Is it possible to have sex with a computer? Well, not exactly, but people can use their computers to engage in a variety of online sexual activities, including hooking up with partners (both virtually and in the flesh) and finding fodder for kinky obsessions.

Online porn is accessible, affordable and often anonymous, and viewing it has become a popular pastime. A survey of college students in 2008 by psychologist Chiara Sabina of Penn State Harrisburg and her colleagues found that more than 90 percent of the men and 60 percent of the women had watched Internet pornography before age 18. In a separate study the rate of use was less than half as frequent among those between the ages of 40 and 49, suggesting that Internet porn consumption may decline with age—although that statistic could reflect generational differences in computer use. Studies have revealed a gender difference in online sexual activities: men are more likely to watch pornography, whereas women are more apt to participate in sexual chat rooms, suggesting that they prefer sexual stimulation in the context of interaction.

Most people who watch porn seem to be occasional dabblers, but a small percentage of users indulge excessively in online sexual content. In 1998 Alvin Cooper, then at the Marital and Sexuality Center in San Jose, Calif., and his associates conducted an online study of more than 9,000 people who used the Internet for sexual purposes. Slightly fewer than half the respondents—most of them men who were married or in a committed relationship—indulged for an hour or less a week. Forty-five percent reported engaging in online sexual activity between one and 10 hours a week. Eight percent used the Internet for such purposes for 11 or more hours weekly, and a small but distinctive 0.5 percent reported more than 70 hours a week.
Emerging evidence suggests that such heavy use may be associated with harmful effects on the psyche and on relationships. Some experts even contend that Internet porn can be addictive, but the use of the term in this context is controversial.

The Price of Consumption
Although occasional use of pornography sites and other online sexual activities does not appear to be associated with serious problems—at least according to reports from users—even relatively light use may have a negative effect on one’s partner or spouse. What is more, heavy consumption of porn, including the Internet variety, may contribute to relationship strains and sexually aggressive attitudes and behaviors toward women.

Numerous studies have found associations between the amount of exposure to pornography and sexually belligerent attitudes such as endorsing coercive sex and sexually aggressive behaviors—say, forcibly holding a woman down. These associations are strongest for men who watch violent pornography and for those who already tend to be sexually aggressive.

Other findings have tied frequent porn use to attitudes such as assigning blame to victims of sexual assault, justifying the actions of sexual perpetrators and discounting the violence of rape. Enthusiasm for porn often accompanies callousness toward women, dissatisfaction with a partner’s sexual performance and appearance, and doubts about the value of marriage. Such attitudes are clearly detrimental to relationships with women and could conceivably be linked to crimes against them.

But should we conclude that watching pornography causes these misogynistic beliefs and actions, as many social commentators assume? Most of the studies merely show a statistical association between pornography use and such traits. They do not reveal whether watching pornography begets them. For example, although heavy porn use may indeed cause callousness toward women, an existing callousness toward women may instead lead to pornography use. Alternatively, a third factor, such as personal problems of the user, may lead to both pornography use and callousness toward women.

14 Comments

1. 1. sanoran 11:48 AM 7/19/10

   Porn addiction is different from drug addiction. Seeing different people (instead of the same person) triggers the lower part of the brain. So the porn industry has learned that giving away free porn is the best way to bring new customers and keep old customers. Yes, I was a porn addict, in case you are wondering. Of course, it will not affect everyone the same way, but studies should be done.

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2. 2. seeker69 11:58 AM 7/19/10

   Internet porn addiction is a real problem throughout many countries around the world. It is a real addiction with tolerance that leads to harder porn and withdrawal symptoms that can make stopping porn use extremely difficult. It has a physiological affect on the brain. Hormones have a very strong affect on our behaviour.
   
   For some better information on the subject look for books by Patrick Carnes, PhD and also www.noporn.com. The problem of porn addiction is more widespread than the authors of this article have concluded. Surveys mean little; this is a very personal and shameful form of addiction that people don't want to talk about or admit to freely. More studies need to be done so that better help can be provided for these individuals and their spouses.

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3. 3. Rsonnist 03:52 PM 7/19/10

   How destructive is brushing your teeth too much? How destructive is drinking water until death? Too much of anything can be destructive. Success in life revolves around moderation. If it wasn't porn, these addicts would destroy themselves in another fashion.

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4. 4. Don M 05:29 PM 7/19/10

   It would be nice if the abstract defined the kind of "porn" the authors are writing about. A bare breast on a beach may be porn to some while anything short of beastiality may not be to others.

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5. 5. Violet Blue 06:27 PM 7/19/10

   It would be nice to see "porn" defined as well as "excessive" and the inverse in relationships to be included: how do we know how the female porn consumer's partners feel?
   
   This article failed to address the context of pornography: that it is a masturbation aid, and what this means in any relationship or to any individual to be practiced in a healthy way. It is concerning that the authors did little to balance the conversation surrounding positive effects of a healthy fantasy life in partnerships or any possible positive effects of masturbation within relationships: that is after all, what is at the heart of this subject. Unless the topic is the "porn" itself, which, again, is not defined by the authors.
   
   This article verges on being irresponsible with its sweeping statements suggesting links between porn and violence toward women -- without authors' substantiation. A large movement of pro-porn women and sex educators from around the world have been working toward understanding causation and/or correlation between porn and aggressive/violent sexual behavior. There are still few, if any, peer-reviewed sources: but they are collected on Our Porn, Ourselves (ourpornourselves.org/concerns-about-porn/).
   
   This is a serious subject. For SciAm to be viewed as an unbiased source seems like the utmost priority. Otherwise, SciAm's authority will get lost in any media hysteria surrounding pornography. I fear that unless outlets like SciAm presents context and fact, we will never get real answers about what kind of effects pornography has on relationships and culture.
   
   This article did little to shed light on the issues it introduced. It did much to support stereotypes about pornography from only one side of the discussion.

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6. 6. Hermit 07:28 PM 7/19/10

   I ditto Violet Blue's well stated comments and think this is supposed to be about science here. But I would like to add that it is alarming to see so many science readers have bought into the Puritan word "porn" in replacement of grown-up words like "adult" or "erotic."
   
   Is the Kama Sutra "porn?"
   
   

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7. 7. InnerGold 08:24 PM 7/19/10

   Many individuals struggling with sexual addiction issues describe themselves as being two-different people. There is a part of them that wants to stop and there is another part that does not. The part that wants to stop is the logical/rational part of the brain called the prefrontal cortex. The part that does not want to stop is the limbic system or the survival portion of the brain. The problem we are seeing with more and more people is that fact that sexuality has been distorted and twisted into perverse ways that they cannot have healthy, normal intimacy.

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8. 8. Yuegaoqian 08:53 PM 7/19/10

   I think west country should control the porn in internet.In China,it is forbidden ,but Chinese netizen can watch pornography from abroad website .Almost all of the pornography website's server are in America

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9. 9. billsmith 09:46 PM 7/19/10

   Bravo for concluding with "correlation is not causation". Journalists reporting on science in the popular media should make a mantra of that.
   
   Now, having pointed out the three possible explanations for the correlation, the next step is to describe the research (or lack thereof) that supports or refutes each possibility.

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10. 10. bongobimbo 11:35 PM 7/20/10

    I've never watched internet porn but don't despise people who do. I'm curious to know if a majority of lonely, elderly, widowed or divorced people (male or female) report using porn for occasional masturbation to gain relief from tension, e.g., as an aid in getting to sleep? If so, it would seem that porn used for those purposes is a healthful activity.

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11. 11. davisucr 04:49 AM 7/25/10

    Pornography drives internet technology because their are a lot of people willing to pay for it. We all benefit from the results of this technology. If you don't like internet porn, don't watch it. I don't.

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12. 12. InsrtCoins 09:18 PM 8/4/10

    I'd be interested to see if the unique brand of immediate gratification that comes from porn usage affects the brain outside of the home office. Porn essentially grants users a direct route from the very earliest "rumblings" of sexual appetite to the ultimate sexual release, bypassing the longer sexual process that humans have evolved with to this point (be it the entire process of finding a mate, courting him/her, or simply the extended foreplay procedures). Since most people probably come in contact with porn, and may even become users, before their first real sexual encounter, how does this new pathway that they've created in their minds affect their sexual performance when they are having sex in the way that people have for centuries? How does this affect a person's goal/reward systems outside of the sexual realm?

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13. 13. durham92 01:19 PM 8/7/10

    As a woman I feel completetly disrespected by porn, I think it is beyond degrading. I know how it feels to be in a relationship with someone who is a porn addict and it makes me feel completely worthless knowing that if I am not there givingg him sexual pleasure that the will get it elsewhere from pornography. I think it is degrading to and women alike, sex is personal, intimate and beautfiul but it looses its value when it is on television viewed for the world to see. I want to know how someone can be affected if they start watching porn at a young age before they have any sexual encounters ? I agree with a comment someone posted that society has displayed sex in a distorted perverse way that is not intimate. I feel that my partner enjoy sexual pleasure with me or with porn but not both I am worth more than that.

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14. 14. jim15936 04:51 AM 8/16/10

    Define eroticism versus pornography. Eroticism is the set of things person P approves of that can incite lustful or passionate desire. Pornography is the set of things person P disapproves of that can incite lustful or passionate desire. Each person has their own sets of things approved or disapproved. Thus porn simply a subjective value judgement totally lacking in objectivity. Thus a "prude" is anyone who takes your eroticism and calls it porn. While you can study them all you want, lets not pretend that these value judgments have any intrinsic scientific merit. Calling it an addiction is ridiculous. Is it an addiction if I spend an hour a day to read a mystery novel a day as my favorite past time? While I hardly ever view porn, why is it an addiction if someone looks at it an hour a day to get aroused before making love to his wife, girlfriend or boyfriend?

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