The Porn industry is a $13 billion industry in the United States alone, according to a report done by The Observer, and only continues to grow with the expanding markets and the use of social media. However, the growth of porn has also lead to issues with relationships and addiction.
The University of Memphis invited Dr. Gregory Hughes, a 25-year licensed specialist on addictive disorders, to campus to discuss the damage porn has on males and the effects of chronic use.
“Porn had a lot of long term affects on people including a decreased ability to get aroused by their partner,” Hughes said. “It also increases sexual tolerance resulting in a tendency to for more stimulating material.”
Hughes also noted how porn affects our society as a whole.
“I think it is a growing epidemic, we have yet to see what kind of damage porn does to our society,” Hughes said. “It also objectifies and sexualizes women.”
Hughes also spoke on how porn can derail people from day to day activities.
“Not only does it interrupt the ability to be satisfied with their partner, it also can have negative affects on work,” said Hughes. “It is also self-focused and keeps youth from taking risks and trying to meet new partners.”
Sexologist and sex addiction specialist Paula Hall, author of “Understanding and Treating Sex Addictions” feels that watching porn in excess can be bad for your sexual identity in a report done by Men’s Fitness.
“Many men don’t think about their porn usage being a problem until they start to experience the physical symptoms of over use,” Hall said. “They then try to stop and find they can’t.”
Many researchers have looked into the addictive aspect of viewing adult content and learned it can lead to sexual problems that can harm relationships.
The Kinsey Institute reported in a survey they learned that nine percent of porn viewers have tried to stop but were unsuccessful.
Being on a college campus, many associate student addictions with alcohol or drugs, leaving issues such as porn addiction to the wayside.
But a reported 70 percent of males from the ages of 18 to 34 visit porn sites at least once a month, according to safefamiles.org.
The debate on weather porn is a true addiction is still out.
The American Psychiatric association released the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 2013, but did not acknowledge porn as an addiction.
