Does pornography really ruin your brain? This video dives into the science behind how porn affects your brain, mental health, and relationships. Learn the shocking truth about its impact on dopamine, addiction, and emotional well-being. Watch now to understand the risks and how to protect your mind!
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00:00bad lighting, bad acting, bad dialogue,
00:03awful music, and lots of sex.
00:06Pornography can be a very sensitive subject
00:09since there are many different opinions about it.
00:11Whether you like it or hate it,
00:13we can all agree that watching pornography,
00:15like anyone else, has an effect on your brain.
00:18But what does watching porn do?
00:20And how often do you need to watch
00:22for effects to take place?
00:23Let's dive into the world of science
00:26to explain what pornography does to your brain.
00:29Effects of availability.
00:32When you think of porn, you might go right to the 70s
00:35with the shag carpets and pizza boy plot lines.
00:38But when we think of porn, the word taboo comes to mind.
00:42The fact that you've watched porn
00:44used to be something that was looked down upon
00:46and never spoken of.
00:47You know, like saying Voldemort's name.
00:50Shoot, I said it.
00:52Nowadays, it's much less of an elephant in the room.
00:55With the rise of the internet,
00:56pornography, like most everything else,
00:59became much more available.
01:01In his 2002 book, Striptease Culture,
01:04Brian McNair states about half of all internet activity
01:08is sex-related.
01:09Fast forward to 2004, MSNBC and Elle magazine
01:13did a study regarding pornography
01:14where out of 15,246 participants,
01:1875% of the men and 41% of the women
01:22stated they had downloaded pornography via the internet.
01:25In the 2008 book, The Porning of America,
01:28they explained this phenomenon.
01:30Once porn became available on demand
01:34and it didn't risk a computer virus with every third click,
01:37more escalated topics were searched
01:40and more people watched porn in general.
01:42Less problems, more pleasure.
01:44When smartphones came out,
01:45teenagers jumped on the bandwagon
01:47and boosted the numbers once more.
01:49It's a mobile computer that can be taken
01:52out of adult supervision range.
01:54Kind of the perfect storm if you think about it.
01:56Effects on the brain.
01:59In a study done by researcher and author, Barry Gunter,
02:02he found that teen males were more interested
02:05in more erotic types of pornography
02:07and wished they could experience it for real.
02:09It was also found that if the participant
02:11had a more positive or accepting opinion of pornography,
02:14they would be more often aroused when watching.
02:17Well, duh.
02:18I don't think that we needed a study
02:19to tell us that last part.
02:21Anyway, Patrick Fagan, PhD,
02:23compiled research on the effect of pornography
02:25on married individuals with families.
02:28Through his research, Fagan found that pornography
02:31can change someone's opinion or perception of what sex is.
02:35He also noted that males who regularly watched pornography
02:38had a higher tolerance for some fun
02:40and weird stuff in the bedroom.
02:42We see you, Christian Grey.
02:44They also may have a higher tolerance
02:46for seeing someone as an object
02:48rather than a person with value.
02:51Effects of addiction.
02:53Unlike anything else,
02:54too much of a good thing can have negative effects,
02:56so moderation is key.
02:58Look, chocolate cake is amazing,
03:00but you can't have a slice of decadent,
03:02sugary chocolate cake every day.
03:05Eventually, that can catch up
03:06with our physical health and bodies.
03:08The same thing can happen with your mind.
03:10In 2015, a group of researchers stated,
03:13frequent pornography exposure hasn't been fully studied,
03:17so there may be a lot more to the picture
03:19than what we know now.
03:21In 2011, Donald Hilton Jr. and Clark Watts
03:24did a study on pornography addiction.
03:27They found that the brain activity
03:28produced by cocaine addiction
03:29was identical to brain activity from pornography addiction.
03:34A similar study was done in 2004 with methamphetamines
03:37and had similar findings.
03:39So your aunt with a shopping addiction
03:41who's always ordering off Amazon
03:42or home shopping networks all at the same time,
03:45her brain might look a little something like this too.
03:48It's not all bad.
03:50We know that there's limited information on the subject
03:53and the majority of it sounds really awful.
03:56So Gary Wilson came out in 2016 to remind us
03:59that we can't just say, oh, you watch porn?
04:01You see people as objects and are a trash human.
04:05No, no, no, pump the brakes, baby cakes.
04:08He found that the times we saw more extreme negative effects
04:11from pornography overuse,
04:13that the same person also showed evidence
04:15and indications of mental illness.
04:17So there may have been other reasons
04:18as to why this person justified
04:20negative sexual preferences with pornography.
04:23Also in 2016, another study was done
04:25regarding acceptance of pornography in marriages.
04:28So for the rest of us,
04:30how do you feel about your spouse watching porn?
04:33In this study, it was found that the majority of the couples
04:35didn't mind their spouse watching porn
04:37when they both engaged.
04:38Maybe not necessarily in the same room at the same time,
04:41but you get it.
04:42Specifically wives in the study
04:45felt positively towards pornography
04:47as it's a way for them to gauge sexual satisfaction.
04:51You see something you like, you try it out.
04:53It might be a good time.
04:54Pornography can still be a sensitive subject to some,
04:58but to others, it may be a part of their relationship
05:00or their self-care routine.
05:02No matter what our experience or relationship with porn is,
05:06one thing is for certain.
05:07If we consume it, it can affect our brain in some way.
05:11Have you noticed any changes in yourself
05:13after watching porn?
05:14Has watching pornography helped your relationship?
05:17Let us know in the comments below.
05:19As always, keep an eye on PSY for more Psych2Go content.
05:22See you next time.
05:23The studies and references used in
05:25and to create this video are listed below.