Without good sex-ed, porn does more harm than good

Don’t make it a habit. 

16 February, 2023
Without good sex-ed, porn does more harm than good

Speaking from experience, I wish I didn’t watch as much porn as I used to back in the day. While I made the most of my super fast Internet, the effects of watching it for hours took a toll on my mental health (As a teenager, I didn’t know what mental health was). It took me a lot of time to realise that while I had those few minutes of satisfaction (no pun intended), the lull that followed when I was doing anything but watching porn made me restless and want to go back on my screen at the very earliest. Sometimes, you really don’t know when to stop. It doesn’t just mess up the brain and the way you think, but also takes a toll on your relationships. 

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Porn messes up your brain

Anything that you get addicted to, affects the brain. Porn floods the mind with dopamine and an overload of this happy hormone makes one completely dependent on its source for happiness, in this case, porn. This has a snowball effect as we then search for more porn videos to get that rush. Over a period of time, porn users get used to the content they watch, and need new ways to be aroused. Watching excessive porn doesn’t leave you the time or headspace to do anything else, or anything healthy for that matter, and thus follows moody behaviour, grumpiness and restlessness, if you do not watch it for some time. It’s like being addicted to drugs. 

It ruins your sex life

Porn stars set high, often unrealistic, expectations of what your partner should like or what they should do in bed. When you consume excessive porn, you eventually tend to be less happy with the way your partner looks, their willingness to try new things in bed, and their sexual performance. These high standards of beauty and sexual performance prove to be unhealthy in relationships in the long run. The physical presence of your partner will cease to excite you and may not seem as enticing as two strangers indulging in the act on screen do.

It blurs the line between reality and fantasy

According to researchers from Newcastle University in the UK, excessive watching of porn blurs the line in your head between reality and fantasy, making you see relationships differently. One tends to start feeling and appreciating their partner way less compared to those who don’t watch porn at all. You start viewing them in a certain way and if your life is nothing like the videos you watch, that’s when and where the problems start to arise. You start viewing the sex that you’re attracted to as nothing but sexual objects and become extremely critical of their physical appearance. One tends to also experience less intimacy, feel more anxious, and close themselves in a shell with their partner. 

Porn and consent 

It's not uncommon for porn to show non-consensual sexual activity and often, promotes certain sexual scripts that portray certain behaviours as 'consent' when they are not. For instance, a 1995 study showed that people who consumed more non-consensual porn also believed in more rape myths such as women who go to someone's house on being invited are agreeing to have sex. Having said that, research also showed that people are able to evaluate what is consent and what is not, in pornographic films. So while sex education in India and across the globe hasn't caught up yet, it's safe to say, many youngsters aren't equipped to apply the correct sexual scripts in reality.

Porn can aggravate body image issues

You don't have to look a certain way or do certain things, as shown in porn to enjoy a good sex life. Porn tends to show people in a certain way, and that body standard is not real.
 

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