Watching porn isn’t bad for your sex life, study confirms

If, like the UK government, you read the Daily Mail and have absolutely no sex, you probably think that porn is bad for you – that it causes erectile dysfunction, negatively impacts body image, and decreases sexual satisfaction. Though there may be anectotal evidence to support these suggestions, there’s rarely the science to back them up. 

In fact, studies have often proved the opposite. A 2018 report found no link between watching porn and women’s problems with their body image or relationships, while a 2019 study asserted that a preference for porn-like sex doesn’t undermine men’s sexual satisfaction. Research also conducted last year found “little if no evidence” that porn use causes delayed ejaculation and erectile dysfunction.

Now, a new study debunks these misconceptions further, confirming that watching porn doesn’t negatively impact sexual satisfaction or mental wellbeing.

Published in the Sexual and Relationship Therapy journal, the study asked 252 heterosexual men and women about the frequency of their online pornography use. The survey also assessed their mental wellbeing, sexual and body satisfaction, as well as sexist attitudes towards both men and women.

Researchers wanted to explore these potential correlations through individuals’ susceptibility to media effects. The authors identified one key variable as the perceived realism of porn – basically: if a person thinks what they see on adult sites is reflective of IRL sex, are they more likely to be negatively impacted by it in their actual sex lives?

Unsurprisingly, results showed that 79 per cent of respondents had watched porn in the last three months, while 85 per cent had in their lifetime. The study found no significant link between porn use and mental health, sexual satisfaction, body image, or sexism. 

Although 80 per cent of participants said they believed that the sex portrayed in porn was either “unrealistic” or “somewhat unrealistic”, researchers found no evidence that this belief had an impact in the relationship between porn and any of the above outcomes.

“These results arguably provide some evidence that the correlates of normative (porn use) may not be as pervasive or significant as some literature would have us believe,” the study’s authors said. They did, however, address the limitations of the study, including the fact that their participants didn’t include anyone from the LGBTQ+ community.

“Continuing to understand the positive uses and influences of online sexually explicit material through research may further challenge the cultural discourses focused on harm, and potentially contribute to healthier and more fulfillilng sex lives,” concluded the researchers. “If evidence suggests that these stimuli are not inherently/unconditionally harmful, there may be more scope to explore potential beneficial applications or adjunctive uses within clinical settings.”