The Great Porn Experiment: Online Pornography, Addiction, And Erectile Dysfunction

In this TEDx video, Gary Wilson discusses how heavy use of online porn may be affecting men’s sex lives. As Wilson points out, accessing pornography through high speed Internet is fundamentally different from how guys used to get their kicks (e.g., by reading Playboy magazine) because it provides a constant barrage of new people and new sexual activities. And it is precisely this novelty that can make online porn use problematic in some cases.

Wilson describes how evolutionary and neurological mechanisms may work together to create a capacity for addiction to online pornography. Addiction can create a variety of sexual difficulties, including erectile dysfunction, as a result of gradual desensitization to novel sexual content. In the end, Wilson talks about how a growing number of guys (“fapstronauts,” if you will) are enhancing their sexual potency and improving their relationships by giving up online porn and masturbation.

Check out the full video here and weigh in with your comments below.

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