The effect of porn on teenage boys and young men

[DeviTheGaelet]

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.

What's been shocking to me is how it's gone from being a seedy top shelf magazine type of thing to mainstream. Young girls (apparently) happy to post naked images of themselves on reddit etc for no other reason that to get nice comments and "likes".

If this continues I can easily imagine a (not too distant) future where sophisticated life like sex robots, and immersive VR porn will also be routine and acceptable. I'm can imagine that it'll reach the stage that men would prefer to have sex with robots than actual women (probably not in my lifetime).

Indeed. The technologisation of sexual culture is fascinating, though terrifying. Sex is being completely dehumanised and depersonalised.

Much focus is on the consumption of porn, but what is even more perturbing is the 2.0 platforms that problematise the boundary between user and consumer. When I worked at a school there were countless incidents we had to respond to involving children who had created sexualised images and videos of themselves that ended up being circulated online - where they could be reduplicated infinitely and would remain forever. Tragically, one boy attempted suicide. How awful, weird and lurid is that?

Also it's not just boys. More and more girls and young women especially are habitual consumers of porn as well as amateur producers. As you say, self-validation comes sexualised selfies getting 'likes' on Reddit.

This cyber-porn culture will change everything - possibly even human nature itself. All the old moral, generational and legal structures that used to govern the expression of sexuality are being twisted out of recognition.

And this is all so a load of porn barons and tech oligarchs can get filthy rich.

MrsGWay, yes.

It's harming girls and women in porn and harming females at large as they are being objectified and women hating rape and abuse culture supporting material is being diffused on a massive level. Nobody gives a shit.

It's harming boys and men because it's affecting their ability to get it up. Oh no, what can we do, quick somebody do something about this new and pressing problem. This is unacceptable!! What is the world coming to?!!

I have two daughters and between this and TRAs I feel like crying alternatively in anger then frustration. I really do fear for their future.

Absolutely, Beachcomber.

I wonder how they will expect us to sort it out for them?

Is the proposed UK ISPs option in thing going ahead?
DH and I have worried about the issue of porn availability for a long time.

But yes, typical it only becomes a problem when males begin to be affected.

Me too.

God knows what the boys (if my daughters are het) that they will explore their sexuality with will have been exposed to. Mine are 10 and 12 and we have already had to speak quite a lot about porn as the eldest has been shown it on a phone at school and both have encountered boys at school giggling over porn and making references to it in their interactions with girls.

We had already talked about prostitution (we live in France and the word "pute" or whore is chucked about a lot by children and adults). I described porn as "filmed prostitution" and nowt to do with happy healthy sexuality to my daughters and I could see the light bulb come on in my eldest's head (youngest not quite there yet).

Eldest said she said to one of the boys at school that they were "watching filmed prostitution" and she said he was a bit shocked by that. You've get to get them young though before they are desensitized.

You've got to get them....

Probably a completely alternative thread - but can anyone else imagine a future where boys/men use technological masturbatory aids rather than real women ? Supposing men ever did have no sexual interest in real women, i rather get the impression that this would be seen by many on here as a good thing ? Would it be a bad thing ?

Maybe men will stop pestering girls and women for sex because they will be jacking off with robotic transwomen....

Absolutely Beach, and with the average age that boys first see porn being around 8 years of age, you've got to get to them earlier and earlier.

Absolutely, girl. You've got it right. That's exactly what feminists want. No man to ever have sex with a woman ever again. All children conceived by artificial insemination. Probably with sperm harvested from men kept in special containment areas for the purpose.

FFS.

I'm sure they will be able to grow children outside of a womb in a few decades time. What would the world look like if the sexes had no interest or need for each other ?

Is that what's going to happen if we do something about porn?

Great - glad i was paying attention ! Btw - i wasn't suggesting men would be the ones kept in the containment areas - i was imagining what the world would be like if it were not for sex being the thing that erm...brought the sexes together.

I think that robototic masturbatory sex aids and virtual reality will make the kind of porn one could access in 50 years time difficult for us to fully comprehend - but it is feasible I think to imagine that it will be "better" than the real thing.

It is depressing that porn seems to have become an issue worth addressing because it's affecting men and their ability to perform sexually. That's more important than the wellbeing and safety of women and girls. Depressing but not surprising.

Probably a completely alternative thread - but can anyone else imagine a future where boys/men use technological masturbatory aids rather than real women ?

I believe this is already starting to happen in Japan. The population is plummeting partly because Japanese male under-40's are decreasingly interested in sex with real life women.

"Japanese-American author Roland Kelts, who writes about Japan's youth, says it's inevitable that the future of Japanese relationships will be largely technology driven. "Japan has developed incredibly sophisticated virtual worlds and online communication systems. Its smart phone apps are the world's most imaginative." Kelts says the need to escape into private, virtual worlds in Japan stems from the fact that it's an overcrowded nation with limited physical space. But he also believes the rest of the world is not far behind."

yourbrainonporn.com/why-have-young-people-japan-stopped-having-sex

I'm sure they will be able to grow children outside of a womb in a few decades time. What would the world look like if the sexes had no interest or need for each other ?

This is exactly what will happen. The sexes will have no need of each other sexually or economically. That will constitute an unimaginably seismic change for human culture. Whether it will be a positive one or not is another argument.

"boys/men use technological masturbatory aids rather than real women ?" Is it just me or is the phrasing of this utterly repellant? The idea that boys/men use "real women" as masturbatory aids. Urgh. I guess if that's how you view relationships and sex, then moving towards robots and technology isn't a surprise.

I also think it is rather tedious to claim that "the patriarchy" is now mobilised and is adopting a "what can be done about the porn problem ?" posture in response to one study about erectile dysfunction amongst young italians.

So as a mother of both sexes (still at primary), what is recommended with regards to educating our children?
I discussed a thread with dh last night in which the OPs dh had a workmate who flashed around naked pics of girlfriends to colleagues. He (my Dh) was v blase about the whole thing and said even if he thought it was disrespectful he wouldn't say so and wouldn't expect anyone else to say anything against it either. (I can imagine a group of middle aged men enjoy getting a quick perve in at work ) So if the average family man doesn't see it as an issue, how can attitudes change? I am genuinely concerned about the kids future with this.

I guess if that's how you view relationships and sex, then moving towards robots

Actually men using women as masturbatory aids is a phrase used to describe prostitution that I first came across on here. Don't remember anyone getting offended about it then

Good job no one on this thread has suggested that's the case then.

Yes, but you find any negative comments about porn "tedious", don't you, girl........

So what does this mean then speak ?

It is depressing that porn seems to have become an issue worth addressing because it's affecting men and their ability to perform sexually.