- [Narrator] Bad lighting, bad acting, bad dialogue,
awful music and lots of sex.
Pornography can be a very sensitive subject
since there are many different opinions about it
whether you like it or hate it.
We can all agree that watching pornography
like anyone else has an effect on your brain.
But what does watching porn do
and how often do you need to watch
for effects to take place?
Let's dive into the world
of science to explain what pornography does
to your brain.
Effects of availability.
When you think of porn, you might go right to the seventies
with the shag carpets and pizza boy plot lines.
But when we think of porn, the word taboo comes to mind.
The fact that you watched porn
used to be something
that was looked down upon and never spoken of.
You know, like saying Voldemort's name, shoot, I said it.
Nowadays, it's much less of an elephant in the room.
With the rise of the internet, pornography,
like most everything else, became much more available.
In his 2002 book Strip Tease Culture, Brian McNair states,
about half of all internet activity is sex related.
Fast forward to 2004, MSNBC and Elle Magazine
did a study regarding pornography
where out of 15,246 participants, 75% of the men
and 41% of the women stated they had downloaded pornography
via the internet.
In the 2008 book, the Porning of America.
They explained this phenomenon.
Once porn became available on demand
and it didn't risk a computer virus
with every third click.
More escalated topics were searched
and more people watched porn in general,
less problems, more pleasure.
Once smartphones came out, teenagers jumped
on the bandwagon and boosted the numbers once more.
It's a mobile computer that can be taken
out of adult supervision range.
Kind of the perfect storm if you think about it
Effects on the brain.
In a study done by researcher and author Barrie Gunter,
he found that teen males were more interested
in more erotic types of pornography
and wished they could experience it for real.
It was also found that
if the participant had a more positive
or accepting opinion of pornography,
they would be more often aroused when watching.
Well, duh.
I don't think that we needed a study
to tell us that last part.
Anyway, Patrick Fagan PhD compiled research
on the effect of pornography
on married individuals with families.
Through his research, Fagan found
that pornography can change someone's opinion
or perception of what sex is.
He also noted that males who regularly watched pornography
had a higher tolerance
for some fun and weird stuff in the bedroom,
we see you Christian Gray.
They also may have a higher tolerance
for seeing someone as an object,
rather than a person with value.
Effects of addiction.
Like anything else too much of a good thing
can have negative effects, so moderation is key.
Look chocolate cake is amazing,
but you can't have a slice
of decadent sugary chocolate cake every day.
Eventually that can catch up
with our physical health and bodies.
The same thing can happen with your mind.
In 2015, a group of researchers stated,
frequent pornography exposure hasn't been fully studied
so there may be a lot more
to the picture than what we know now.
In 2011, Donald Hilton Jr. and Clark Watts
did a study on pornography addiction.
They found that the brain activity produced
by cocaine addiction was identical
to brain activity from pornography addiction.
A similar study was done in 2004,
with methamphetamines and had similar findings.
So, your aunt with a shopping addiction
who's always ordering off Amazon
or home shopping networks, all at the same time,
her brain might look a little something like this too.
It's not all bad.
We know that there's limited information
on the subject and the majority of it sounds really awful.
So Gary Wilson came out in 2016 to remind us
that we can't just say, oh, you watch porn,
you see people as objects, and are a trash human.
No, no, no.
Pump the brakes, baby cakes.
We found that the times we saw
more extreme negative effects from pornography overuse,
that the same person also showed evidence and indications
of mental illness.
So there may have been other reasons
as to why this person justified
negative sexual preferences with pornography.
Also, in 2016, another study was done regarding acceptance
of pornography and marriages.
So for the rest of us
how do you feel about your spouse watching porn?
In this study, it was found that the majority of the couples
didn't mind their spouse watching porn
when they both engaged.
Maybe not necessarily in the same room
at the same time, but you get it.
Specifically, wives in the study felt positively
towards pornography as it's a way for them
to gauge sexual satisfaction.
You see something you like, you try it out,
might be a good time.
Pornography can still be a sensitive subject to some,
but to others it may be a part of their relationship
or their self-care routine.
No matter what our experience or relationship with porn is
one thing is for certain.
If we consume it, it can affect our brain in some way.
Have you noticed any changes
in yourself after watching porn?
Has watching pornography helped your relationship?
Let us know in the comments below.
As always, keep an eye on site
for more Psych2Go content content.
See you next time.
The studies and references used
in and to create this video are listed below.