Erectile dysfunction, commonly shortened to ED, is the inability to get or maintain a full erection during normal sexual activity. It can occur sporadically, or can sometimes be a long-term or even permanent issue.
It can affect men for a host of reasons, including physical and psychological ones, such as performance anxiety, depression, or poor physical health. Other causes might include stress, alcoholism, smoking, diabetes, obesity, side effects from medications (such as SSRIs), and hormonal disorders.
The National Institutes of Health estimate that some 30 million men in the United States experience ED. The likelihood increases with age, affecting about 12 percent of men below 60, and 30 percent of men above 70. A Johns Hopkins study identified cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and a lack of physical activity as other common culprits. According to research from the University of Washington in Seattle, nearly 1 in 5 men report suffering from ED. In the study, it was more commonly reported by Hispanic men and men who smoke, have diabetes, or hypertension.
Porn and Sexual Anorexia
While ED mostly affects older men, a recent study conducted in Italy found that an increase in Internet pornography viewing among teenage boys can cause “sexual anorexia” (a pathological loss of appetite for romantic-sexual interactions). The notion that watching too much porn causes ED has since spread like wildfire.
But not all experts think so.
“Our study, and now two others, have found there is no relationship between the amount of sex films men view and erectile functioning with their partner,” says Nicole Prause, Ph.D., a sexual psychophysiologist and licensed psychologist at the Sexual Psychophysiology and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory. Her research with Jim Pfaus, Ph.D., IF, a professor of psychology at the Concordia University in Montreal, was published in Sexual Medicine and was the first peer-reviewed study of this topic.
“In one case, the study found stronger sexual arousal reported in a laboratory test in men who reported viewing more sex films at home,” she adds. Only those men who were conservative and in relationships had any relationship between sex film viewing and erectile functioning.
“Taken together, this means that sex films do not contribute to erectile dysfunction,” Prause notes. “However, those whose personal values contradict with viewing sex films, may be experiencing general shame around sex that also influences their erectile functioning.”
But Porn Can Affect Your Sexual Appetite
Experts do say, however, that watching pornography can influence a man’s sexual appetite. This may in turn make it difficult for them to achieve an erection and have an orgasm with a sexual partner.
Nikki Martinez, Psy.D., LCPC, says modern access to a wide array of adult material can make it difficult for a man to become aroused with their partner, or participate in sexual activities as they always have.
“They have unleashed their true desires and proclivities, and now they struggle to become aroused when this is not involved,” she says. “The partner feels rejected, and as if they are not attractive, and the other partner is most often too embarrassed to tell them what is really going on.”
It Can Also Affect How You Look at Yourself
Natalie Finegood Goldberg, LMFT, CST, says that pornography can create a host of
unrealistic expectations from what sex should look like and what your partner should look like and be able to do.
For lots of men, she says, pornography can engender shame if they feel they are not living up to the standards of the actor.
“Also, not to mention the piece where people can get any fantasy hand-delivered to them through channels of pornography, rather than having to open up to their partner about what turns them on.”
Alexis Conason, Psy.D., who practices in New York City, says she doesn’t think porn causes erectile dysfunction, but it’s important to look at how someone views pornography. “For example, compulsive porn viewing or watching several scenes at once, or quickly switching from one scene to another, creates a lot of stimulation not typically experienced in real life sexual encounters and this may create ED issues,” she says.
“In addition, watching men in porn can create feelings of insecurity if men compare themselves to the actors and this can lead to ED.”
So, What’s a Guy to Do?
If you think any of these aspects of pornography might be affecting your sexual functioning, Goldberg recommends going on a pornography “fast” for at least 90 days. This can help soften visual cues that can become over-developed through regular pornography viewing. During this break, she encourages people to explore their sexuality and sensuality through their other senses.
“This can also include arousal through visual cues but the visual cues must be 3-dimensional,” she says. “Formal partner exercises like sensate focus are very helpful in restoring a person's connection to a more robust sensuality.”
For self-pleasuring purposes, Goldberg encourages masturbating to sensations, rather than recalling digital images of the pornographic images they’ve previously seen.
“I encourage people to dig deep and explore their sexuality by also making an inventory of their turn-ons outside of the porn/visual realm,” she said.
