In today’s time and age, porn has become an intrinsic part of a person’s life. In fact, the sad bit is that most teenagers, while beginning to explore the world of sex and intimacy, end up doing the same through the means of porn. And that is because porn is the most easily accessible form of sexual content. But does porn give out the right and real knowledge regarding what sex really is all about? No, it doesn’t. Rather porn is more about an unrealistic superfluous form of sex. And that is one of the biggest side effects of watching porn amongst many other.

Studies have conclusively found that more than 70% of men and 30% of women watch porn on a daily basis. Furthermore, more than 30% of the total internet bandwidth comprises pornography and every second around $3,075.64 is spent on porn around the world. That is how deeply porn is rooted in a person’s life. 

But is that a problem? Why can porn not be part of one’s daily life? After all, 1 out of 3 people watches it regularly. Are there any side effects of watching porn? Well, yes, the side effects of watching porn can be severe on a person’s life. In fact, you must know that the side effects of watching porn are multi-dimensional and affect, not just physical health, but also a person’s mental health, spiritual health, relationships etc. So what exactly are these side effects? Let us find out.

Side Effects of Watching Porn

Now that we have established that the side effects of watching porn excessively are generally quite drastic on a person’s life and growth, it is time we discover what exactly these side effects of watching porn are and what you can do to make sure you get over this addiction and lead a healthier and happier life. We will discuss all of it in detail here, take a look.

Porn Desensitizes You to Reality

When one is just starting to watch porn, one reacts to it quickly. This means that they will be able to achieve an erection right away and getting an orgasm is also relatively easier for one. However, over the years when one gets hooked to porn and it becomes a part of their daily life and is more of a routine and less of an occasional watch, gradually they start to get desensitized to it. 

It is the same effect that occurs while playing a game or watching a violent movie. After a while, you stop feeling as much for it as you did when you start, rather you stick to it because it has become a part of your routine. 

In the same manner, continuously watching porn for years, makes you desensitized and it will take you a while before you can get an erection and an eternity to finally achieve an orgasm. To put it simply, this is a direct result of what your brain starts to construe as normal behaviour on your part and creates a misaligned relation to reality, which further affects the way you perceive things.

Furthermore, when one gets used to jerking off after watching the false portrayal of sex, they end up looking forward to the same in their real life as well. However, the performance you see by the actors in these porn movies is nowhere close to the reality of how things work out in the bedroom with your partner. 

Rather, the way these actors behave on camera, especially the women is the result of a well-thought-of script as well as revised acting for each and every scene enacted by them. But when one gets accustomed to these scenes and acting the reality of their partner in the bedroom is not enough for them, and it becomes difficult for them to perform to the reality.

The falsified representation of sex by the means of pornography makes a regular consumer of porn accustomed to unrealistic stimuli. Thus, when reality does not match the unrealistic standards of porn, it results in Erectile Dysfunction.

Lastly, the unrealistic world of porn makes one volatile, and they find themselves indulging in aggressive sexual behaviour which involves violence and promiscuity with or without their partner’s consent.

Porn negatively affects your interpersonal relationships

Have you reached a point where you have found it difficult to bond with your partner at a deeper level beyond sex? Have you felt that your partner is not performing the way you have seen the actors in porn films do, and that makes you angry and disappointed? If yes, then you need to understand that you are at a point where pornography has started having a direct impact on your interpersonal relationships.

As we previously discussed, pornography takes you to a world of unrealistic sexual experiences, but you fail to discern between the on-camera performance and the one that occurs between two partners off the camera, in the bedroom. And this issue is much bigger than your anticipation as this will directly hamper your current relationships as well as your ability to create new relations in future.

Due to the massive influence of porn on you, after a point, your sexual partners become mere objects for you and you fail to recognise their worth as a person. This objectification then amounts to you having unrealistic expectations from them in bed. At this point, you are no longer treating your partner, rather you are treating them as a means to the end of an orgasm.

Furthermore, being influenced by porn you end up believing that sex is all about fulfilling your personal needs and requirements in bed and not about your partners. And thus, the only focus for you in bed is to achieve an orgasm yourself and not be bothered by whether or not your parent is able to achieve one as well.

Porn creates addictive tendencies

We are aware of how bad addictions of certain types can be. Specifically, addictions such as that hard drugs, alcohol etc. This is because these addictions take over our lives and consume us. A porn addiction is just as bad as any of these other vices. This is because a porn addiction will make you dependent on it much like any other addiction. 

In fact, once you are addicted to porn, you will start prioritising it over any other work in your life, no matter how important. As per studies, more than 51% of men tend to watch porn while they are in the office. These men have the tendency to prioritise watching porn over their work because they cannot wait for the next ‘high’ that they get from watching porn.

This addiction affects various aspects of an addict’s life as they start to choose porn over their partner, their friends, family, social gatherings etc. They also tend to get aggressive and irritable if they do not have easy access to porn when they get an urge, which results in erratic behaviour such as watching porn wherever and whenever they can access it, even if that is a public place or an office environment.

Too much porn can result in premature ejaculation

As per studies, the average time spent by men on porn sites is around 12 minutes. For reference, it takes a lot more time in real life with a partner, to initiate sex and conclude it. But the fact, that virtually it takes about only 12 minutes can sound improbable to you and we don’t blame you. This is because, in the world of pornography, a viewer achieves instant gratification. 

Over time, when one gets accustomed to the pornographic world of sex while having real-world sex with a real partner in the real world, they would not be able to perform and would rather end up ejaculating prematurely. So unless you want to be a one-pump chump, it is time to work on your porn addiction.

How Much Porn is Too Much Porn?

If you watch porn every now or then, or maybe a couple of times a week, does that make you an addict? How do you know that you are watching too much porn and need intervention? Well, watching porn occasionally or a couple of times a week does not make you an addict. 

This is so because, porn is not intrinsically a vice, rather it is only a matter of volume and consumption that makes it a problem. There are certain red flags that you need to check for if you think you might be addicted to porn.

The biggest red flag is that you might be covering your repeated porn-viewing activity as a habit, but still do not find yourself satisfied despite having watched it over and over again. It is the fact that no matter how many times you watch porn, whether once a day or five times a day, if you do not feel satisfied and instead keep looking forward to another session and the ‘high’ that will come it, then watching porn maybe more than just a habit for you and its time for introspection.

You need to make sure to address these red flags before they become so big that it causes irreparable damage. As, even if you could not at first hand identify these red flags, there is a good chance that your partner could and your unwillingness to work on these red flags could be a deal breaker for them. And that most certainly is not good for you. Thus, it is time to take charge of your life.

What can you do about it?

The first and most important step is understanding and accepting that there is a problem that needs to be addressed. And just by being here today, you have proved that you have taken the first step, so kudos to you, we are proud of you. 

The next step is to work towards deaddiction, and there are various means which can help you through it. The first and most important one is to know the reason why you should overcome this addiction. It can be about anything from your mental and physical health to your love for your partner.

Once you know the reason why you should put in all the hard work to abstain from the pleasure that you look forward to by the means of porn, it becomes relatively easier to fight your urges. You can also work through this by blocking porn completely from your life. And we can help you with this regard, as our Blocerx app will help you block access to porn completely to ensure that you do not end up giving in to your urges. 

Another way to check your porn addiction and work on overcoming it is to join a support group. Such groups comprise people who have had similar experiences in life or are going through a similar experience in life at the point. All of them come together to help each other cope with their addictions and overcome it. You can become a part of our Blockerx community and get in touch with people from all around the world with similar experiences as yours who are ready to lend you a non-judgement lending ear, as well as a helping hand.

Final Words

Similar to other kinds of addictions, porn addiction can also have a negative effect on your mental and physical health. In fact, the side effects of watching porn are so many, as well as so grave in nature that it is definitely worth overcoming it. We understand that it is not a cakewalk to overcome an addiction and that it takes a lot of time and work. 

However, what you need to remember is that with every day’s hard work that you put in you are getting a step closer to your goal of deaddiction from pornography. In fact, we are here with various helpful features in the Blockerx app which will not just make sure that you come out of this harmful addiction, but also ensure that you do not relapse. Believe me when I tell you, overcoming porn addiction is going to be one of the best decisions that you take for yourself and your relationships.