another individual (e.g., Gonsalves and Scalora 2015; Hughes, Brewer, and Khan 2019; Kernsmith and Kernsmith 2007; Stanley et al. 2016). Bogaert, Woodard, and Hafer (1999) found that after being exposed to pornographic films, low-IQ males were more likely to be sexually coercive to a female confederate than high-IQ males. In other words, low-IQ men are more susceptible to influenceability. Effects differed by condition.
There could be selection effects in who watches violent pornography, too, especially if we accept that violent pornography rather than non-violent pornography increases aggression. Baer, Kohut, and Fisher's (2015) study examined the relationship between personality traits, such as hostile masculinity and sexual promiscuity, and the consumption of violent pornography in a sample of 183 men. Their findings indicated that individuals who scored higher on hostile masculinity and sexual promiscuity were more likely to engage in the consumption of violent pornography. On the other hand, individuals who scored lower on these personality traits were less likely to consume violent pornography.
Bogaert (2001) found a positive correlation between low IQ and a preference for violent pornography. An important relationship as low IQ is associated with criminality.
The connection between pornography and aggression appears to be dependent on the pre-existing aggression of individuals. This pattern has also been observed in earlier literature reviews, such as Gray's (1982) review. The absence of studies controlling for prior aggression raises doubts about a direct causal relationship, and experimental studies may not accurately reflect real-world effects. Additionally, these studies indicate that the impact of pornography on aggression is more noticeable in males who experience provocation before or after exposure to pornography, while non-provoked males may not exhibit similar effects (see Seto, Maric, and Barbaree 2001, for further details). These findings suggest that while a relationship between pornography and aggression exists, it is not primarily driven by a causal effect. A recent review also finds inconsistent effects, saying that “An association between pornography use and nonsexual violence seems to exist, although the causality of this association remains unclear. Heterogeneity of results exists regarding the association between pornography use and intimate partner sexual assault and coercion: some studies have failed to demonstrate this association, while others have observed it partially or significantly” (Mestre-Bach, Villena-Moya, and Chiclana-Actis 2023).
6.3: Attitudes Towards Women
According to Dworkin and MacKinnon (1988) in their work "Pornography: Civil Rights - A New Day For Women," both original anti-pornography feminists and current critics argue that pornography plays a significant role in the objectification of women. They assert that pornography is a pervasive practice that perpetuates the unequal treatment and subordination of women, contributing to the civil inequality between the sexes. According to critics like Dworkin and MacKinnon, pornography use is associated with negative attitudes towards women: objectification, negative attitudes about women, and acceptance of rape myths. The evidence for these effects is, as of now, mixed.
Willis, Bridges, and Sun (2022) identified a positive association between pornography consumption and sexual objectification across multiple countries, including Germany, Korea, Taiwan, and the United States.
However, the effects of pornography on objectification seem to be weak. In their study of 745 Dutch adolescents, Peter and Valkenburg (2007) observed a correlation between pornography consumption and the perception of women as sex objects. However, upon examining Model 6 of their regression analysis, the significance of the relationship between pornography and viewing women as sex objects was not evident.
In the analysis of the sexual exposure variables in Model 6, it can be observed that explicit magazines, television, magazines, and pictures on the internet showed weak associations with viewing women as sex objects, but these associations were not statistically significant. On the other hand, explicit videos, DVDs, and movies on the internet had statistically significant associations with viewing women as sex objects, although the effect sizes were weak when controlling for all other variables.
There might be other variables that can confound the relationship between pornography and objectification or can moderate the relationship. The study by Swami and Voracek (2013) revealed positive associations between the drive for muscularity, hostility towards women, attitudes towards women, and the objectification of women. These findings support previous research indicating that traits like hostile masculinity are linked to aggression toward women.
In order for this relationship to be true, pornography itself must show the objectification of women. Here, too, the evidence is mixed. If the evidence is mixed, then does the relationship between pornography consumption and objectification reflect a true effect or one confounded by other variables? As Miller and McBain (2022) remark,
In terms of the objectification and degradation of women within mainstream pornography, results are mixed. Several studies indicate that women are often treated equally to men on indicators of agency, such as social status. It also appears that women are more likely to be presented as the “star of the show,” being more visually and audibly present than 24 men, and engaging in behaviors which encourage character identification (e.g., looking directly into the camera).
It’s worth noting that some studies have also labeled some sexual acts as a form of objectification, which can lead to disputes over the validity of these operationalized variables. If one person considers anal sex, for example, a form of objectification and degradation but someone else doesn’t, who is right? It also may be the type of pornography consumed which can affect the relationship. Skorska, Hodson, and Hoffarth (2018) found that erotic pornography generated less objectification of women than degrading pornography did. It is possible that there are selection effects at play, but no evidence has shown this to be the case.
Data on pornography and holding negative attitudes about women is also mixed.
Brown and L’Engle (2009) found that earlier exposure to pornography was associated with un-egalitarian attitudes, but only among women. Wright and Funk (2013) found lower support for affirmative action toward women among pornographic consumers. Other studies have found differing results.
McKee (2007) looked at 1,203 Australian pornography consumers and found no significant relationship between pornography consumption and negative attitudes toward women. Instead, negative attitudes were predicted by being older, being a man, loving in a rural area, having lower levels of education, and voting for a right-wing party. Padgett, Brislin-Slutz, and Neal (1989) found no relationship between hours spent viewing pornography and attitudes toward women. Individuals who spent viewing more time viewing pornography in theaters had more favorable attitudes toward women, surprisingly. Barak and Fisher (1997) found no effect between viewing pornography and attitudes and behaviors toward women in their experimental design
Kohut, Baer, and Watts (2015) conducted a study examining the relationship between pornography use and various attitudes. The findings indicated that pornography use was not related to feminist identification. However, there was an interaction between gender and pornography use for women in positions of power, suggesting that men who had previously watched pornography held more positive attitudes towards women in positions of power. Additionally, individuals who viewed pornography had more positive attitudes towards women working outside the home and displayed less negative attitudes towards abortion. However, there was no association between pornography use and attitudes toward the traditional family.
In a blog post by Wilson “critiquing” this study, Wilson says that “a higher percentage of non-porn-users identified as being ‘a feminist!’” While this is true, the question is if pornography influences one’s attitudes toward women, not one’s general attitudes. In this case, pornography had no effect on feminist identification — a fact left out by Wilson.
Like in Chapters 6.2 and 6.5, there are interaction effects between pornography consumption, negative attitudes towards women, and personality. Hald, Malamuth, and Lange (2013) used a probability sample of young Danish adults. Past pornography consumption was not significantly associated with attitudes toward women. However, being a male and being lower in agreeableness predicted attitudes towards women.
In another regression looking at benevolent sexism, hostile sexism, and total ambivalent sexism, pornography exposure, and gender were associated with higher benevolent sexism (see Alexander 2023 on why this might not be an issue); low agreeableness interacting with pornography exposure was associated with higher hostile sexism; only low agreeableness predicted ambivalent sexism.
Speed et al. (2021) found pornography x gender interaction in predicting women in politics (males were more likely to be sexist, OR = 1.67); no effect in predicting women at home; childbearing; and female-directed hiring.
Focusing on the idea that pornography increases the acceptance of rape myths, here, too, the evidence is mixed. Zillman and Bryant (1982) found that pornography exposure was associated with a loss of compassion towards women as rape victims and women in general.
Other studies have found contrasting results.
Martocci (2019) conducted a study involving 149 college students and found no statistically significant correlation between pornography consumption and belief in the rape myth. The research suggests that, based on the sample studied, there is no clear association between the two variables.
According to Vincent's (2014) findings, being non-white and being Catholic were identified as strong predictors of attributing blame to a rape victim who was out at night in a risky area. These factors were found to be influential in shaping individuals' perceptions of responsibility in cases of rape. When examining dressing promiscuously as a rape myth, pornography was not associated with acceptance of this myth.
As Mestre-Bach, Villena-Moya, and Chiclana-Actis said, “Contradictory results have also been observed when examining the association between pornography use [and] rape myths.”
Overall, the literature is mixed. Some studies find that pornography consumption predicts negative attitudes towards women, others do not. We should remain agnostic on if pornography is causally related to negative attitudes toward women. However, this has not stopped critics like Wilson from spamming multiple studies showing what he already believes and making no mention of the mixed literature. In the quest to figure out the true effects of pornography on attitudes and behaviors, we should come in with an unbiased perspective, not a mindset seeking to find evidence that already agrees with what we believe and assuming that the quantity of studies tells us something about their quality and the veracity.
6.4: Criminality
The potential link between pornography consumption and an escalation in criminal behavior among individuals has been a subject of ongoing scholarly discourse. Advocates such as FTND argue that this correlation arises due to the association between pornography and increased aggression, negative attitudes toward women, and the perpetuation of rape myths. Gary Wilson, through his website Your Brain On Porn, cites multiple studies that support the notion of a connection between pornography exposure and criminal tendencies. For instance, Shope (2004) examines data collected from women residing in battered shelters and finds a higher likelihood of partner abuse among individuals who consume pornography. Rostad et al. (2019) report that the consumption of violent pornography predicts incidents of teen dating violence among high school students. Dworkin, in her testimony to the Meese Commission, asserts that pornography plays a role in facilitating sexual assault, encompassing its planning, execution, choreography, and the generation of arousal leading to the act itself (Dworkin 1993).
However, a critical examination of the available evidence reveals a more nuanced picture, challenging the straightforward assertion of a causal relationship between pornography consumption and criminality. While certain studies suggest an association between pornography and negative outcomes, it is essential to consider factors such as individual differences, confounding variables, and the limitations of existing research methodologies in order to arrive at a comprehensive understanding of this complex issue.
Rostad et al. are of particular interest as the way the study is presented requires more nuance than how FTND presents it, saying “Female adolescents exposed to violent pornography were over 1.5 times as likely to perpetrate physical and threatening TDV, whereas male adolescents who were exposed were over 3 times as likely to perpetrate sexual TDV.” First, it’s important to know that studies on school-aged adolescents suffer from significant issues, like selection effects and the assumption that adolescents have an understanding of healthy relationship dynamics. As noted above, there are selection effects on who consumes violent pornography — with violent males (and presumably females) being more likely to watch violent pornography than non-aggressive individuals.
Second, these studies—while simply correlational—assume that adolescents have an understanding of relationship dynamics, causing their reported correlations to run on an assumption with is not falsified. It is essential to recognize that correlation does not imply causation. While these studies (e.g. Rothman and Adhia 2015; Bonino et al. 2015, to name a few) reveal a statistical association between pornography consumption and relationship violence, it is possible that other factors, such as pre-existing attitudes or individual characteristics, may contribute to both the consumption of pornography and violent behavior within relationships. Therefore, it is crucial to interpret these findings with caution and avoid making definitive conclusions about the causal impact of pornography on relationship violence. We should not expect adolescents to have a working understanding of relationship dynamics and assume pornography is the culprit rather than a spurious correlation.
Moving back to Rostad et al. specifically, a look at their regression shows questionable statistical methodology. The effects of pornography exposure on physical dating violence perpetration are not statistically significant for either females or males. For females, the p-value is barely below 0.10, but this does not mean much, and for males, it’s 0.18. (See Warren 2019 for why p-values greater than 0.05 is an issue.)
The significance of the relationship between pornography consumption and victimization appears to be limited to males, while no significant relationship is observed for women. However, the underlying mechanisms by which the mere act of consuming pornography leads to victimization remain unclear. It is akin to suggesting that owning a car is inherently detrimental based on a correlation with relationship breakups. In reality, this correlation may be spurious, with other variables potentially playing a more influential role. Due to this inherent limitation, it becomes challenging to consider the observed effect as a reliable indicator of a substantive relationship between pornography consumption and victimization.
In the sexual dating violence regression, the same issues appear with respect to p-values and victimization. For perpetration, the effect is only significant for males, but this could be due primarily to selection effects in who watches violent pornography and personality.
Because of issues like this, it’s important to interpret data on adolescent dating and violence with extreme caution. However, let us examine the evidence of pornography and criminality on a large scale.
In the context of India, Math et al. (2014) conducted a study and found no evidence of a relationship between the availability of pornography and sexual crime rates once population increase was taken into account. Similarly, Vinnakota et al. (2021) also reported no significant association between pornography and crimes against women in India after adjusting for additional variables. These findings align with the overall analysis of the six studies examined, where only one study (16.7%) identified a statistically significant relationship between the number of Internet users and incidents of rape or crimes against women. However, this relationship lost its significance when the variable of population growth was considered as a controlling factor. Moreover, the studies revealed no significant association between the number of Internet users and instances of sexual harassment or overall sexual violence against women.
Following the relaxation of restrictions on pornography in Denmark during the 1970s, researchers conducted a comparative analysis of arrest rates before and after the policy change. Surprisingly, the findings revealed a decrease in rape allegations after the increased availability of pornography (Kutchinsky 1985a [“Pornography and its effects in Denmark and the United States: A rejoinder and beyond”]; 1991). Kutchinsky (1973) found similar results in Copenhagen. Kutchinsky (1971, Towards an Explanation of the Decrease in Registered Sex Crimes in Copenhagen, vol. 8.) found no increases in rape and decreases in reports of exhibitionism and voyeurism in Denmark and Copenhagen following the legalization and availability of pornography. This observation suggests that there may not be a direct causal relationship between the accessibility of pornography and an increase in rape allegations. Similar findings have been documented in various countries including the Czech Republic, Japan, China, Germany, and Hong Kong. Diamond (2011) noted that in the Czech Republic, crimes decreased after the legalization of pornography in 1989.
Although there were increases, they quickly decreased and fluctuated, and then followed a declining trend. Murrin and Laws (1990) point out that the original Kutchinsky analysis did not examine peeping, but as Diamond points out, “The so-called lesser sexual offenses of indecent exposure, peeping, etc. also decreased significantly following the legal availability of SEM (t = 9.57; df = 20, p = .001).” Sex-related crimes also decreased following liberalization. This includes sexually motivated murders, rape, and child abuse. Increases in other types of crimes following legalization might be due to other variables like social change and false accusations, for example, as Diamond argues.
Diamond and Uchiyama (1999) examined sex crimes in Japan following the increase in pornography availability. Diamond and Uchiyama examined sex crimes in Japan from 1972-1995 because “ These years cover a time period during which Japan transitioned from a nation whose laws (or their interpretation) relating to pornography changed from sexually prudish to a country whose sex censorship laws can now be classified as permissive.”
Following the increase in the availability of pornography, sex crimes in Japan decreases rather than increased. Were pornography causally associated with criminality, we would expect increases in sex-related crimes, not decreases. In Canada, McKay and Dolff (1985) said that “There is no systematic research evidence available which suggests a causal relationship between pornography…[and] increases in specific forms of deviant behavior, reflected in crime trend statistics (e.g., rape) [that are] are causally related to pornography.” Data from The United States also paints a similar picture.
Kupperstein and Wilson (1970, Erotica and Anti-social Behavior: An Analysis of Social Indicator Statistics) looked at UCR data from 1960 to 1969, when there was an increase in the availability of pornography. They found an overall decrease in sex crimes rather than an increase, leading to the proposition that pornography can act as an outlet for those who seek to commit sex-related crimes, or simply have no causal relationship (see Wilson 1971, for more). Court (1984, in N. M. Malamuth & E. Donnerstein (Eds.), Pornography and sexual aggression p. 143-172) found results contradicting Diamond, Kutchinsky, Kupperstein and Wilson, finding the availability and legalization of pornography to be associated with increases in rape in the United States, England, New Zealand, Singapore, Denmark, Sweden, and states of Australia. Bauserman (2010) argues that Court’s analysis was flawed, Donnerstein, Linz, and Penrod (1987) critically examined the arguments presented by Court regarding the relationship between pornography and rape rates. They pointed out several inconsistencies and limitations in Court's reasoning.
One of the examples discussed was the comparison between Stockholm and Singapore. While rape rates increased in both cities during a specific time period, Sweden experienced a significant increase in the availability of pornography, whereas Singapore did not. This contradicted Court's suggestion that the increase in rape rates should have been greater in Sweden. Additionally, Court's argument about declining rape rates in Japan coinciding with new restrictions on pornography was deemed dubious. It was noted that Japan's restrictions focused on the depiction of pubic hair rather than the combination of sex and violence, and Japanese pornography often contained explicit sexual violence themes. Despite this, Japan's rape rate remained relatively low compared to other countries.
Court also claimed that the rape rate in Hawaii decreased when restrictions on pornography were introduced in 1974 but started rising again when those restrictions were removed. However, it was later revealed that Court's assertion about legal restrictions in Hawaii during that period was incorrect.
On the other hand, Court's data regarding within-country variations in Australia provided some support for a potential correlation between pornography and rape rates. The comparisons between South Australia and Queensland, as well as New South Wales, showed increases in rape rates coinciding with the liberalization of pornography policies in certain regions. However, Court did not provide data on efforts to control for other variables related to rape or obtain precise information on actual pornography circulation.
In the study conducted by Wongsurawat (2006), the relationship between pornography consumption (subscriptions to Penthouse) and rates of rape and sex crimes was examined. The researcher found that after controlling for additional variables, the previously observed relationship between pornography consumption and rates of rape and sex crimes either becomes negative or goes away, using data from the 90s.
Jaffee and Straus (1987) looked at the U.S. state-level pornographic magazine circulation and state-reported rapes. An OLS regression indicates a positive relationship between sex magazine circulation and reported rapes in the 1980s.
It’s worth noting that Jafee and Straus do not take their regression findings to mean that pornography is causally associated with rape rates, but rather that hypermasculinity by state was to blame. Gentry (1991) found a positive relationship between sex magazine circulation and rape rates in a metropolitan area, but this relationship went away once the youth in the population was adjusted.
D’Amato (2006) notes that states with the lowest internet access saw increases in rape (53%), while states with the highest internet access saw decreases (27%). Scott and Schwalm (1988) found no relationship between the number of adult movie theaters and a state’s rape rates.
In their comprehensive meta-analysis, Ferguson and Hartley (2020) examined a total of 59 studies encompassing correlational, experimental, and population-based research on the relationship between pornography and sexual aggression. The authors considered a weak correlation of 0.10 as practically significant, given that smaller studies often contain statistical artifacts. Notably, 23 studies (39%) displayed citation bias, as they failed to acknowledge conflicting research in their discussions.
Regarding non-violent pornography, no significant correlation was found between its consumption and aggressive behaviors. For violent pornography, the confidence intervals crossed zero, rendering the interpretation of effect sizes challenging and indicating statistically insignificant results. Population studies provided evidence that pornography does not have long-term effects on aggression.
A meta-regression analysis conducted by the researchers revealed that better-designed studies yielded smaller effect sizes compared to poorly executed ones in the context of non-violent pornography effects. Moreover, studies exhibiting citation bias were more likely to report significant effects compared to those without citation bias (citation bias: r = 0.101; no citation bias: r = 0.010). Similarly, concerning violent pornography, studies with citation bias were more inclined to find an effect compared to studies without citation bias (citation bias: r = 0.353; no citation bias: r = 0.096).
Wilson argues that since rape tends to be underreported, the relationship between pornography availability and sex crimes, or lack thereof, might be wrong. If more rapes were reported, it could lead to a higher number of documented cases, potentially altering the overall rape rates. This, in turn, might affect the observed correlation between pornography consumption and rape rates. It is possible that a higher number of reported cases could reveal a stronger correlation if a significant proportion of reported cases involve perpetrators who were influenced by pornography. However, it is important to note that this argument is speculative and lacks empirical evidence. The actual impact on the correlation between pornography and rape rates cannot be determined without conducting thorough research and analyzing comprehensive data. It’s worth noting that D’Amato notes that “Even when measured in different ways, including police reports and survey interviews, the results are in agreement: there has been an 85% reduction in sexual violence in the past 25 years.” Regardless, Wilson’s criticism requires evidence, not speculation.
Kingston and Malamuth (2011) argue that national data should not be extrapolated to the individual level — although there might be no relationship between pornography and criminality at the national level, there might be an effect on the individual level. Indeed, this valid criticism has gained support through the confluence model. Much like research on pornography and aggression, it’s possible that pornography might interact with individual differences to cause criminality. According to Seto, Maric, and Barbaree (2001),
“individuals who are already predisposed to sexually offend are the most likely to show an effect of pornography exposure and are the most likely to show the strongest effects. Men who are not predisposed are unlikely to show an effect; if there actually is an effect, it is likely to be transient because these men would not normally seek violent pornography.”
This fits in line with other comments made by Kingston et al. (2009): “pornography consumption, through a variety of mechanisms may facilitate the likelihood of future sexual aggression, particularly among individuals with a predisposition for sexual offending” (in Mellor and Duff).
While Kingston and Malamuth’s comments are valid, it’s worth noting that even at the individual level, the science is shaky. In a systemic review by Mellor and Duff (2019), they note several issues with the research on pornography exposure and criminality. This includes biased sampling from populations with significant psychological issues, unequal sample sizes across cohorts, selection bias in sampling, lack of representative control groups, inconsistency in adjusting for confounders, and attrition bias. Speaking of the relationship between exposure and offending, the data was mixed.
Some studies found that sex offenders had less exposure to pornography prior to offending than the control group, with other studies finding the opposite results or no differences between offenders and the control groups. However, the authors do note a consensus showing that “early exposure to pornography is not a risk factor for sexual offending.” When examining pornography exposure and offending after, there were no consistent findings. Watching pornography during the offenses, it was found that child sexual abusers were more likely to watch pornography during the offense when compared to adult offenders. When looking at the seriousness of the offense, “it seems that the consensus from the above studies is that pornography use prior to the offending is negatively linked with the seriousness the offenses committed.” The contradictory results fit in line with Mestre-Bach, Villena-Moya, and Chiclana-Actis’s findings.
Despite the contradictory findings in the literature, we accept Kingston et al.’s comments that personality might interact with pornography consumption and criminality. This is especially evident when looking at pornography consumption and aggression. Other commentators, like Wilson and FTND, for example, instead ignore the interaction effects and assume pornography affects everyone equally. Based on the available evidence, Wilson and FTND’s assumption should be rejected.
The Pornography Industry
7.2: Sex Trafficking
The issue of pornography being connected to sex trafficking has sparked debate among anti-pornography critics, those like Mickelwait, Dworkin, etc. Dworkin stated that “porn is prostitution with the camera going” (in Leidholdt and Raymond 1990) Fradd assertively posits that the role of pornography in facilitating sex trafficking has become evident. Moreover, Fight The New Drug contends that, in certain instances, pornography can essentially be considered a portrayal of sex trafficking. To some, the inseparable link between pornography and sex trafficking is often overlooked or unrecognized by a significant portion of society (e.g. Fight The New Drug 2019).
Luzwick (2017) advances the argument that pornography plays a distinct role in exacerbating the human trafficking industry by fueling the demand for conventional forms of sex trafficking while simultaneously providing an alternative avenue for traffickers to profit from the exploitation of victims in the production of pornographic content. Additionally, Luzwick notes that the production of pornography frequently relies on the involvement of trafficked individuals, referencing Hughes (2005). However, the cited paper by Hughes does not provide empirical evidence to substantiate the prevalence of trafficking victims within the pornography industry. Rather, it employs exaggerated language and broad generalizations about pornography without offering specific clarifications. Hughes (2010) discusses how some women in the industry have experienced sex trafficking, but the utilization of narrative reviews limits the extent to which inferences can be drawn about the pervasiveness of this issue. Similarly, Busick (2015) makes comparable claims without presenting concrete evidence to demonstrate the widespread nature of the problem within the pornography industry.
In discussing sex trafficking on Pornhub, Mickelwait (2020) says “What all of this means is that at this very moment, there could be hundreds, if not thousands, of videos of underage sex trafficking victims on Pornhub. If there could be, I can almost guarantee you there are. We already have evidence, and it is just the tip of the iceberg.” Mickelwait uses tactics similar to previous commentators, utilizing specific cases to cast a wide-ranging negative portrayal of the pornography industry. This line of argumentation leads to the assertion that Pornhub bears complicity in the trafficking of women and minors, potentially extending to thousands of similar instances. Interestingly, an ironic twist arises as Mickelwait herself is accused of contributing to the dissemination of child sexual abuse content. According to a statement from a former sex trafficking victim, Mickelwait, who founded the #TraffickingHub petition and hashtag, allegedly shared an uncensored video depicting the violent assault of a young Thai girl, including instances of physical abuse during the assault (Kalemba 2021).
Under the pretext of sex trafficking and concerns regarding minors on pornography platforms, certain individuals have directed their attacks towards platforms such as OnlyFans and social media giant Twitter. Mickelwait, for instance, expressed on Twitter that "Victims of criminal image-based abuse confirm over and over that like Pornhub, OnlyFans is NOT verifying the CONSENT of every individual in the videos they profit from" (2021). Similarly, Titheragde and Croxford's (2021) report on underage minors utilizing OnlyFans has been utilized to argue against the normalization of sexual exploitation and potential harm to women and children posed by platforms like OnlyFans (National Center of Sexual Exploitation 2021).
It is important to note that the efforts of individuals like Mickelwait extend beyond targeting specific platforms such as Pornhub, representing a broader opposition to the pornography industry as a whole. As highlighted by Kalemba, "Laila assured me that her fight was against PornHub, not the entire industry. That isn't honest, for example, evidenced by the way she's now going after sites like OnlyFans." This observation challenges the notion that Mickelwait's intentions solely revolve around addressing issues specific to Pornhub. Furthermore, Mickelwait's advocacy for platforms to implement measures such as age verification, consent verification, and the use of paywalls for adult content contradicts her current actions of targeting sites like OnlyFans, which had been recognized as a pioneer in implementing such measures.
Utilizing sensationalized claims, Mickelwait and others successfully exerted pressure on OnlyFans by engaging credit card companies and leveraging hyperbolic assertions. Consequently, OnlyFans decided to ban sexually explicit content from its platform in response to the perceived concerns raised by these individuals. The decision to remove pornography from Onlyfans, though, was reversed shortly after — leaving individuals like Mickelwait back to square one, for now.
Given the widespread support critics have had based on their stories, it’s important to first define what is sex trafficking. Sex trafficking refers to a severe form of exploitation in which individuals, typically women and children, are recruited, transported, harbored, or received through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of engaging them in commercial sex acts. It is important to note that the legal definition of sex trafficking may vary slightly depending on the jurisdiction, but there are common elements present in most definitions.
Under international law, the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (commonly known as the Palermo Protocol) provides a widely accepted definition. According to the Palermo Protocol, sex trafficking involves the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of persons by means of threat, use of force, coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or vulnerability, or giving or receiving payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation in the context of sex trafficking refers to the act of subjecting victims to various forms of sexual exploitation, including prostitution, pornography, forced participation in the sex industry, or other forms of sexual abuse. It is important to emphasize that consent is not a valid defense in cases of sex trafficking because the use of force, fraud, or coercion undermines the victim's ability to exercise genuine and voluntary consent.
Under this definition, it’s hard to argue that the pornography industry, as a whole, is connected to sex trafficking. However, there are some cases where some agents have trafficked people into pornography. For example, the creators of the site Girls Do Porn were charged with sex trafficking through force, coercion, and fraud (SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO, CENTRAL DIVISION 2019; Turner 2019). These videos were also hosted on different pornographic sites. Other cases relate to the posting of sex trafficking victims having their abuse posted on sites like Pornhub (e.g., Fonrouge 2021). In cases like these, the sex trafficker posted the content themselves. This is clearly evidence of sex trafficking in pornography, but critics stretch this to include pornography as a whole — mostly by going through the Mickelwait argument: because there is sex trafficking content, either in professional or amateur pornography, on pornography sites, then pornography, as a whole, is connected to it. However, we do not apply such thoughts to other things; we do not say that the food labor industry is connected to labor trafficking because some workers have been trafficked. Indeed, such gymnastics are mostly used to argue against pornography because the prior that pornography is already bad, and these arguments of sex trafficking just add fuel to the fire.
The presence of illegal content on pornography sites should not be used as a basis to condemn the entire pornography industry or advocate for the shutdown of such websites. It is important to recognize that employing such logic can be applied to various scenarios, suggesting that small instances of illegal activities should not be used to dismantle entire industries. It is worth considering Mickelwait's religious background and questioning whether she would propose the closure of religious institutions if some were found to engage in illegal activities. The fact that sites like Pornhub may host illegal content does not warrant the prohibition of pornography or the dismantling of pornography websites.
Sites like Pornhub and other tube sites, for example, were shielded from these issues. It is crucial to acknowledge that tube sites, including Pornhub, were not accountable for the content posted by their users. As Juzwiak (2020) points out, tube sites are subject to fewer regulations compared to official porn studios. The law requires primary producers of pornography to verify and maintain records of their models' ages, but this obligation does not extend to secondary producers such as distributors and online tube sites. The issue of whether tube sites should be held responsible for verifying the age of models depicted in user-uploaded content remains unresolved, as it raises constitutional concerns regarding the First and Fourth Amendments. First Amendment lawyer Larry Walters argues that burdening intermediary platforms with age verification obligations places blame on the wrong party and hinders online innovation. He draws a parallel between tube sites and telephone companies, emphasizing that service providers should not be held accountable for illegal activities conducted by users. While it is essential to remove illegal content, such as child pornography and rape, from pornography websites when identified, this does not justify the complete removal of these platforms.
Although this was the case, legal acts like the 2018 Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) have made it easier to attack any website—not just pornography ones—that hosts illegal content, even if such content was posted by users rather than the company itself. The FOSTA legislation was created to address concerns regarding online platforms being used for facilitating sex trafficking and the exploitation of individuals. It amended Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA), which had previously provided broad immunity to online platforms for content posted by their users. FOSTA modified Section 230 of the CDA to hold online platforms accountable for facilitating sex trafficking. It clarified that platforms could be held civilly and criminally liable if they knowingly facilitated or supported sex trafficking through their platforms. FOSTA increased the penalties for individuals or organizations involved in facilitating sex trafficking. It also allowed victims of sex trafficking to take legal action against online platforms that knowingly assisted in their exploitation. FOSTA aimed to deter online platforms from hosting or promoting sex trafficking content. It created incentives for platforms to proactively monitor and remove such content, and it made it easier for law enforcement agencies to take action against platforms involved in facilitating sex trafficking.
Although legal precedents like FOSTA have good intentions, anti-pornography critics have been able to abuse them. The National Center on Sexual Exploitation, which is also against sites like Amazon and Netflix, and two teenagers filed a case against Twitter by accusing it of sex trafficking (Brown 2021). In a specific scenario, two teenagers shared explicit content under the impression that the recipient was a peer. However, the recipient turned out to be an adult who proceeded to blackmail one of the individuals. Subsequently, the content was posted online and shared on a Twitter account. Surprisingly, instead of pursuing legal action against the adult responsible for the blackmail, the parties involved decided to hold Twitter accountable. NCSO was able to claim that Twitter promotes sex trafficking, even though the company itself did no such thing. Luckily for Twitter, the courts upheld Section 230 (Turner 2023a, 2023b).
Originally, Section 230 of the FOSTA legislation established that an "interactive computer service" cannot be treated as the publisher or speaker of third-party content (Newton 2021). This provision granted website owners the ability to monitor user-generated content on their platforms without incurring legal liability if illegal content was posted. However, as highlighted by Brown, FOSTA introduced exceptions for claims involving illegal commercial sex. Consequently, if an individual engaged in sex trafficking and utilized a platform to meet or advertise a victim, the platform would no longer enjoy automatic legal immunity. According to attorney Larry Walters, large platform providers face significant challenges in monitoring vast amounts of data flowing through their servers on a minute-by-minute basis. Section 230 was initially crafted to acknowledge this dilemma and provide legal immunity. However, due to public pressure, Congress lifted this immunity, leaving platforms vulnerable to various legal liabilities. Consequently, opportunistic plaintiff attorneys are leveraging this change as a newfound vulnerability to pursue financial gain (Zorkin 2021).
One of the perceived flaws in FOSTA is that individuals can now claim that the hosting of illegal content on different websites constitutes sex trafficking, even in the absence of evidence indicating payment for illegal content involving minors or instances of nonconsensual acts. As a result of these flaws, organizations like Exodus Cry and The National Center on Sexual Exploitation have expanded their focus beyond combating sex trafficking to target pornography as a whole.
As Walters (2023) notes, defendants accused of sex trafficking must have had knowledge about the alleged crimes. Platforms could be sued “if the conduct underlying the claim constitutes a violation of section 1591 [the criminal statute].” This wording, according to Walters, has allowed for conflicting interpretations of how to apply the law. In civil courts, defendants can be held liable for their negligent actions, even if they did not intend harm. Sex trafficking civil claims have been made based on the concept of "constructive knowledge," where defendants are expected to have known about illegal activity even without actual knowledge. However, holding online platforms responsible for what they should have known raises concerns about free speech and potential over-censorship.
FOSTA requires a demonstration of criminal sex trafficking violations before liability can be imposed, but courts differ on the knowledge standard. Plaintiffs have sued platforms for failure to monitor content or address abuse, but often lack allegations of the platform's own criminal involvement. Constructive knowledge is relied upon to attribute liability to third-party user conduct. Applying a "should have known" standard to determine a platform's knowledge of user involvement in sex trafficking can raise numerous complex questions. Factors such as missing a single email among thousands, inadequate age verification procedures, or other operational decisions may be scrutinized under this standard. The evaluation of constructive knowledge introduces a range of potential indicators that could be used to assess a platform's awareness. This can lead to a broad questioning of operational practices and decisions when determining liability in sex trafficking cases.
The claim that the pornography industry as a whole is connected to sex trafficking is fundamentally flawed and unjust. It is important to recognize that legal precedents like FOSTA have led to the unjust incrimination of the entire industry due to the design of the law itself. While it is true that instances of sex trafficking victims may appear on pornography websites, it is a fallacy to attribute blame to the industry as a whole. Even when considering the "should have known" aspect in cases like FOSTA, it becomes challenging to establish liability due to the multitude of variables involved. Delays in the removal of illegal content can occur due to factors like the sheer volume of emails and operational complexities, making it unfair to hold the entire industry responsible based on such subjective expectations.
7.3: Violence in Pornography
Among the original and contemporary anti-pornography critics, it’s argued that pornography is a depiction of violence against women. In Pornography: Civil Rights - A New Day For Women, Dworkin and MacKinnon (1988) say that "Pornography is a systematic practice of exploitation and subordination based on sex which differentially harms women…” Dworkin (1989) is more vulgar and states that “[The] boys are betting that their penises and fists and knives and fucks and rapes will turn us into what they say we are—the compliant women of sex, the voracious cunts of pornography, the masochistic sluts who resist because we really want more" (in McCarthy and McMillian 2003). NCOSE argues that “Pornography fosters aggression by normalizing and depicting verbal and physical violence as enjoyable.” FTND confidently claims that “Porn normalizes violence against women by packaging it as entertainment.” Writing in The Washington Post, Long (2016) remarks that “…mainstream pornography consists of socially sanctioned acts of direct violence against women. What would be seen as sexual violence and brutality in other contexts is par for the course in pornography…”
In order to support this assumption, FTND and NCOSE, for example, cite Bridges et al. (2010), saying that the study found that “Aggressive acts against women in pornography occur in roughly 87% of the scenes,” and “After analyzing 304 scenes from popular porn videos, this study concluded that porn contains high levels of verbal and physical aggression. More specifically, 88.2% of the scenes analyzed contained physical aggression, including spanking, gagging, and slapping, while 48.7% of scenes contained verbal aggression, primarily name-calling.” From this interpretation of the study, some readers might consider this hard proof of violence against women in the pornography industry. However, a closer examination of Bridges et al. displays a different picture of the acts shown in pornographic scenes and the disconnect between how one views sexual behaviors on screen.
Bridges et al. looked at the 275 best-selling and most rented pornographic videos provided by the AVN media network. 50 films were randomly selected, yielding a sample of 304 pornography scenes. From there, the researchers measured the frequency of types of aggressive sex acts. These sex acts included verbal aggression (insults, threats, and using coercive language) and physical aggression (pushing/ shoving, biting, pinching, hair pulling, spanking, open-hand slapping, gagging, choking, threatening with a weapon, kicking, closed fist punching, bondage/ config, using weapons, torture/ mutilation, other).
Using the same conceptual definitions of violence as Bridges et al., Klaasen and Peter (2014) looked at 400 popular pornographic scenes from the most visited pornography websites. When violent acts occurred, women were more likely to be the recipients. However, even in this analysis "violence" was treated as spanking and gagging, just like Bridges et al.'s study. More severe violence, like kicking and punching, was not present in their analysis.
Regarding coerced sex, both men and women were equally likely to show not wanting to initially engage in sexual activity, both males and females were almost never depicted as being intoxicated in these videos, and when manipulation into sex did occur, women were more likely to have been manipulated to have sex than men. However, for all these issues, it seems to be rare among all types of videos.
The citing of Bridges et al. from critics is interesting since they use this evidence to show how pornography depicts violence against women. However, their interpretation of this data seems to rely more on how sex should be, according to their view. As Weitzer (2011) notes in response to Bridges et al., the argument rests more on value judgment regarding what is and isn’t appropriate sexual behavior. Who says that actions like spanking or hair-pulling aren’t appropriate when having sex? And what makes these individuals the guiding light on how sex should be depicted? Critics have yet to offer a justification for this, instead only citing Bridges et al. because of their findings without asking why these acts are necessarily bad, instead, it’s seen as bad because of their bias against pornography. Similarly, Miller and McBain (2021) remark:
“In contrast, McKee et al. (2008) argue that their consent-focused approach to defining violence better corresponds to what the average person understands violent pornography to mean: Take spanking. Some people get their sexual thrills from being spanked. If you watch a video where a woman puts a man over her knee and spanks him, is that violence? He asks her to do it, and he’s obviously enjoying it, and she’s obviously enjoying it. But all the same, she’s spanking his buttocks. So is that violence?... Many previous academic studies decided that they should count spanking as violence, no matter if all the people involved are enjoying themselves and have 16 specifically requested the behavior. That didn’t make sense to us. It’s not common sense. When people say that they’re concerned about violent pornography, we don’t think they mean consensual spanking. They mean rape. They mean people being beaten, scared, forced to have sex. (p. 52) McKee (2015) also argues that ignoring the issue of consent when determining what constitutes violence risks stigmatising and pathologizing those who engage in consensual sadomasochism.”
Does pornography depict violence against women? Yes and no. It depends on how one chooses to define “violence”, but one has to wonder why simple sexual acts like gagging and hair pulling, for example, would even be considered violence during sex — especially if all parties are consenting. Critics who choose to label sexual behaviors as violence are correct in saying that pornography depicts violence against women; counter-critics who argue that the conceptual definitions of violence in pornography do not map onto colloquial definitions of violence are also correct. For a moment, let us say that critics are right: pornography is the depiction of violence against women. Is this type of “violence” popular among consumers, and which consumers are deciding to watch this content?
Shor and Seida (2018) examined 269 videos from the pornography site Pornhub and measured the video’s number of views and likes, aggressive acts (same as Bridges et al.), non-consensual acts, and the length of these acts. The coding for aggressive acts used Bridges et al.’s classification for physical and verbal aggression, with the inclusion of forced penetration. Shor and Seida also used non-consensual aggression from a previous study on the issue, as noted in Shor and Golriz (2019).
Shor and Seida conducted a study that revealed a notable decline in depictions of aggression towards women in pornography, including non-consensual acts. Furthermore, their findings indicated that videos portraying aggression towards women received fewer views, likes, and were less likely to be ranked as favorite videos by viewers. Regardless of the type of aggression portrayed, all forms consistently exhibited negative associations with viewership and likes. These results suggest that a one-unit increase in video titles suggesting violence, visible physical aggression, nonconsensual aggression, and verbal aggression is linked to a decrease in both video viewership and likes. This evidence indicates that the theme of "violence against women" in pornography lacks popularity among consumers and has exhibited a decreasing trend over time.
However, an important question still remains regarding the demographic characteristics of individuals who consume these videos in the first place.
Stephens-Davidowitz (2017), a former data scientist at Google, conducted research indicating that women exhibit a disproportionate tendency to search for videos tagged with terms such as "painful anal crying," "public disgrace," "extreme brutal gangbang," "forced," and "rape." In a separate study by Shor (2021), which involved interviews with 60 women and 61 men, it was discovered that a majority of both genders did not derive pleasure from aggressive content. However, women were more likely than men to report experiencing arousal in response to consensual aggression depicted towards women. Additionally, women demonstrated a greater inclination to actively seek out aggressive pornography and expressed a desire for increased aggression within mainstream pornography. These findings challenge the assertions made by anti-pornography feminists, as they reveal that not only are pornography videos portraying aggression towards women diminishing and receiving unfavorable reception among pornography consumers, but women themselves exhibit a disproportionate inclination toward violent pornography.
In conclusion, the debate surrounding whether pornography depicts violence against women is complex and multifaceted. Anti-pornography critics argue that pornography perpetuates the exploitation and subordination of women, citing studies like Bridges et al. (2010) to support their claims. However, a closer examination of these studies reveals a discrepancy between the researchers' conceptual definitions of violence and society's colloquial understanding of the term. Some critics' labeling of sexual acts, such as spanking or hair pulling, as violence during consensual encounters raises questions about the subjective nature of defining "violence" within a sexual context.
Moreover, studies like Shor and Seida's (2018) research on popular pornography sites indicate a decline in depictions of aggression towards women, with such content receiving fewer views, likes, and favorability among viewers. This suggests that the theme of violence against women lacks popularity among consumers and shows a decreasing trend over time. However, it is important to consider the demographic characteristics of individuals consuming aggressive content. Research by Stephens-Davidowitz (2017) and Shor (2021) suggests that women, to some extent, demonstrate a disproportionate interest in and arousal from aggressive pornography, challenging the assumption that all women are victims of such depictions.
Overall, the debate surrounding pornography and violence against women is nuanced, involving varying definitions of violence, the preferences of consumers, and the complexities of individual agency and consent. While some critics argue for stricter regulation and condemn the industry as a whole, it is essential to approach the topic with a critical lens that acknowledges the diversity of perspectives and experiences within society.
7.4: Well-being of Pornography Actors
Pornography performers have also been the subject of investigations regarding their mental health; however, akin to the scarcity of data pertaining to OnlyFans (See 7.5), there exists a dearth of comprehensive research in this area. While numerous anecdotal accounts posit a negative correlation between pornography and psychological well-being, such perspectives are frequently derived from prejudiced sources with an anti-pornography stance, such as Fight The New Drug. It is important to note that anecdotal evidence alone cannot be regarded as empirical data, and findings from rigorous studies present an alternative viewpoint. Jennie Ketcham, a former pornography actor, stated in The New York Times that “The emotional damage pornography causes to performers far outweighs any achievable financial gains or physical gratification” (2012). Assuming violence and emotional damage in the pornography industry are as widespread as critics make it out to be, we should expect this to reflect in the well-being of pornography actors.
Griffith et al. (2012) conducted a study involving 105 male participants engaged in pornography acting, while also including a matched control group of non-actors, in order to examine their mental health statuses. The study's findings revealed no statistically significant disparity in psychological well-being between the two groups, except for certain aspects such as sexual satisfaction, where the pornography actors exhibited higher levels, and body image, which was also more favorable among the pornography actor cohort. Interestingly, the data also indicated a distinction in terms of physical safety. These results challenge the notion that the industry inherently impairs the well-being of its performers, as one would anticipate lower levels of well-being among actors if such harm was prevalent. It is noteworthy to mention that Griffith et al. (2013) corroborated these findings in a subsequent study, albeit with a focus solely on comparing pornography actors to their peers within the industry.
In a related study by Griffith et al. (2013b), the mental well-being of 177 female pornography actresses was examined and compared to a matched control group. The investigation aimed to assess various aspects of psychological well-being. The results indicated that, overall, there were no significant disparities in well-being between the pornography actresses and the matched sample. However, noteworthy differences emerged in several specific domains. The pornography actress group exhibited higher levels of sexual satisfaction, positive emotions, perceived social support, and spirituality when compared to the control group. These findings challenge the prevailing assumption that participation in the pornography industry inherently undermines psychological well-being and suggest that certain aspects of well-being may even be positively influenced within this context.
Contrasting findings were reported by Grudzen et al. (2011) in their study involving a sample of adult film performers (n = 134) compared to a control group of individuals of similar ages (n = 1,773) who were not involved in the adult film industry. The research revealed a noteworthy distinction, as the performers exhibited lower levels of mental health and psychological well-being when compared to the non-performers. The results suggest that engagement in the adult film industry may be associated with diminished psychological well-being, highlighting a potential negative impact on the mental health of performers.
Nevertheless, it is worth noting that these observed differences in mental health outcomes between adult film performers and non-performers may be influenced by demographic variables that are unrelated to their status as performers. This is evident from the regression analyses conducted in the study, which took into account factors such as mental health in the past 30 days and current depression. The inclusion of these variables suggests that the identified disparities in mental health outcomes may be attributed to other demographic factors rather than solely being a consequence of engaging in adult film performance.
The reasons behind the disparate findings of Grudzen et al. (2011) compared to other studies, such as those conducted by Griffith et al., remain unclear. However, it is noteworthy that critics of sex work have often highlighted the results of the Grudzen et al. study to support their arguments. For instance, Farley and Donevan (2021) assert that "women in porn had significantly worse mental health and more severe depression" in comparison to women who were not involved in the sex trade, referencing the findings of Grudzen et al. (2011). Notably, it is important to acknowledge that Farley and Donevan's analysis lacks mention of the research conducted by Griffith et al. and their contrasting findings. This omission suggests that their assessment may not encompass the full scope of available research on the topic.
Farley and Donevan also referenced Donevan's (2019) study, which focused on Swedish performers and purportedly indicated lower well-being among performers. It is important to note, however, that this study relied on a limited sample of only nine women. Consequently, the study's credibility as a rigorous scholarly work is questionable, as such a small sample size raises concerns about its generalizability. This selectivity in citing unfavorable data without acknowledging contradictory findings appears to reflect a biased approach on the part of individuals like Farley and Donevan.
Furthermore, the authors of the cited study go beyond the data by suggesting a causal link between drug use and the alleged horrors of the pornography industry, implying that performers turn to substance abuse as a coping mechanism for their purportedly diminished psychological well-being. Notably, they fail to consider the possibility of a spurious correlation, wherein the overlap between pornography involvement and drug use may stem from factors unrelated to the industry itself. It is plausible that individuals who engage in pornography may also have pre-existing patterns of drug use, independent of their career choices.
Overall, a critical evaluation of the available evidence suggests that a majority (2 out of 3) of the studies indicate positive psychological well-being among pornography performers, while one study presents contrasting results. It is important to note, however, that even the study conducted by Grudzen et al. (2011) suggests that the observed differences in well-being are not exclusively attributable to performer status, highlighting the presence of other influential factors.
7.5: Onlyfans
Along with Chapter 7.4, it’s important to focus on the well-being of Onlyfans content creators — especially since Onlyfans has grown in popularity, specifically due to the pornographic content its creators can upload. Little data has been gathered on these creators, but this chapter will go through the available evidence.
First, the issue of the well-being of Onlyfans creators will be discussed. The Avery Center, which is an anti-sex trafficking organization that works with victims, surveyed 53 Onlyfans creators and found that
Thirty-four percent of the respondents said they had experienced negative physical or mental health outcomes as a direct result of content creation on OnlyFans. The negative effects creators experienced included anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, fear and shame. The constant demand to create new content from all stakeholders was a primary cause of the anxiety and depression.
The study wasn’t rigorous and was biased as they put a large emphasis on sex trafficking, but their criteria for sex trafficking are obscure as they have no clear definition. They considered creators getting messages of people offering to run their account as sex trafficking and asked creators if they know of any minors who had their own Onlyfans, but this is not what we consider sex trafficking, to begin with.
A more rigorous study comes from Civic Science (Wilson 2022), which got a sample of creators and subscribers, both current and no longer current ones, and weighed it by the U.S. census.
Current creators and past creators were doing well when asked how happy they were, along with people who weren’t contributing but planned to be, and those who did not plan to be contributing and were not interested.
Bosworth et al. (2022) surveyed 19 Onlyfans creators and found that they scored at a moderate level on the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and some saw an increase in traits associated with psychological well-being.
As of now, this is the only data available on Onlyfans creators.
Pornography Addiction
The history of the concept of “pornography” addiction is one based on moral and religious classifications (Voros 2009; Taylor 2019). In order to understand the meaning of pornography addiction, it’s important to understand the concept stems from when masturbation was considered harmful behavior. During the early 18th century, "Onania," a publication about the ills of masturbation, gained popularity. It influenced Swiss physician Samuel Auguste Tissot, who wrote a book on the topic, giving medical legitimacy to post-masturbatory diseases through the guise of a moral foundation. Despite the medical claims, Tissot's recommended solution was abstinence and moral strength. The merging of medical and moral concerns continued for two centuries as masturbation transitioned from a religious to a medical issue.
The understanding of masturbation evolved over time, shifting from a focus on physical ailments to mental disorders associated with it. In the 19th century, the belief in a direct link between physical illness and masturbation diminished, and attention turned to viewing it as a cause of mental disorders and insanity. Later, the focus shifted to nervous disorders and neuroses, suggesting that the negative effects of masturbation were more related to societal anxieties and guilt rather than inherent physiological harm. Freud's psychoanalysis further normalized masturbation as a normal phase of exploration that most individuals would outgrow. This led to a reevaluation of masturbation, particularly during the 1960s and 1970s, as a symbol of rebellion against traditional sexual norms and a rejection of male-centered sexual pleasures. The concept of masturbation causing illness became outdated, no longer strictly governed by medical perspectives. Meanwhile, the concept of addiction was being defined, and it would soon be applied to pornography due to moral and religious justifications.
During the 1960s, feminist groups began mobilizing around concerns related to sex and violence in culture, including the objectification of women in media and advertising. Some feminist theories argued that pornography perpetuated a culture that normalized rape and violence against women. As feminist movements gained momentum, there was a backlash in the form of the "porno-chic" era, characterized by the mainstream popularity of explicit pornography films like Deep Throat (1972). This backlash could be seen as a response to the emerging women's rights movement.
In the early 1970s, Irving Zola highlighted the growing influence of medicine, which labeled ordinary activities as unhealthy. Medical discourses were increasingly used to support political interventions. The establishment of the President's Commission on Obscenity and Pornography in the United States in 1968 exemplified this shift, reflecting public debates about pornography as a social problem. The increased accessibility and visibility of pornography during the preceding decade contributed to these debates.
Discussions about the potential effects of pornography were becoming widespread, with various publications and news articles exploring a range of possible outcomes. These included concerns about sexual aggression, incitement to rape and incest, obsession with sex, changes in sexual orientation, and misinformation about sex. Such concerns reflected growing societal anxieties about the impact of new media forms.
In response to the lack of significant research on pornography, the President's Commission on Obscenity and Pornography sought to address public concerns and gather empirical evidence on the effects of pornography. The commission established an extensive research program in the social sciences, emphasizing scientific studies to investigate these concerns. Working panels were formed to study different aspects of pornography, conducting original empirical investigations and moving away from solely relying on public hearings.
However, despite the commission's efforts to emphasize scientific inquiry, its published findings in 1970 faced criticism from many Republicans, including President Richard Nixon, who accused the commission of promoting a liberal position on sexuality. Controversial claims in the study, such as the suggestion of potential positive outcomes of pornography viewership, led to rejection by the United States Senate and Nixon himself.
Nevertheless, the commission's presentation of its results played a significant role in recognizing pornography as a subject worthy of study and focusing on the pornography viewer as a source of information. The investigation helped establish a new area of concern for behavioral sciences and validated the link between violence and pornography by making it a subject of study. Paradoxically, this contributed to constructing, refining, and legitimizing the very connections between pornography and its effects that the commission sought to clarify.
The commission's conclusion that no evidence was found implicating pornography in causing delinquency or criminal behavior likely stimulated further research on pornography. This conclusion created an impression that evidence supporting such a link might exist but had not yet been discovered, generating increased interest in the topic.
In the early 1980s, psychologist P. Carnes played a crucial role in advancing the scientific understanding of pornography addiction by conceptualizing its progressive dynamics. According to Carnes, engagement with explicit materials during masturbation could potentially lead to a pattern of escalating behaviors, where individuals seek out more extreme and risky sexual activities.
During the 1980s, research delved into the heavy use of pornography within the frameworks of "sexual compulsivity," "hypersexuality," and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). These investigations contributed to the emergence of the field of "sexual control disorders." As the mid-1990s approached, there was a significant increase in scientific publications addressing addiction to pornography, particularly in the context of "cyber-addiction." This term encompassed various addictions associated with new technologies, including excessive use of pornographic websites, erotic chatrooms, and dating platforms.
Excessive pornography use was perceived as a form of virtual escape, leading to feelings of guilt, shame, and diminished self-esteem. This detachment from real-world relationships and the resulting consequences, such as marital problems, job loss, and strained family relationships, were seen as significant indicators of addiction.
The Meese Commission, established by President Ronald Reagan and led by Attorney General Edwin Meese III in 1985, had a clear mandate to find more effective ways to contain the spread of pornography and explore its relationship to antisocial behavior. Unlike the 1970 President's Commission, which focused on research, the Meese Commission embraced public hearings, aligning itself with a historical tradition of formulating social policy.
Although the term "pornography addiction" was only mentioned sparingly in the Meese Commission's final report, such testimonies seem to have influenced some members of the commission. Commissioner James Dobson, founder of the Christian conservative organization Focus on the Family, listed the harms of pornography as violence against women, addiction in men similar to drugs and alcohol, and degradation of women leading to crimes against them.
Today, the concept of pornography addiction continues to hold wide acceptance — often being used as an insult and as a scapegoat for crimes and adultery, for example. However, compared to the 1970s and 1980s, the science of addiction has come a long way, and has already attempted to justify the validity of “pornography addiction.” Indeed, countless blogs, Youtube videos, and academic studies attempt to argue that pornography has a similarly addictive effect as drugs. This chapter will sort through the evidence surrounding pornography addiction, and if it’s a valid concept or not.
8.2: Defining “Addiction”
The issue of defining addiction is often overlooked by individuals who are not familiar with the complexities of addiction science. If we were to gather a group of 100 people and ask them to define addiction, we would likely receive a range of responses. Some might describe it as a habit or compulsion to engage in certain activities, such as constantly eating chocolate or playing video games. Another group might emphasize the repetitive nature of addictive behaviors, suggesting that addiction involves the inability to stop engaging in certain behaviors. Yet another group might highlight the detrimental psychological and physical effects caused by addictive behaviors, which disrupt an individual's life.
These varied definitions demonstrate that addiction is not easily characterized by a simple and universally agreed-upon definition. Similar debates and challenges in defining addiction have been observed in relation to different substances and behaviors. It underscores the complexity of addiction as a phenomenon and the ongoing discussions among researchers and experts in the field.
In the context of discussing out-of-control sexual behaviors, Giugliano (2009) highlights the existence of different concepts used to classify these behaviors, including compulsion, obsession, impulsion, and dependence. Although these concepts share similarities, they also possess distinct differences that prevent them from being used interchangeably.
Compulsion refers to repetitive behaviors or mental acts undertaken to alleviate anxiety or distress. It is not driven by seeking pleasure or gratification. The individual engages in these compulsive behaviors as a means to reduce the distress associated with their obsessions. Obsession, on the other hand, involves persistent and intrusive thoughts, impulses, or images that are considered inappropriate and cause psychological distress. Individuals with obsessions may try to suppress these thoughts or neutralize them with other thoughts or actions.
Impulsion refers to the failure to resist harmful impulses, drives, or temptations that are detrimental to oneself or others. Before committing the impulsive act, the individual may experience a sense of tension or arousal, which is followed by pleasure or relief during the act. They may or may not feel regret or guilt afterward.
Dependence, as defined by the DSM criteria, requires meeting at least three out of seven specific criteria. These criteria include tolerance (needing more of the behavior or stimulus to achieve the same effect), withdrawal effects when the behavior is ceased, engaging in the behavior for longer periods than intended, unsuccessful attempts to control or stop the addictive behavior, significant time spent preparing for and recovering from the addiction, sacrificing important activities due to addictive behaviors, and continuing to engage in the addictive behavior despite negative consequences.
While these definitions of compulsion, obsession, impulsion, and dependence share commonalities such as repetitive behaviors and responses to internal or external cues, they have distinct differences. Compulsion focuses on behaviors aimed at reducing psychological distress rather than seeking pleasure or gratification. Impulsion involves compelling urges for immediate pleasure without considering the consequences. Tolerance and withdrawal, however, are specific criteria associated with dependence but not mentioned in relation to compulsion and impulsion.
The term "addiction" when applied to pornography can be subjective and lacks a universally agreed-upon definition. Researchers and individuals arguing for its validity may rely on different definitions, leading to confusion and inconsistency in the field. However, the concept of "dependence" does have a defined criteria, which provides a more specific framework for understanding problematic behaviors.
It is important to note that organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) have rejected the inclusion of compulsive sexual activity, including pornography, as an addiction. Similarly, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders V (DSM-5) does not currently include a diagnosis for sexual addiction or pornography addiction. The reason for this omission is the insufficient peer-reviewed evidence available to establish diagnostic criteria and comprehensive descriptions of the course of these behaviors as mental disorders.
Citing sources like Ley (2018), Sassover and Weinstein (2020), and Neves (2020), it becomes evident that professional organizations and researchers have reservations about labeling pornography as an addiction. This reinforces the need for further research and consensus within the scientific community to establish a more comprehensive understanding of problematic sexual behaviors and their classification. Despite this, based on how critics have described pornography addiction (e.g. Hazony 2023; Theron 2023; Villena, Maria, and Chiclana 2017; Dwulit and Rzymski 2019), they seem to believe that the dependence model supports the idea of pornography addiction. In order for this to be true, these criteria must be met: tolerance, withdrawal, engaging in the behavior for longer periods than intended, unsuccessful attempts to control or stop the addictive behavior, significant time spent preparing for and recovering from the addiction, sacrificing important activities due to addictive behaviors, and continuing to engage in the addictive behavior despite negative consequences. Evidence does not suggest this to be the case.
In the issue of tolerance, the idea goes that eventually, high-frequency pornography use will lead to stronger stimuli. In other words, individuals might need to watch more extreme pornography in order to become aroused ( ). The tolerance argument falls short for two reasons. First, in order for the tolerance argument to be true, individuals can not be aroused by non-extreme pornographic content, specifically because they have built a tolerance to this type of content and require more extreme content. Hald and Stulhofer (2017) conducted a study that explored the relationship between arousal to mainstream pornography and arousal to non-mainstream pornography. Their findings indicated that individuals who reported being aroused by mainstream pornography also experienced arousal when exposed to non-mainstream forms of pornography.
Second, preference for extreme content actually decreases over time. Landripet, Busko, and Stulhofer (2019) found that one’s preference for extreme pornographic content decreases in a short time.
These lines of evidence cast doubt on the tolerance argument in support of pornography addiction being valid.
Dwulit and Rzymski show withdrawal issues stemming from pornography, but their evidence is too weak to suggest this. In Dwulit and Rzymski, negative effects like anxiety and aggression were reported among those who attempted to cease their pornography use, but there are a few issues.
There was no baseline to compare these values to prior to pornography use being stopped, thus we do not know if there was an increase or not in these effects that can be suggested to have been made worse by ceasing pornography use. Second, some of these effects may not be due to pornography itself, but rather other variables, something not investigated by the authors.
Fernandez et al. (2023) had a group of individuals cease their pornography use. The study involved participants who completed measures of craving, positive and negative affect, and withdrawal symptoms over a 7-day period. The study aimed to test the hypotheses regarding the effects of abstinence from pornography use (abstinence group) compared to a control group. However, contrary to the researchers' expectations, no significant main effects of group (abstinence vs. control) or interactions between group and problematic pornography use (PPU) were found for any of the outcome measures. These findings indicate that, after controlling for baseline scores, there were no significant differences between the abstinence and control groups in terms of craving, affect, or withdrawal symptoms.
In addition to the main findings, the researchers conducted exploratory analyses and discovered a significant three-way interaction between group, problematic pornography use (PPU), and past 4-week frequency of pornography use (FPU) specifically on craving. The interaction revealed that the effect of abstinence on craving was only observed among individuals with high levels of PPU, but this effect was significant only when the past 4-week FPU reached the threshold of daily use. It is important to note that these exploratory findings should be interpreted with caution, as they were not part of the original hypotheses and require further investigation in future studies focusing on abstinence effects. The results suggest a potential relationship between high PPU, high FPU, and the manifestation of abstinence's effects on craving. As we’ve already noted, individuals with PPU tend to have pre-existing issues — which means pornography could be used as a form of escapism rather than one which fits the dependence model. It’s also important to remember that withdrawal symptoms, specifically when used as a single criterion, are not an indication of addiction (Nullsci 2022). As was said by the Institute of Medicine in the context of drugs,
“Tolerance, dependence, and withdrawal are often presumed to imply abuse or addiction, but this is not the case. Tolerance and dependence are normal physiological adaptations to repeated use of any drug. The correct use of prescribed medications for pain, anxiety, and even hypertension commonly produces tolerance and some measure of physiological dependence. Even a patient who takes medicine for appropriate medical indications and at the correct dosage can develop tolerance, physical dependence, and withdrawal symptoms if the drug is stopped abruptly rather than gradually. For example, a hypertensive patient receiving a beta-adrenergic receptor blocker, such as propranolol, might have a good therapeutic response; but if the drug is stopped abruptly, there can be a withdrawal syndrome that consists of tachycardia and a rebound increase in blood pressure to a point that is temporarily higher than before the administration of the medication began.”
As of now, there is little to no evidence indicating pornography use leads to unsuccessful attempts to control or stop the addictive behavior, significant time spent preparing for and recovering from the addiction, sacrificing important activities due to addictive behaviors, and continuing to engage in the addictive behavior despite negative consequences.
First, as noted in Chapter 8.4, individuals with excessive sexual behavior who fit the criteria for having compulsive sexual use (according to the DSM) stop fitting this criterion as time goes on. So, the issue of unsuccessful attempts to control or stop addictive behavior does not seem to be true for the majority of those with excessive sexual behaviors. Second, there is no evidence showing that individuals with “pornography addiction” spend a significant time preparing for and recovering from the addiction. Given the evidence presented in 8.4, the evidence suggests a ephemeral nature rather than a “significant” one for recovering from the addiction.
“Sacrificing important activities due to addictive behaviors” does have some support. Villena and Actis (2019) found that some individuals report pornography interfering with their lives in some way.
Negative effects were reported by a minority of users, but given the self-reported nature of the survey with no analysis of interaction effects, like in Fernadnez et al., it’s unknown if these issues are causally related to pornography use or other pre-existing issues. “Continuing to engage in the addictive behavior despite negative consequences” is, as this entire article has demonstrated, a contentious criterion as many of the effects of pornography on social and psychological well-being are either not causal or rely on interaction effects. It’s possible individuals continue to engage in pornography use as a form of escapism rather than due to any addictive mechanism (see Chapter 8.3 for more), making this criterion a grey zone that requires evidence. Based on these lines of evidence, I argue that pornography addiction does not fit the dependence model. This leaves us with compulsion, obsession, and impulsion.
Obsession “involves persistent and intrusive thoughts, impulses, or images that are considered inappropriate and cause psychological distress.” There is no evidence that pornography can cause obsession. Impulsion requires “the failure to resist harmful impulses, drives, or temptations that are detrimental to oneself or others. Before committing the impulsive act, the individual may experience a sense of tension or arousal, which is followed by pleasure or relief during the act. They may or may not feel regret or guilt afterward.” Who is to say watching pornography is a “harmful impulse”, or that it’s detrimental to oneself or others? As we have already seen in this article, the evidence indicates pornography not to be harmful to individual and social well-being, and 8.4 displays evidence of positive control from those with compulsive sexual behaviors — casting doubt on the impulsion model. This leaves us with compulsive use, which generally has more support.
Compulsion refers to repetitive behaviors or mental acts undertaken to alleviate anxiety or distress. It is not driven by seeking pleasure or gratification. The individual engages in these compulsive behaviors as a means to reduce distress. Antons and Brand (2021) provide a number of lines of evidence showcasing compulsive pornography use to be a valid compulsion. For these reasons, we reject the idea that pornography itself can be addictive in a semantics sense (see 8.3 for empirical evidence), instead compulsive pornography use—not pornography addiction—should be used as the proper term. Compulsive use can also be seen as problematic (i.e., problematic pornography use, PPU).
As Egan and Parmar (2013) found, neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and obsessional checking correlate with compulsive behavior.
Akin to Chapter 5, it could be that individuals with certain personalities might develop compulsive pornography use. Indeed, high-frequency pornography use is predicted by the avoidance of uncomfortable emotions or dealing with emotional distress (Moynihan, Igou, and van Tilburg 2022).
Issues with religion can also affect research into “pornography addiction.” Rousseau, Bothe, and Stulhofer (2020) found that in their longitudinal design, religion, negative emotions, and impulsivity predicted higher levels of PPU, even when pornography use is controlled for.
Their slope analysis indicated that growth in pornography use resulted in higher problematic pornography use for those who scored higher on religiosity measures.
Kohut and Stlhofer (2018) found that among individuals with low religiosity, those who were not highly compulsive in their pornography use showed a slight increase in pornography use. However, highly compulsive users with low religiosity showed a decrease in pornography use.
On the other hand, among highly religious individuals, those who were not highly compulsive in their pornography use did not show a change in usage. However, highly compulsive users with high religiosity showed a significant increase in pornography use.
This means that religion can contribute to perceptions of compulsive pornography use. Indeed, other research indicates this to be the case. Moral and religious issues with pornography, but continuing to watch it anyway, can affect one’s self-perceptions about their “pornography addiction”. Grubbs, Kraus, and Perry (2019) found that moral incongruence (moral issues with pornography but continuing to watch it anyway), religion, being male, and younger age were associated with self-reported addiction to pornography.
Further evidence suggesting moral incongruence to be a predictor of self-reported pornography addiction has been shown in other works (e.g. Grubbs et al. 2019, see 2019b; Grubbs and Perry 2019; Grubbs and Englman 2018; Lewczuk et al. 2020; Grubbs et al. 2020, see below). Moral issues with pornography matter in the area of pornography addiction since they may lead to inflated estimates about the prevalence of pornography addiction and its supposed effects. For example, Grubbs et al. (2020) remark that moral incongruence can inflate the self-reported problem due to pornography. For example, individuals who morally disapprove of pornography but continue to watch it anyway see increases in sexual shame which lead to depression (Volk et al. 2019).
It’s possible that individuals with moral incongruence might feel shame about themselves. If this were to happen, it could lead to thinking that they were addicted to pornography, regardless of how much pornography they consumed (Peters 2022).
Some of the studies cited prior continue to show that time spent watching pornography was a positive indicator of self-reported addiction, but it’s unknown how accurate this self-reported measure is. As shown in other research, self-reported internet use does not align with actual internet use (Scharkow 2016; Ellis et al. 2018), and it’s unknown if self-reported pornography use accurately reflects one’s actual pornography use. Because of these issues, it’s hard to say if the time spent watching pornography is a trustworthy variable in predicting self-reported pornography addiction, especially since another study found that viewing frequency was inconsistently related to compulsive sexual behaviors (Droubay and White 2023).
Based on the available evidence, “pornography addiction” does not seem to be a valid construct under the argued dependence model. Instead, compulsive pornography use—which is still being debated as a valid form of addiction with respect to other forms of compulsive behaviors (Billieux et al. 2015)—should be used as the proper term. However, while some individuals may have problems with pornography, it’s important to remember that these issues may not be causally related to pornography and instead may reflect pre-existing and demographic issues.
I would go as far as to argue that “problematic pornography use”/ compulsive use is not a good indicator of addiction. Labeling something as "problematic" when it is causally associated with negative outcomes is a more objective and accurate way to evaluate and address certain behaviors. It recognizes that the behavior itself may not be inherently problematic but may contribute to problems when combined with other factors.
In the case of pornography consumption, as with many other behaviors, it's essential to consider the individual's unique circumstances and any underlying issues that may contribute to problematic outcomes. Recognizing the complexity of these issues can lead to more effective and compassionate interventions that address the root causes of problems rather than simply labeling a behavior as inherently "problematic" or "addictive." We should remain cautious about using this label because it seems to imply that the act of consuming pornography itself is inherently problematic, instead of recognizing that underlying issues might be responsible for the adverse outcomes associated with it.
Compulsion, too, has issues worth discussing. In many cases, people turn to behaviors like watching pornography or engaging in other forms of escapism as a way to cope with underlying mental health issues, stress, or emotional distress. These behaviors can provide temporary relief or distraction. In such situations, it's crucial to recognize that the behavior itself may not be the root cause of interference in daily life or relationships. Instead, it's a symptom or coping mechanism used to deal with those pre-existing issues. It's essential to consider the broader context and address the underlying problems, such as low mental health, which can contribute to excessive pornography consumption or other behaviors.
Due to the issues with defining “compulsive” behaviors (Luigjes et al. 2019), Luigjes et al. crafted the following definition based on their review: “Compulsive behavior consists of repetitive acts that are characterized by the feeling that one 'has to' perform them while one is aware that these acts are not in line with one's overall goal.” Through this definition, what is in line with an individual's overall goals can be highly personal and varies among people. For some individuals, pornography use may align with their goals of escaping negative emotions, but there is no evidence that one “has to” watch pornography. The alternative hypothesis would suggest that individuals simply use pornography to escape negative emotions because of the escapism it offers, but one could turn to any other vice or behavior — nothing special about pornography. Of course, there is no evidence discussing why those with problematic pornography use pornography and not other types of vices or behaviors, so the debate on the validity of “compulsive” pornography use remains contentious.
8.3: Pornography as a Drug
Among critics, it’s not uncommon to hear pornography be described as a drug. Hilton and Watts (2019) repeatedly attempt to display the similarities between the effects of drug use, other excessive behaviors, and pornography. Love et al. (2015) spend most of their paper discussing drug addiction and then attempt to also draw similarities between the effects of drugs and pornography consumption through different means. Fradd remarks, according to “Dr. William Struthers…pornography ‘hijacks’ the brain in the same way: it tricks the brain into thinking it is getting sex—and like a drug, the forced high can become a deadly habit.” Fight The New Drug argues that “But at its core, if you understand the basic science of how addiction works, addiction to tobacco and addiction to pornography consumption are remarkably similar.” Given the constant similarities being made between drugs and pornography, a tackle at pornography addiction is similar to drugs is warranted.
One of the most widely cited studies used to argue that pornography addiction works like drug addiction comes from Voon et al. (2014). In this study, 19 subjects with compulsive sexual behavior (CSB) were compared to 19 healthy subjects with respect to brain activation when shown pornography. According to the results, males with CSB showed stronger brain activations in the dorsal anterior cingulate, ventral striatum, and amygdala.
As the authors note, “Drug-cue-reactivity and craving studies of nicotine, cocaine and alcohol implicate networks including the ventral striatum, dACC and amygdala [13]. In the current study, these regions were activated during viewing of sexually explicit materials across the groups with and without CSB. The observation of stronger activations of these regions in CSB versus healthy volunteer participants is similar to findings observed for substance cues in substance addictions, suggesting neurobiological similarities across the disorders.” Akin, Gola et al. (2017) examined 28 males with problematic pornography use and 24 males without problematic pornography use. For those with problematic pornography use (PPU), they found increased activation in the ventral striatum for erotic cues but not monetary cues. Both these studies suggest that those with CSB and PPU also showed a difference between liking erotica and wanting it, with liking it more but wanting it less, a difference which falls in line with other types of addictions. In line with the idea, pornography is like a drug, Theron (2023) says, in reference to Gola et al., “This finding strongly suggests that the effect of excessive pornography consumption has an effect on the brain that is similar to that of substance addictions.”
By studying brain activation in response to visual stimuli, it can help us understand how the brain recognizes and interprets different visual features, such as shapes, colors, and motion. Because the brain activation of those with CSB and PPU resembles the brain activation of those with other types of cravings for different drugs, this is taken as evidence of similarities between drug addiction and pornography addiction. However, there is an issue with this. Although the brain activation of those with CSB and PPU do resemble the brain activation patterns of those addicted to drugs, they engage in overlapping but distinct areas of the brain. In other words, while they may overlap, they engage in specific areas rather than the general area of the brain alone. As Arsalidou, Vijayarajah, and Sharaev (2020) find, sex, food, and gambling brain imagery engage in some overlapping, but distinct, areas of the brain.
Attempting to draw parallels between types of excessive behaviors/ drugs onto pornography requires more nuance, and simply comparing brain activation between different types of stimuli does not tell us much. The similarity in brain activation patterns between different rewarding stimuli does not provide definitive evidence that pornography addiction is a valid concept on its own. It does, however, suggest that the brain's reward system, which involves areas such as the nucleus accumbens, amygdala, prefrontal cortex, and others, plays a role in processing both pornography cues and other rewarding stimuli. Addiction, including behavioral addictions, involves complex processes that extend beyond simple brain activation patterns. Diagnostic criteria and conceptualizations of addiction typically consider factors such as impaired control, compulsive behavior, negative consequences, and withdrawal symptoms. These aspects need to be assessed in conjunction with brain activation patterns to establish the presence of addiction. Furthermore, it is essential to recognize that the relationship between brain activation and addiction is not solely a matter of "more activation equals addiction." Brain responses can vary among individuals, and differences in brain activation patterns may reflect various factors such as individual vulnerability, personal experiences, and psychological processes. Brain activation patterns alone cannot determine addiction.
The citation of Voon et al. as evidence of pornography addiction often leaves out this quote from Voon themself: “Despite her early findings, Voon says it's probably too early to put compulsive porn users in a box with people who suffer from drug or alcohol problems. ‘We need more studies to clearly state that it's an addiction,’ she says” (in Weir 2014). Thus, brain activation of the reward system, when not paired with any other type of evidence, can not be used as a stand-alone indicator of addiction. Contrary results were found by Prause et al. (2015). Individuals with “problems regulating [their] viewing of sexual images” were compared to a normal group while being shown pleasant, neutral, sexual, and unpleasant images. Electrophysiological caps, also known as EEG caps, were used to measure and record electrical activity in the brain. Event-related potential data was used to estimate LPP values.
The LPP component is associated with the processing of emotional and motivational stimuli, as well as cognitive and attentional processes. It is often observed in response to stimuli that elicit a strong emotional or motivational response, such as pleasant or unpleasant images, significant events, or attention-capturing stimuli. Higher LPP scores are associated with motivation and sustained attention, and higher LPP scores are associated with cues relevant to addiction.
The enhancement of the LPP to cues relevant to the addiction under study is well replicated. Problem gamblers show an enhanced LPP to gambling cues (Wölfling et al., 2011); problem gamers show an enhanced LPP to gaming cues (Thalemann, Wölfling, & Grüsser, 2007). This LPP pattern has also been observed in problem users of heroin (Franken, Stam, Hendriks, & van den Brink, 2003), nicotine (Littel & Franken, 2007), and cocaine users show enhanced LPP to images of cocaine (Dunning et al., 2011) and enhances during higher cocaine craving (Franken & Muris, 2006). This pattern is so well-replicated that some consider it a biomarker for disadvantageous substance choices (Moeller et al., 2012a).
LPP was higher for the sexual stimuli when compared to other stimuli used. Group and sexual desire levels interacted, and as is noted, “The LPP was lower in participants reporting problems with VSS, but LPP was particularly lower to the sexual images in those who also had higher SDI scores.”
When interaction effects are analyzed, LPP does not seem to be high, which goes against the idea of pornography addiction as support for the concept would require high LPP values. As Prause et al. remark, “Restated, VSS users with problems and higher sexual desire had a smaller difference between sexual and non-sexual LPP, rather than a larger difference. This pattern of results appears inconsistent with some predictions made by addiction models.”
Love et al. levy multiple criticisms against Prause et al.: (1) Lower LPP is consistent with another study finding a negative relationship between pornography use and brain activation; (2) their findings suggest habituation to still images, akin to tolerance, which is in line with addiction; (3) images were used instead of 9-second clips which are reminiscent of internet pornography, like in Voon et al. Due to (1) and (2), Love et al., Fradd, and Park et al. take Prause et al.’s study as support for pornography addiction. Gola (2016) also criticizes Prause et al., saying that they do not make clear which model of addiction is being used: Incentive Salience Theory [IST] or Reward Deficiency Syndrome [RDS]).
IST indicates that addiction is characterized by an increase in wanting (elevated cue reactivity) and a decrease in liking (lower reward reactivity). For example, a heroin addict might want the drug, but they do not like it. Because of the use of images, these “cues” are not simple cues, but also rewards as they activate the reward system. Because the images played the role of the reward, the lower LPP found is consistent with IST, thus being consistent with addiction. The RDS model suggests that certain individuals have a genetic predisposition that leads to a lower response in their brain's reward system when they encounter pleasurable stimuli. This diminished response is believed to be associated with traits like sensation-seeking, impulsivity, and a higher risk of developing addiction. Because Prause et al. found lower LPP, this also supports RDS—thus, no matter what addiction model is being used, Prause et al.’s findings support the idea of pornography addiction.
In response to Gola, Prause et al. (2016) note that the addiction model is rejected through falsification. If one tenant of the model is not supported, the entire model fails. First, Gola’s argument that the sexual image is a reward and not a cue is false. Gola argues that consummatory behavior (watching pornography) is the problem, and this image is not a cue. However, as Prause et al. remark, viewing pornography outside a laboratory is often accompanied by masturbation and the use of technology to watch pornography, something not done in the original study. Gola argues that sexual images are a consummatory behavior because it activates the brain’s reward system. Much like what was argued at the start of Chapter 7.3 when discussing brain activation, Prause notes that all addiction cues activate the reward system, like films of someone doing cocaine or images of cocaine activating the reward system for cocaine addicts. “Gola presents no counterexamples whereby a cue of addiction fails to activate reward processes—and this would be expected from the perspective of even the most basic associative learning model (i.e., cues that predict reward should activate reward-related responses).”
It’s said that the IST model, not the RDS model, is used; this model requires LPP to be increased when viewing cues, not diminished. Prior studies on cocaine addicts which rely on the RDS model have found elevated LPP, but Praus and colleagues found lower LPP—this is not what one should expect under the IST model. Gola’s comments on the study not separating wanting from liking are also addressed, being said that cues induce later cravings and each prediction of a model need not be tested at the same time to falsify it (citing Popper 1963, in Prause et al. 2016). Interestingly enough, Prause et al. note some sampling bias in Voon et al’s study,
Gola argues that our sample of problem users reported fewer hours of sex film viewing than the problem sample from Voon et al. (2014). However, Voon et al. specifically recruited for participants high in sexual shame, including advertisements on shame-based websites about sex-film use, “treatment-seeking” men despite “porn” use not being recognized by the DSM-5, and with funding by a television show framed as the “harms” of “porn”. Those who adopt addiction labels have been shown to have a history of socially conservative values and high religiosity (Grubbs, Exline, Pargament, Hook, & Carlisle, 2014). It is more likely that the Voon et al. (2014) sample is characterized by high sexual shame in online communities that encourage reporting of high use. Also, “porn” use was assessed during a structured interview, not a standardized questionnaire. Thus, the psychometrics and implicit biases inherent in a structured interview are unknown. This makes it difficult to compare sex film use measures between studies.
Prause argues that contrary to the expectations of addiction models, individuals who report more problems with viewing sexual images actually exhibit better control over their sexual response (Moholy et al., 2015; Winters et al., 2009). Addiction models typically predict negative consequences, such as erectile dysfunction, but studies have found no elevation of erectile problems with increased consumption of sexual films (Landripet & Štulhofer, 2015; Prause & Pfaus, 2015; Sutton, Stratton, Pytyck, Kolla, & Cantor, 2015; see Chapter 4.3). Addiction models propose that substance use or behavior is used to ameliorate or escape negative affect, but individuals reporting problems with sex films actually reported less negative affect at baseline/pre-viewing than controls (Prause, Staley, & Fong, 2013). In contrast to the expectations of most addiction models, individuals who report more difficulties with viewing sexual images actually demonstrate better control over their sexual response. This finding has been replicated in studies conducted by Moholy, Prause, Proudfit, Rahman, and Fong (2015) and Winters, Christoff, and Gorzalka (2009). (All citations in Prause et al. 2016.) Prause et al., then, offer contrasting evidence to the brain activation argument used to support the idea of pornography addiction.
One study cited by Love et al. that deserves special attention is Kühn and Gallinat (2014). The researchers found that higher pornography use was associated with lower grey matter volume, lower left putaminal activity, and lower functional connectivity of the right caudate to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. This study has garnered media attention because of the negative relationship between pornography use and lower grey matter, leading to very strong headlines and claims: Viewing Porn Shrinks The Brain (ZOLFAGHARIFARD and Hope 2014); “Although the research didn’t conclusively show that porn had caused the changes, that was the theory the researchers found most likely. They even subtitled their study “The Brain on Porn” (Fradd) and; “Porn may also literally shrink the brain…” (Ghose 2015). This is their regression which has spun headlines like those cited.
Their regression shows a significant relationship (r = - 0.432, p < 0.001), but the data points have a lot of variation away from the trend line. While real-world data often has lots of variation (see Ritchie 2022), the results do not tell us if there is causation—despite the strong words and implications used by people like Fradd. There are other issues with this study. First, it’s unknown if the study can replicate since nobody has attempted to replicate the study. The low statistical power in neuroscience and brain imaging (21% and 8%, respectively), and low replication rate (6%) present in neuroscience (Button et al. 2013; Neuroskeptic 2014), do not allow us to make confident claims about this study.
Second, Weinberg and Radulescu (2015) offer criticisms of studies making use of structural MRIs and resting-state functional MRIs, both of which were used in Kuhn and Gallinat. According to the authors, “…we believe the evidence that these ‘findings’ are reflections of changes in the brain related to pathogenesis is inconclusive at best and potentially represents artifacts or epiphenomena of dubious value.” The authors argue that MRI is not a direct measure of brain structure but rather a physical-chemical measure based on radio-frequency signals emitted from hydrogen atoms influenced by the surrounding tissue's magnetic properties. The contrasts observed in MRI between tissue compartments (such as gray and white matter) crucially depend on the relative signals from these components. MRI contrast is related to the density of protons (H1) and their magnetic properties, expressed by the T1 and T2 relaxation constants. While proton density is relatively uniform for most tissues, T1 and T2 can vary significantly between tissues and can be influenced by various factors.
The study highlights that MRI signals are based on rarefied parameters and susceptible to physical-chemical phenomena not necessarily linked to the number or architecture of cells in the tissue. For instance, the commonly used metric of "gray matter volume" in voxel-based morphometry analyses is derived from a segmentation algorithm applied to the voxel's intensity (brightness) on T1-weighted images. However, a voxel of typical size actually represents a heterogeneous tissue sample consisting of neurons, neuropil, glia, microvessels, and extracellular space, any of which can be altered by various biophysical factors affecting the MRI signal. The authors caution against jumping to the conclusion that MRI differences between patient and control samples indicate microstructural abnormalities of pathological significance. Many nonstructural factors, such as psychotropic drug use, changes in body weight, blood lipid levels, alcohol use, nicotine use, exercise, hydration, pain, and cortisol levels, can influence MRI signals and anatomical measurements. These factors likely affect tissue biochemistry and magnetic properties rather than the structural integrity of the tissue.
The study suggests that before attributing MRI differences to pathogenic abnormalities, other plausible possibilities should be considered. Factors like changes in brain perfusion due to acute drug administration or alterations in magnetic properties affecting signal contrast can masquerade as changes in MRI volume measurements. Even in seemingly unconfounded studies, hidden confounding factors like differences in temperament or smoking behavior may exist and influence MRI signals.
Furthermore, in the case of resting-state fMRIs, they discuss concerns related to resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies, which examine brain activity in the absence of specific tasks or stimuli. The lack of a within-subject reference state in these studies makes it challenging to determine what the brain is actually doing during the imaging protocol. Resting-state fMRI involves subjects lying in the MRI scanner for a period of time without performing any specific task. The activity pattern observed across multiple brain regions during this state is known as the "default mode network." Initially, this network was considered a fundamental marker of brain connectivity with significant functional relevance. However, cautionary notes soon emerged regarding the influence of various cognitive, behavioral, and physiological variables, as well as artifacts and conceptual inconsistencies.
Resting-state fMRI studies are appealing because they are relatively easy to conduct and often yield differences between patient and control groups. Many psychiatric patients have shown deviations from the default pattern, and these deviations are sometimes interpreted as neural abnormalities. However, it is important to recognize that patients with psychiatric diagnoses will have different experiences in the MRI environment compared to healthy volunteers. Their thoughts, feelings, and reactions to the noise and confinement of the scanner can interfere with the default pattern or engagement of other network profiles, resulting in perceived "abnormalities." Even in healthy individuals, varying what they attend to during the resting state can produce analogous "abnormalities." It also highlights the individual variability in the experience of the resting-state MRI environment, with diverse and transient mental states and neural systems contributing to the reductionist "default network" signal. It questions how confident we can be that differences observed between patient samples and control individuals are not simply due to differences in their ability to "zone out" during data acquisition. The influence of head movement and motion artifacts on resting-state fMRI is another significant concern. Correlations generated by even minor head motions, particularly nodding motions, can affect the midline structures of the default mode network. The excerpt suggests that usual correction methods fail to adequately control for these confounding factors.
Finally, the researchers did not adjust for personality and lifestyle choices. The study found a relationship between alcohol use and hours spent watching pornography (r = 0.250, p = 0.05), but only adjusted for internet addiction. This is important since frequent pornography users are more likely to consume alcohol (Svedin, Akerman, Priebe 2010), and alcohol consumption has been shown to be associated with lower grey and white matter (Daviet et al. 2022). Borgogna and Aita (2019) found neuroticism to be positively correlated with problematic pornography use, and Jackson, Balota, and Head (2009) remarked that “Higher neuroticism was associated with smaller regional volumes and greater decreases in volume with increasing age.” Porn consumption was also measured through self-reports, so no psychometric instrument was used to assess the validity and reliability of self-reported pornography consumption. It’s possible that lower brain volumes predict higher pornography use rather than higher pornography use causing lower brain volumes. Due to these issues not being investigated in this study, great caution should be taken when reading Kuhn and Gallinat.
We should expect pornography not to change the brain as there is no mechanism that explains how exactly this happens. Since watching television and videos, using social media, and playing video games has no effect on the brain (Nivins et al. 2022), we should not expect pornography to causally change the brain, too.
The fact that studies find that pornography activates areas of the brain is not something that tells us much information. Since many of these studies are based on fRMIs, with their own statistical issues, do not provide much information to support the idea of pornography addiction. However, other arguments have been used to support the idea that pornography acts like a drug. One such argument is Delta-FosB.
Delta FosB (ΔFosB) is a protein that plays a crucial role in the brain's reward system and is associated with addiction. It is a product of the FosB gene, which is a member of the Fos family of immediate early genes (IEGs). ΔFosB is unique in that it accumulates in the brain over time, persisting long after the initial exposure to drugs or addictive behaviors.
ΔFosB acts as a transcription factor, meaning it can bind to specific genes and regulate their activity. It primarily affects gene expression in the nucleus accumbens, a brain region involved in reward, motivation, and addiction.
In the context of addiction, repeated exposure to drugs or addictive behaviors leads to the accumulation of ΔFosB in the nucleus accumbens and other brain regions. This persistent accumulation of ΔFosB triggers long-lasting changes in gene expression that contribute to addiction-related behaviors and adaptations. Both Love et al. and Hilton and Watts use ΔFosB to show that drugs of different kinds lead to increases in ΔFosB, and this also includes sexual behaviors — an argument supported by Wilson in his critique on Ley, Finn, and Prause (2014). However, no mention is made of how ΔFosB has only been studied in animals, an issue since animal studies are poor predictors of human reactions (Shanks, Greek, and Greek 2009; Bracken 2009).
Wilson and others’ works go even further to showcase how pornography is like a drug, saying that pornography can affect one’s dopamine receptors (citing, for example, Mauer-Vakil and Bahji 2020). Wilson provides many animal studies showing that drugs, which are, again, compared to pornography, can lead to low dopamine receptors. However, in the only study which has investigated this among pornography users, this was not found.
In this study, questionnaires were used to measure the severity of compulsive pornography use and symptoms of depression, impulsivity, and sensation seeking. Participants underwent dopaminergic imaging using [11C]-raclopride PET to calculate striatal binding potentials and regional frontal cerebral influx values. Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL) MRI was also conducted to assess regional cerebral blood flow. The study found no differences in striatal binding potentials between individuals with and without compulsive pornography use. There was also no correlation between the severity of compulsive pornography use and striatal binding potentials. Additionally, there were no differences in cerebral influx values or cerebral blood flow measurements between the two groups. The findings suggest that the neurobiological alterations observed in other forms of addiction may not be present in compulsive pornography use, based on the results of this study (Stormezand et al. 2021).
If pornography truly were like a drug, we should expect it to act as ephemeral as actual drugs for most post people. As Chapter 7.4 demonstrates, this seems to be the case.
8.4: Ephemeral Nature of Addiction
In popular media, it’s common for a character with an addiction to some substance to struggle to quit and seek external help. In the show All American, a character named Olivia is shown to be an alcoholic. At one point, she would close herself in her room, pop pills, and drink large amounts of alcohol. When going to school or going out with friends, her water bottle would have vodka rather than water, and when confronted with this, she attempted to stop drinking. Of course, this was not the end of it, and Olivia continued to drink behind her friend’s and family’s backs, eventually needing to seek external help. As Olivia put it, addiction was a never-ending battle, and every day was a struggle to stay sober. There is, according to Olivia, no full recovery.
In contrast to the prevalent portrayal of addiction in popular media, it is worth noting that a significant proportion of various addiction types hold relevance for the majority of individuals. This encompasses a wide range of substances, behaviors, and even activities such as pornography consumption. Numerous studies examining rates of remission in substance-related addictions have consistently shown that individuals who initially meet the criteria for addiction often no longer meet these criteria within a relatively short period, often without external intervention. If we were to consider the argument made by many critics that pornography addiction is on par with drug addiction, it would be reasonable to expect a similarly ephemeral nature in the patterns associated with "pornography addiction."
In a comprehensive review conducted by Heyman (2009), an examination was carried out on the rates of remission pertaining to substance abuse, drawing upon data from four distinct studies: the 1980-84 Epidemiologic Catchment Area (ECA) study, the 1990-92 National Comorbidity Survey (NCS), the 2001-03 NCS, and the 2001-02 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). The initial study employed the revised criteria established by the American Psychological Association to define addiction while utilizing a sample that represented the entire nation. The subsequent two studies, while also employing nationally representative samples, utilized more lenient criteria for identifying addiction, where only one symptom was required as opposed to three. The final study encompassed a nationally representative sample and adhered to the diagnostic criteria outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) for addiction. Remarkably, all the aforementioned studies reported a notable prevalence of remission, with the NCS 2001-03 study exhibiting the highest remission rates. Despite variations in the criteria employed to define addiction across the studies, the findings consistently demonstrated similar outcomes.
Teesson et al. (2015) conducted a study that specifically targeted a cohort of 615 individuals who were using heroin. This research endeavor involved the assessment of various variables at multiple time points, namely baseline, 3 months, 12 months, 24 months, and 36 months post-baseline, as well as an additional assessment at 11 years post-baseline. The final sample size for analysis comprised 431 participants who were part of the Australian Treatment Outcome Study (ATOS). In order to classify individuals based on their heroin use, the researchers employed the diagnostic criteria outlined in the DSM-IV, distinguishing between those who were dependent on heroin and those who were not. Notably, the study findings demonstrated a notable trend wherein the majority of participants exhibited a decline in heroin use over time. Furthermore, a similar pattern was observed in terms of heroin dependence, with a significant proportion of individuals ceasing to meet the diagnostic criteria for dependence as the study progressed.
Darke et al. (2015) conducted an investigation within the framework of the Australian Treatment Outcome Study (ATOS) to examine the rates of abstinence among both men and women. The study involved a longitudinal design, capturing data at baseline and during subsequent waves of follow-up assessments over an 11-year period. Notably, the results revealed consistently high rates of abstinence among both genders throughout the various waves of data collection, including the baseline assessment and the long-term follow-up. This suggests that a substantial proportion of individuals involved in the study were able to maintain abstinence from substance use over an extended period.
McCabe, Cranford, and Boyd (2016) conducted a comprehensive analysis on the remission rates of various substances, including cannabis, cocaine, hallucinogens, heroin, inhalants, non-heroin opioids, sedatives, stimulants, tranquilizers, and other drugs. The study encompassed a 3-year longitudinal design involving a sample size of 921 individuals. The researchers utilized the diagnostic criteria outlined in the DSM-IV and employed the Alcohol Use Disorder and Associated Disabilities Interview Schedule (AUDADIS-IV) to measure substance use disorder. Notably, across all the different categories of drugs examined, the majority of participants exhibited abstinence during Wave I and Wave II of the study. This indicates that a substantial portion of the participants refrained from using substances during the initial stages of the study and maintained their abstinence during subsequent follow-up assessments.
Lopez-Quintero et al. (2010) conducted a study utilizing a nationally representative sample of individuals who met the DSM-IV criteria for addiction. The sample consisted of individuals struggling with various substances, including nicotine (n=6,937), alcohol (n=4,781), cannabis (n=530), and cocaine (n=408). Similar to previous studies discussed, the findings indicated a significant likelihood of remission rates increasing over time for all substance groups examined. This implies that individuals with addiction to nicotine, alcohol, cannabis, and cocaine exhibited a higher probability of recovery and cessation of substance use as the study progressed. These results are consistent with previous research suggesting that remission from addiction is a plausible outcome for individuals across different substance dependencies.
The findings presented in the systematic review conducted by Calabria et al. (2010) provide further support regarding the remission rates for amphetamine, cannabis, cocaine, and opioid dependence. The review encompassed studies examining remission rates in individuals with dependence on different types of drugs. While medium-high remission rates were identified, the specific rates varied depending on the type of drug.
According to the review, the remission rate for amphetamine dependence was found to be 0.448, while for cocaine dependence, it was 0.137, and for opioid dependence, it was 0.223. These figures suggest that the remission rates reported in this systematic review appear lower compared to those reported in the prior studies discussed.
However, a significant issue arises in the analysis of these findings. It is important to note that 9 out of 17 studies (52%) included in the review focused on individuals seeking treatment for their drug dependence. This presents a limitation as individuals who actively seek treatment may not be representative of the broader population of drug users. As highlighted by Heyman, it is well-documented that a majority of individuals who meet the criteria for addiction do not seek treatment. For instance, one large national survey conducted in 1991 found that only 30% of individuals meeting the criteria for addiction sought treatment. Another study in 2005, which involved a sample size of 43,000 individuals, reported that only 16% of those meeting addiction criteria were actually in treatment. This issue, known as "Berkson's Bias," suggests that individuals in treatment may be more likely to experience additional disorders and potentially have a higher likelihood of relapse, which could distort the actual remission rates reported in the systematic review.
Klingemann, Sobell, and Sobell (2010) emphasize the potential limitations of drawing conclusions from clinical samples of individuals seeking help for drug use. They argue that the chronic nature of drug addiction, as originally conceptualized, was based on studies involving individuals who exhibited specific characteristics associated with a lower likelihood of discontinuing drug use. Consequently, caution should be exercised in extrapolating findings from clinical samples to the broader population.
An example highlighting the potential bias is found in the previously mentioned ECA survey, where it was observed that 64% of individuals in clinics exhibited at least one additional psychiatric disorder. As Heyman points out, treatment-seeking individuals may possess distinct characteristics and higher rates of comorbidities, which can impact their capacity to quit drug use and potentially contribute to increased relapse rates.
The more recent and larger NIAAA survey reports similar results (Stinson et al., 2005), as do smaller studies. For instance, in two reports from drug clinics associated with Yale Medical School, the rate of comorbidity for cocaine and heroin addicts was 74 and 87 percent, respectively (Rounsaville et al., 1991; Rounsaville et al., 1982).
Considering these factors, it is crucial to approach generalizations derived from clinical samples with prudence when examining and interpreting research outcomes related to addiction and remission rates. The characteristics and treatment-seeking behaviors of individuals in clinical settings may not be representative of the larger population of drug users, a pitfall also experienced in a 2016 meta-analysis on the issue by Fleury et al. (2016). Thus, it is essential to acknowledge and consider the limitations and potential biases associated with clinical samples in order to arrive at more nuanced conclusions.
Given the ephemeral nature of drug abuse, it is logical that if pornography truly were like a drug, a similar nature should also be found for those with excessive sexual behavior. Indeed, of the studies that have examined the involvement of excessive behavior, they follow the same path as drug abuse — along with the lack of seeking external help.
The majority of individuals included in Thege et al. (2015) reported experiencing problematic over-involvement in a single behavior among exercising, sexual behavior, shopping, online chatting, video gaming, and eating, and this involvement was typically limited to a specific time period. Notably, a main effect of time was observed for each problem behavior, indicating a moderate decrease in the severity of symptoms over time. Furthermore, the interaction between time and sex was not significant in any of the models, suggesting that the decreasing trend in symptom severity is similar for both males and females.
Interestingly, the data also revealed notable differences in help-seeking behaviors among the various problem behaviors. Specifically, excessive sexual behavior, shopping, online chatting, and video gaming were associated with low rates of seeking professional help. Conversely, excessive eating and exercising demonstrated substantially higher rates of help-seeking.
Overall, the findings suggest that self-identified excessive involvement in exercising, sexual behavior, shopping, online chatting, video gaming, and/or eating tends to be relatively transient for the majority of individuals. These results contradict conceptualizations of addictions as inherently progressive in nature unless proper treatment is received.
Akin to Thege et al., Goodings, Williams, and Williams (2022) looked at 2 longitudinal studies from Canada and measured substance use disorder based on the DSM-IV criteria, along with gambling disorder, and other excessive behaviors (pornography/sex, shopping, gaming). In both data sets, the majority of people who met the criteria for addictive/ excessive behaviors decreased as time went on.
Those with multiple addictions saw varying values, but it’s possible that those with multiple addictions might have a cluster of traits that make it harder to quit abusing drugs and excessive behaviors, an issue that warrants further investigation.
Regardless, if critics are right to assume that pornography acts like a drug, then we should not consider it a serious “addiction” given the ephemeral nature of addiction. It seems most people can stop excessive sexual behaviors without external help, making it a rather weak type of addiction if one can stop so easily. The ephemeral nature of excessive sexual behaviors adds further evidence to the argument that pornography “addiction” is not a valid concept — and is not a hard behavior to quit.
Based on the evidence presented, I argue that pornography addiction is not a valid construct, and instead compulsive pornography use—which is predicted by many psychological and demographic variables—should be used instead. Some individuals certainly have an issue with pornography, but whether pornography is causally associated with these issues seems to be confounded by religion, moral issues, and the lack of causal and consistent relationships demonstrated in other works.
Reboot Programs
9.2: Issues with “Reboot” Claims
Some claims made by NoFap users and promoters, such as those related to semen retention, are difficult to falsify and heavily rely on anecdotal evidence, which introduces the possibility of placebo effects. For instance, in the discussion presented by Cole Hasting (2020), the concept of semen retention is described, which involves abstaining from both masturbation and sexual activities, including pornography. Cole suggests that practicing semen retention leads to various health improvements.
According to Cole's account, semen retention is purported to enhance energy levels, resulting in increased happiness, productivity, and improved sleep. It is also claimed that semen retention can boost testosterone levels and drive, even though scientific evidence supporting this specific claim is lacking. Furthermore, proponents of semen retention argue that it helps individuals find their life purpose, enhances emotional control, and attracts others by emitting a higher energetic vibration. Additionally, better muscle improvement is also cited as a potential benefit. According to one post on the forums, refraining from masturbation gave them more time on their hands, more energy, better sleep, better social skills and not viewing women as sex objects, less anxiety, more confidence, taking care of their appearance, better nutritional intake, and being clean.
In the case of Cole's video presentation, he ascribes his positive outcomes, such as heightened productivity and lifestyle changes, exclusively to semen retention. However, it is noteworthy that he concurrently made other significant alterations in his life, including discontinuing napping, modifying social activities, and ceasing cannabis consumption. These additional modifications to his lifestyle could undoubtedly exert influence on motivation, energy levels, and overall well-being. The same could be said for the post on the forums.
It is crucial to acknowledge that individual choices and the deliberate allocation of time and energy play pivotal roles in determining one's productivity and accomplishments. Blaming particular behaviors, such as sexual activities or engagement in video games, for impeding success or hindering efficiency tends to oversimplify the matter. Ultimately, individuals bear the responsibility of effectively managing their time and resources, making mindful decisions about their priorities.
Many of the claims made by NoFap users and promoters do not stand under empirical scrutiny, as demonstrated in this article. Many of the supposed negative effects from pornography NoFap is supposed to counter are misguided, specifically because these effects are not consistent, causal, or are based on interaction effects rather a one-size-fits-all model. Furthermore, many of these issues, like well-being, can be confounded by moral incongruence (See 9.3). However, while most of the claims made by NoFap users and promoters are empirically false, one of the more popular claims that deserve attention is the issue of masturbation decreasing testosterone.
The claim that abstaining from masturbation increases testosterone levels has been a topic of discussion among proponents of the NoFap movement. Some users on NoFap forums and other pro-NoFap sources (e.g. Antidopamine; Wilson’s anecdotal evidence). suggest that refraining from masturbation can lead to an increase in testosterone. However, it is important to note that the evidence supporting this claim is shaky, and the original study often referenced to support this claim has not been successfully replicated.
While anecdotal evidence and personal testimonials, such as those provided by individuals like Wilson, may suggest a perceived increase in testosterone with abstinence from masturbation, it is important to approach such accounts with caution. Anecdotal evidence is subjective and can be influenced by various factors, including placebo effects and personal biases.
Scientific research on this topic has produced mixed results. Some studies have reported a temporary increase in testosterone levels after sexual arousal or sexual activity, while others have not found a significant impact. Moreover, studies specifically examining the effects of abstaining from masturbation on testosterone levels are limited, and the available research does not provide conclusive evidence supporting a consistent and significant increase in testosterone due to abstinence from masturbation.
In the original study cited by NoFappers, 28 men were broken down into a control and experimental group. 14 males were told to abstain from masturbation for 8 days, and the other 14 were not (Jiang et al. 2003).
Figure 1 shows a temporary increase in testosterone levels on the 7th day of abstinence, followed by a subsequent decrease, suggesting that any observed increase in testosterone may be transient rather than a sustained effect of abstaining from masturbation. This is an important point that is often not highlighted by proponents of NoFap who reference this study.
It is worth noting that this study, which gained traction among NoFap users, has faced criticisms and concerns regarding its credibility. Prause (2022) discusses the issues surrounding this study, highlighting the fact that two out of the four authors could not be located, and the authors refused to disclose their data, eventually admitting that they did not possess it. These factors raise questions about the reliability and transparency of the study's findings.
Additionally, another study by Exton et al. (2001) found related results. However, it is important to consider the limitations of this study, such as its small sample size of only 10 participants. Small sample sizes can limit the generalizability and statistical power of the findings, making it difficult to draw robust conclusions.
While it is important to consider potential confounding factors that may have influenced the outcomes, the absence of replication does not invalidate the original study's findings. Replication is a crucial component of scientific inquiry, serving to confirm and strengthen research findings by independent investigators.
In the context of testosterone levels following masturbation, the study by Purvis, Cekan, and Diczfalusy (1976) examined 34 subjects who had their testosterone levels measured both before and after engaging in masturbation. Contrary to the observation made in the prior cited research, their findings indicated an increase in testosterone levels rather than a decline.
In addition, Cook and Crewther (2012) conducted a small-scale study involving 12 participants, specifically athletes. The participants were exposed to various types of videos, including pornography and aggressive content, in a randomized experimental design. Similar to the earlier study, their results revealed an increase in testosterone levels.
In a study conducted by Hellhammer, Hubert, and Schürmeyer (1985), 20 participants were exposed to full-length pornography films. The aim was to examine the impact of this stimulus on testosterone levels. The findings of the study indicated that testosterone levels increased following exposure to pornography films.
Contrary to expectations from NoFap users and promoters, pornography does not seem to lead to decreases in one’s testosterone levels.
9.3: Reboot Users and Well-Being
Based on all the evidence provided so far, there is no reason to assume that the positive effects reported by NoFap/ Reboot users and promoters display a causal relationship between abstinence and positive effects. However, evidence has indicated that when Reboot users refrained from masturbation, they did report an increase in positive psychological well-being.
Straub and Schmidt (2022) conducted a quantitative study on 21 males who refrained from masturbation and pornography for 3 weeks. After 3 weeks, those who remained abstinent from masturbation and watching pornography reported a decrease in mental and physiological fatigue, increased self-control, feeling “awake” and “inspired”, and increased motivation for social and recreational activities.
While some users may report positive effects, I will argue that many of these effects are confounded by moral incongruence rather than a causal interpretation. As has been demonstrated throughout this article, moral incongruence can lead to lower psychological well-being, lower sexual satisfaction, perceived addiction, shame, and belief about one experiencing problems related to pornography. If one stops masturbating and watching pornography, it makes sense for their well-being to increase — however, this does not suggest a causal relationship between stopping sexual activities and better well-being, but rather that stopping doing an activity one is morally against can make someone feel better.
Indeed, using the website Sub-Reddit Overlap, different Reboot forums are associated with participation in other sub-Reddits which align with moral incongruence towards pornography. (A score of 2 means that individuals are 2x more likely to post on this subreddit, too, for example.) For r/NoFap, users are 11x time more likely to post on r/sprituality, 11x for r/socialskils, 7x for r/catholicism, 6x for r/lonely and r/depression, 5x for r/christiananity and r/suicidewatch, 4x for r/anixety and r/amiugly. For users on r/Pornfree, they’re 24x for r/socialskills, 11x for r/religion, 8x for r/catholicism, and 4x for depression, to name a few.
Given some of the subreddit overlaps, it makes sense for those who follow Reboot programs to have moral issues with pornography, which in turn leads to issues due to going against one’s own morals. Other evidence also indicates that some users of Reboot programs might use pornography as an escape mechanism to counter negative emotions; and as has been demonstrated in this article, using pornography as an escape from negative emotions can lead to other issues. Qualitative evidence from Reboot users demonstrates support for the porn-as-escape model.
According to evidence gathered by Chasioti and Binnie (2021),
“Pornography consumption is regarded as a comfort zone and presented as a non-intimidating practice. On this basis, it can be argued that under these circumstances, pornography usage can be conceived as a psychological form of dissociation, acting as a defence mechanism against the prolonged violation experienced in adolescence.”
As one person said, “I don’t know how all began. I am pretty sure it actually started when girls started to call me ugly. Afterwards I somehow turned to porn (No. 3, 169–170).” Another person said, “Currently, I have no release, just these thoughts of insecurity and helplessness in my mind, telling me no matter how much money I earn, how much time I spend in the gym, how good clothes I wear I will never have an opportunity with an attractive girl. I am easily triggered to this state when walking around in the city and noticing hot girls (always measuring up their boyfriends, comparing them to myself and feeling lackluster) (No. 12, 1130–1134).”
Based on these lines of evidence, Reboot users turning to pornography as an escape mechanism from pre-existing issues makes sense. As Reboot programs teach false claims about the effects of pornography, it could lead to moral incongruence. Thus, the reported positive effects of Reboot can be biased by moral incongruence but also can mean that issues with pornography do not stem from pornography itself, but an issue stemming from pornography-as-escape and moral incongruence together. A placebo effect, of sorts.
The possibility that Reboot programs can cause harm is one that deserves further investigation. Prause and Binnie (2023) note that Reboot programs strongly encourage remaining abstinent, and as found in their rank-order correlation, relapsing (i.e., failing to remain abstinent) was associated with feeling suicidal.
Involvement in NoFap was positively associated with negative emotions at last relapse (rho = .27, p = .0001).
Among users, depression, anxiety, narcissism, and belief in conspiracy theories were associated with self-perceptions of being pornography addicts.
The results of the study indicated a significant positive correlation between the level of involvement in NoFap forums and self-reported anxiety (rho = 0.20, p < .001) as well as depression (rho = 0.18, p < .001). Additionally, a significant negative correlation was observed between forum involvement and self-reported erectile difficulties (rho = -0.15, p = .007).
Based on the available lines of evidence, Reboot programs are wrong in their claims about the effects of pornography, whether it be the effects it has on psychological and social well-being (as indicated in the previous chapters), testosterone, and the self-perceived positive effects from abstinence. The self-perceived positive effects can be due to the removal of moral incongruence, and watching pornography can serve as an escape, to some degree. Together, they make a toxic pairing in which pornography, not pre-existing and moral issues with pornography itself, is blamed. Furthermore, the evidence does indicate harm stemming from involvement with Reboot programs, which can further lead to distress and the possibility that this distress is blamed on pornography.
Mulya and Hald (2014) report negative effects for attitudes towards sex for both genders.
In my last semester of law school in 2004, in my Scientific Evidence and the Law class, I wrote my class paper on this very subjective. I was ready to get out of school and picked the topic just be be an asshole. I was always a little embarrassed about it later. Anyway, my findings were similar to this guy's, but his are more current and thorough. A must read article to counter the trad-cons.
https://open.substack.com/pub/blackfrancis/p/a-critical-analysis-on-the-effects?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=3s6rbq