Male porn addicts sometimes experience sexual dysfunction related to their porn abuse. Typically, they encounter one or more of the following:
- Erectile dysfunction (ED)
- Delayed ejaculation (DE)
- Anorgasmia (the inability to reach orgasm)
One 2012 survey of 350 self-identified sex addicts found that 26.7% reported issues with sexual dysfunction. Similar studies, smaller in scale, show comparable results. One such study, looking at 24 male sex addicts, found that 1 in 6 (16.7%) reported erectile dysfunction. Another study, this one looking at 19 male sex addicts, found that 11 of the 19 (58%) reported some form of sexual dysfunction.
Stated simply, growing numbers of physically healthy men, including men in their sexual prime, are suffering from sexual dysfunction, and it appears their dysfunction is directly related to the abuse of online pornography.
Notably, this issue is not caused by the frequency of masturbation and orgasm outside a primary relationship (i.e., the need for a sexual refractory period during which males “reload”). Instead, the problem is linked to the fact that when a man spends 90% or more of his sexual life masturbating to online porn—endless images of sexy, exciting, constantly changing partners and experiences—he is, over time, likely to find his real-world partner(s) less stimulating than the visuals parading through his mind. Thus, digital pornography has created in some men an emotional and psychological disconnection that is manifesting physically as sexual dysfunction.
Common indicators of porn induced sexual dysfunction include:
- A man can achieve erections and orgasms with pornography, but he struggles with one or both when he’s with a real-world partner.
- A man can have sex and achieve orgasm with real-world partners, but reaching orgasm takes a long time and his partners complain that he seems disengaged.
- A man can maintain an erection with real-world partners, but he can only achieve orgasm by replaying porn clips in his mind.
- A man increasingly prefers pornography to real-world sex, finding it more intense and more engaging.
The simple, sad truth is that, thanks to heavy porn use, growing numbers of men are suffering from sexual dysfunction, be it ED, DE, or anorgasmia. Even worse, male sexual dysfunction affects not just men, but their romantic partners. After all, if a guy can’t get it up, keep it up, or reach orgasm, then his partner’s sexual pleasure is also likely to be diminished.