Is Porn Addiction Bad?

Many reasons are cited for relapse among non-religious people who are problematic pornography users.  Frequently, emotional and relationship factors, in particular, overlap just prior to relapse. For example, emotional factors include feeling stressed about school, work, or relationships; feeling depressed partially due to lack of social interaction; feeling hopeless due to lack of success with romantic relationships; feeling frustrated with specific relationships; and/or with the actual struggle to stop using pornography.  Relational factors can include frustrations with a romantic partner or with others as well (Rackham, 2020).

Veterans are at a greater risk than men in the general population for developing problematic pornography use.  Factors associated with veteran’s problematic pornography use include being younger, less educated, having depression, anxiety, PTSD, insomnia, and impulsivity.  Problematic pornography use was characterized by distress about using pornography, excessive use, difficulty controlling use, and using it to avoid negative emotions (Shirk, et al., 2021).

Two risk factors for problematic pornography use are having a substance use disorder and having a history of childhood abuse (Mauer-Vakil & Anees, 2020).

Men who have problematic pornography use report that it gave them unrealistic expectations when it came to sex and sexuality, affected the way they viewed women, and led to diminished sexual function (Sniewski & Farvid, 2020).

Frequent pornography use is associated with sexual dissatisfaction, greater preference for porn‐like sex, and relationship dissatisfaction (Miller et al., 2019).

Problematic pornography use is associated with sexual functioning problems for both men and women (Bothe et al, 2021).