Key Takeaway

Pornography’s evolution reflects diverse user motivations, from addressing sexual dissatisfaction and stress relief to self-exploration and addiction concerns, with convenience and instant gratification shaping modern consumption patterns.

Porn: Understanding its Evolution and its Relationship with Users

Have you ever wondered how many people watch porn? Pornography was created for the sole purpose of sexual arousal or excitement but these days both research and anecdotal evidence show that people watch porn for different reasons. The evolution of technology and the internet are inextricably linked with the evolution of pornography.  

With such popularity, porn has reached every household. This generational influence has shaped people’s minds behind closed doors. Now the demand and market for pornography have completely changed.

Very little research has been conducted on the relationship between users and pornographic content. From the studies that are currently present, we can understand patterns in viewers. 

Why do people watch porn?

In addition, participants were polled about their current mood, sexual excitement, and need to masturbate before and after watching Internet pornography in a private setting.

Data revealed that IPD tendencies increased as feelings of peacefulness decreased, and there is a direct correlation between reported stress in everyday life and the use of Internet pornography for excitation seeking and emotional avoidance. 

People who participated in the study said that after using porn to distract themselves from emotional stress they felt a slight change in mood, a more elevated and light feeling was noted.  

Neurotransmitters like dopamine and oxytocin that are released during masturbation and watching porn can affect your mood by clearing your thoughts and creating an instant high, maybe even leading to post-nut clarity. 

What is post-nut clarity? 

Post-nut clarity is the sudden clarity of mind or clear-headedness that a person experiences after orgasm. Most men say that they have experienced this state. Either post-nut clarity brings in profound thoughts or a feeling of immediate shame or guilt.  

That said, let’s take a detailed look at some common reasons that contribute to people visiting the pron sites:

Lack of sexual satisfaction  

How many people are sexually satisfied? The numbers vary throughout the world but a large portion of the population lacks sexual satisfaction. To compensate for this lack of sexual satisfaction people turn to pornography. 

Through porn, people try to find ways they can solely pleasure themselves.  

When more than 6,400 young pornographers were polled, many said it had some self-perceived negative consequences in their lives. One in four study participants reported a general decline in sexual satisfaction as one of the unfavorable outcomes. The desire for more stimulation to achieve orgasm was also mentioned, which was an unwelcome side effect of porn usage. 

This can turn into a vicious cycle where you try to find sexual satisfaction only through porn. 

Some acknowledged putting their fundamental necessities and responsibilities on hold in order to watch porn. This was frequent among persons who claimed to be addicted to pornography. Those who admitted to watching pornography before the age of 12 were far more likely to believe that their behavior was inappropriate. 

Self-exploration 

People who are new to understanding their sexual needs tend to watch pornography. They use it as a way to understand what their body might like and even find out more about their sexuality and attraction toward people.  

Sexual exploration is seen quite often during adolescence when puberty has caused a peek in hormones and interest in sexual feelings. Through experimentation with their bodies, people explore more of their sexuality.

Some people take porn as a way to learn about sex. Porn should not be used as a replacement for sex education as it is a misrepresentation of sex in real life. But most people encounter porn first before they encounter actual sex education.  

Stress reduction  

As discussed, earlier people tend to use porn as a way to avoid their true feelings, this is also seen with stress. This stress may be from work relationships or even sexual tension.  

Ejaculation or reaching orgasm releases hormones like oxytocin which is known to give a relaxing effect. But these feelings of being relaxed may leave soon as they are only temporary effects. But constant use of porn may add to the stress. So, it is important to be mindful of that. 

Sometimes, people may even want to reach a state of post-nut clarity wherein they do not feel cluttered with a lot of thoughts but reach a state of calmness. 

A sexual outlet other than sex 

There are people who use porn as a sexual outlet rather than watch porn. Since the beginning of time, sex has been the most common way to indulge in sexual pleasure but as humans evolved, they created other ways like pornographic films and sex toys.  

Pornographic films gained popularity over time as it was always available on tape or mediums but on the other hand, sex needs certain conditions, like a place to indulge in the activity, a specific mood, or even a partner to begin with. 

Sex can also be a lot to handle for some people. Emotions are involved and a state of vulnerability. This may be quite difficult for some. In sex, you cannot predict your next step and it might not always work out the way you want it to.  

When you embrace sex, it becomes interesting and fun and not so nerve-wracking. 

Compulsion/Addiction

And finally, some people do become addicted to pornography. According to a recent Cambridge study, porn addiction can trigger the same brain activity as drug addiction (Though, researchers also said that this does not necessarily mean that porn itself is addictive).

The differences between “normal” porn usage and porn addiction aren’t that dissimilar to the differences between moderate social drinking and alcoholism.  

But wait how do you recognise porn addiction?

Well, porn usage may have crossed over into full-tilt porn addiction if a partner shows all or most of this behavior:

• replacing other normal social and recreational activities (including, but not limited to sex with their partner) with porn usage
• neglecting basic self-care and responsibilities (work, school, sleep, exercise, etc.) due to porn consumption
• becomes defensive or belligerent if questioned about his or her porn usage
• is desperately secretive about his or her excessive porn usage

You’ll know if this is the case—so no need to jump to this as the first conclusion if you suddenly discover your partner has a taste for porn. But if the signs are there, consider counseling. 

Convenience

The porn industry has gone to great lengths to make porn more convenient and all the more appealing. They make it look like it’s low effort. From its distribution to its availability 24×7, porn is everywhere. It is hidden on social media, openly found on many websites and you don’t need to put in a lot of work to find it.  

Porn is something you carry around everywhere with you, don’t believe me? You probably carry your phone everywhere you, and you can access porn through your phones so, technically you carry porn with you.  

This kind of convenience has never been seen before. Sometimes people need to be equally motivated to start something, but porn makes it so appealing and convenient that you feel like you do not require a lot of activation energy. 

Instant gratification 

Instant gratification is a term used to describe the temptation to forsake future benefits in order to obtain a more immediate but less rewarding benefit now. 

Instant gratification is seen everywhere, whether it is food, entertainment, or sex. There is always a faster and cheaper alternative. Good food is replaced by junk food, for entertainment, it is the television and for sex it is porn. 

Porn may give a temporary feeling of satisfaction but later on, you may feel guilt or even shame. In real-life relationships, there is a lot more effort required to get to know someone, date them, and eventually be sexually intimate. But with porn, it is all instantaneous. 

Relationships can feel more secure and rewarding in the long run as there is an assurance of being with a person, rather than relying on flashing images on a screen. 

Conclusion

Here are some of the reasons why people watch porn. With the evolution of technology and accordingly human behavior, we might even see other reasons why people might watch porn