Scientists want us to come — to our senses.
People who watch pornography are more likely to have lower relationship stability — and therefore a deficit of carnal satisfaction — in relationships, according to a new study published in The Journal of Sex Research.
Researchers at Utah’s Brigham Young University investigated 3,500 people who were in committed relationships, asking about their porn habits and the happiness of their partners.
“Couples should know that viewing pornography is a risk factor in their relationship,” said lead author Dr. Brian J. Willoughby to local news outlet KSL.
And he isn’t just talking hardcore: “It’s not just aggressive pornography that leads to negative outcomes,” Dr. Willoughby added.
Out of the 3,500 people surveyed, 72 percent of participants identified as heterosexual, 17 percent identified as homosexual and the remaining 11 percent said they were bisexual.
According to the study, 55 percent of the participants were on their first marriage, 23 percent were cohabitating, 12 percent were remarried and 2 percent were in an open relationship.
The study then divided porn into two categories: “Mainstream” where acts of consensual sex occurred between couples or individuals, or “aggressive,” which included acts “that were more violent and were depicting nonconsensual behavior.”
“We got really strong details about pornography, their relationships and the dynamics in their relationships,” Dr. Willoughby said.
“One of the really interesting things for me is I assumed we were going to find it was maybe the aggressive, nonconsensual pornography that was affecting relationships.”
Researchers found there was no difference in terms of producing a negative impact: “Any pornography use or increase was always linked to less stability and less satisfaction in the relationship — no matter what other things we looked at.”
According to Dr. Willoughby, men — especially those who are religious — were the most affected by the study.
“The general thought is that so much of mainstream pornography is geared toward heterosexual men — that’s kind of the core audience,” said Dr. Willoughby. “So perhaps they will be more affected by comparing themselves to other men, creating unrealistic expectations for themselves, their body, what they think their partner should be doing.”
Dr. Willoughby and other researchers speculated that the reason the study affected religious men so hard was the fact that watching porn went against their own moral beliefs and left them conflicted.
“Those factors matter — and in important ways. The other important storyline is that even with all those things controlled for, there are still negative relationships, said Dr. Willoughby.
Despite the results, Dr. Willoughby issued a dire warning for all couples.
“Couples should know that viewing pornography is a risk factor in their relationship,” warned the doctor.
Considering the nationwide proliferation of endless varieties of online kink porn at the public’s disposal, this is no small matter for those that adhere to such warnings.
On that note: Pornhub recently released a study that broke down each of the most popular porn searches that got members of each of the 50 states going.
According to the results, “lesbian” porn outstripped “hentai” porn.
The study showed that residents of the state of Utah searched for “Mormon” porn more than any other state while residents of Texas were more likely to search for “panties.”
Pornhub’s hard data revealed that the United States was the top consumer of pornographic material with the UK coming in second.