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Original poster

The effect of porn on teenage boys and young men

414 replies

DeviTheGaelet · 15/01/2017 18:12

Did anyone else hear the section on R5 about porn addiction the other day? They spoke to a doctor who is looking into the defects of porn on men. A study in Italy found 40% of young men were having erectile issued, of those 60% were psychologically caused ( I think those were the stats).
The doctor suggested that watching porn during adolescence is training men to be aroused by purely visual stimuli and the visual stimuli are not realistic. As a result they are not being wired to find the smells and touch of actual sex arousing. As a result they are having election issues.
He described porn as "stunt sex" and said it was creating a generation of men who's sexual relationships were with their hand and a screen rather than another person.
I found it really interesting. We talk a lot on here about the harm porn causes women and girls but I've not heard so much about the impact on boys.
I think this should be discussed in PSHE in schools. Maybe this will be the personal impact many men need to see how harmful porn can be.

OP posts:
lovelearning · 15/01/2017 19:10

I hate to think what effect the availability of porn is having on recent / current generations.

HerOtherHalf, the longterm consequences don't bear thinking about

Oblomov16 · 15/01/2017 19:07

Very interesting. I do agree that porn these days is very damaging and not realistic of real relationships.

HerOtherHalf · 15/01/2017 19:03

I hate to think what effect the availability of porn is having on recent / current generations. When i was a teenage boy, becoming sexually aware, we had to make do with things like the lingerie section in the Freemans catalog and watching French films on BBC2 in the hope there might be the odd shot of boob. Occassionally we'd get hold of a copy of Mayfair or whatever which compared to what's available today was very tame. The attitudes i see towards sex and women on predominately male forums are quite shocking and a lot of young guys seem to think that what they see in porn should be the norm in an intimate reationship.

BertrandRussell · 15/01/2017 19:01

Is this going to be something else men are going to expect women to fix for them? Many women have been saying how damaging porn is for ages, only to be met with disbelief and derision...........

qwerty232 · 15/01/2017 18:50

Gail Dines is excellent on porn, including its impact on boys. This is well worth a watch.

Yankeedoodledickhead · 15/01/2017 18:48

I think porn is seriously damaging to boys and young men. And I already discuss it sensitively with my son who is 9.

I look back on my own adolescence (it really wasn't that long ago to be honest) and shudder to think about the distorted views that boys were projecting onto the likes of me and my friends. We had an unrealistic image of what boys wanted us to behave like, look like, even smell like.

I remember watching The Sex Education Show and thinking, yes, I've heard that before, when the boys expressed their opinion of women. And I really believe we should be tackling those opinions in a better way.

Original poster
DeviTheGaelet · 15/01/2017 18:48

player.fm/series/the-daily-interview/giving-up-porn

OP posts:
Original poster
DeviTheGaelet · 15/01/2017 18:47

player.fm/series/the-daily-interview/giving-up-porn

OP posts:
BertrandRussell · 15/01/2017 18:43

Misogyny and the patriarchy is bad for men.

No shit, Sherlock.

Cookingongas · 15/01/2017 18:41

I missed it- can anyone link? I can't find it online. The impact porn has in the younger generations is a real issue- for girls and boys. Misogyny is often detrimental to men and women.

KeepCalm · 15/01/2017 18:40

As a mother of 3 girls this terrifies me. When I was in my late teenage/twenties porn wasn't as easily available but my BF from back then has almost ruined his next relationship & marriage due to over use of it. (I'm talking 20yrs on)

I'm just grateful I saw sense and didn't marry him but am STILL wondering how to help my DDs through the minefield that is adolescence.

WhenSheWasBadSheWasHorrid · 15/01/2017 18:37

Hi devi I think it would be a great idea to discuss this in school.

I think sexual health councillers in the uk have seen an increase in erectile dysfunction in younger men due to porn use.

Very damaging to these young men (and their poor girlfriends if they ever
end up with a girlfriend)

Original poster
DeviTheGaelet · 15/01/2017 18:34

Yes me too. Refreshing to hear. Also quite scary

OP posts:
SpeakNoWords · 15/01/2017 18:21

I heard most of it too, and thought it was interesting and discussed intelligently.

It definitely could be discussed in PSHE lessons. What I though was helpful on the R5 discussion was the fact that it was the men themselves discussing it, and the harm it had caused them.

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