Life
How Watching Adult Films Affects Your Sex Life
You probably don't think too much on your porn viewing habits. I know I don't. But whether you truly enjoy watching porn or just use it as a means to an end, new research published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine found there are three specific types of porn users out there. Most importantly, the type of porn user you are can say a lot about your sex life.
Researchers from the Université Laval in Quebec wanted to see how porn use affected the sex lives of people who had similar porn using habits. More specifically, they wanted to identify any sex-related problems associated with different types of porn use. So they took a sample of 830 adults and asked them to complete online surveys. Participants were asked to discuss their porn viewing habits from how they access it to how they felt after watching it to how compulsive their usage was. They were also questioned on their tendencies to avoid sex, sexual dysfunction issues, and how satisfied they were with their sex lives overall.
Once researchers had all the survey responses, they found that most people fit into one of three distinct profiles of porn users: recreational, non-compulsive, and compulsive. Here's a breakdown of each profile and what that could mean for your sex life:
1Recreational
Recreational users made up 75.5 percent of the total number of respondents. People who fell into this category only watched porn for an average of 24 minutes per week. Because of that, their sex lives were the healthiest overall. People in this category reported to having higher sexual satisfaction, lower sexual compulsivity, avoidance, and dysfunction. As researchers noted, women and people in relationships were overrepresented in this group.
2Highly Distressed Non-Compulsive
About 12.7 percent of people fell into this group. On average, people watched porn for about 17 minutes per week. While these users were less active than those in the recreational category, they reported to having higher levels of emotional distress after viewing porn. Because of that, more people reported to having sexual dysfunction. They were also more likely to avoid sex altogether. People in this category are also known as "at risk."
3Compulsive
Compulsive users made up 11.8 percent of respondents. People in this category watched porn an average of 110 minutes per week. So obviously, levels of sexual compulsivity were high. Sexual dysfunction was also lower for those in this category. However, people were less satisfied with their sex lives overall and many reported to having higher levels of sexual avoidance. In other words, these people watch a ton of porn at the expense of their own sex life. Men were more likely to fit the compulsive profile.
Overall, the study confirms that the way you consume porn can affect your sex life without you knowing. It's something to be mindful of. If you notice it having negative affects on your your emotional state or your sex life in any way, it's important to address the situation and take the necessary steps you you need to fix any issues.
