Porn-Induced Male Sexual Dysfunction

Source: Shutterstock, Willequet Manuel

Male sexual dysfunction appears to be an increasingly common consequence of heavy porn use. This is true with straight, bi, and gay men alike. Both research and clinical experience show that using pornography can cause men of all ages and all sexual orientations to experience sexual dysfunction, be it erectile dysfunction (ED), delayed ejaculation (DE), or the inability to reach orgasm (anorgasmia).

One large-scale study of porn users found that 23% of porn-using men under age 35 (i.e., men in their sexual prime) report some level of sexual dysfunction (most often erectile dysfunction) when having sex with a real-world partner. This study also tells us:

• The amount of porn a man watches is linked to ED. More porn equals more ED.
• Heavy porn users take significantly longer than other men to reach orgasm with a real-world partner. They may struggle to reach orgasm at all.
• Heavy porn use is linked to an overall dissatisfaction with real-world sex.

Sadly, porn-induced sexual dysfunction affects not just male porn users but their romantic partners, regardless of gender. If a man can’t get it up, keep it up, or reach orgasm, then his partner’s sexual pleasure and self-esteem are also likely to be diminished. Some porn users find themselves ending an existing relationship with someone they genuinely care about because of the shame they feel when they can’t perform sexually, or their partner ends it for them because they don't feel a healthy sexual and romantic connection and don't know why.

It is important to understand that such struggles are not physical in nature. Nor are they related to the frequency of masturbation and orgasm (i.e., the need for a sexual refractory period). Instead, problems with ED, DE, and anorgasmia are tied to the fact that when a male spends 80, 90, or even 100% of his sexual energy viewing and masturbating to pornography, he is, over time, likely to struggle with a lone real-world partner.

The most common signs of porn-induced male sexual dysfunction include:

• A man can achieve erections and orgasms with pornography, but he struggles with one or both when he’s with a real-world partner.
• A man can have sex and achieve orgasm with real-world partners, but reaching orgasm takes a long time and his partners complain that he seems disengaged.
• A man can maintain an erection with real-world partners, but he can only achieve orgasm by replaying porn clips in his mind.
• A man increasingly prefers pornography to real-world sex, finding it more intense and more engaging.

Exacerbating matters is the fact that Viagra, Cialis, and similar erection-enhancing drugs don’t help with porn-induced erectile dysfunction. This is because those drugs work by stimulating blood flow to the genitals, which is not the problem for male porn users. With such men, the issue is in the brain, not the penis.

Some researchers think the link between porn and sexual dysfunction may arise from the fact that men with ED are less confident in their sexual abilities and therefore turn to porn. After many years of working with heavy porn users, however, I think a more accurate explanation is that men who spend the vast majority of their sex lives searching for, looking at, and masturbating to an endless and constantly changing supply of intensely arousing sexual imagery—getting a fresh jolt of adrenaline and dopamine with every new image or video—become conditioned to this unrelenting neurochemical rush.

They then find that the rush created by a lone real-world partner does not measure up, and the lesser rush is not enough to create or maintain arousal. Moreover, the constant fantasy/satisfaction cycle that occurs with heavy porn use often leads to an emotional and psychological disconnection with even the most loving and valued of partners.

In combination, the neurochemical and psychological issues may manifest physically in males as sexual dysfunction with in-the-flesh partners. Basically, when a man's mind is not sufficiently sexually aroused, his genitalia cannot get there either—even with the aid of erection-enhancing drugs. So, thanks to pornography, growing numbers of physically healthy men are suffering from sexual dysfunction.