Intense and violent pornography is believed to have devastated the psyche of young American minds, distorting their perception of relationships and sex.
But now experts warn that even the most ethical ‘softcore’ variety is harmful, leading to less satisfaction with your other half.
Researchers at Brigham Young University questioned 3,500 people in relationships who were around the age of 38 about their use of pornography and happiness with their partner.
They were asked if they watched hardcore porn, which included violence or rape, and softcore, including consensual sex.
Even viewing softcore porn is bad for your relationship, study finds, in a habit hit (file image)
Regardless of the category, those who viewed pornography were more likely to say they were dissatisfied with their relationships.
The experts called for people to stop viewing pornography altogether to help them maintain committed relationships.
Dr Brian Willoughby, an associate professor at the university who led the research, said: “Couples should be aware that viewing pornography is a risk factor in their relationship.”
Added to Utah-based news site KSL: ‘I (had) assumed we were going to find that maybe it was aggressive, non-consensual pornography that was affecting relationships.
‘(But) we found there was no difference. Any use or increase in pornography was always related to less stability and less relationship satisfaction, no matter what else we looked at.”
About one in four Americans, or 82 million people, view pornography every month, the data suggests. Men are four times more likely to see it than women.
Many doctors warn that pornography is changing the way people view relationships for the worse and may be causing problems in the bedroom.
It has been linked to an increase in cases of erectile dysfunction, delayed ejaculation, and decreased sexual desire. Some experts warn that it also triggers appearance anxiety.
In the latest study, published in the sex research magazineThe scientists looked at couples from across the United States surveyed by the Qualtrics pollster.
They were around 38 years old on average and had been in a relationship for almost nine years.
Fifty-five percent were in their first marriage, 23 percent were cohabiting, 12 percent had remarried, eight percent were dating, and two percent were in an open relationship.
Of the couples, 72 percent were heterosexual and 17 percent were homosexual. The remainder reported being bisexual.
Participants were asked what type of pornography they used, if at all, and how satisfied they were with their relationships.
The use of pornography fell into two categories.
Softcore was defined as footage “of a heterosexual couple having sex showing the man’s penis penetrating the woman”, “two naked women or men manually stimulating each other”, or “a single woman or man masturbating”.
Hardcore was defined as ‘a video of a man forcing a woman to have sex against her will’, ‘of a man hitting or slapping a woman during sex’ or ‘of a woman being several men ejaculate’.
The results were analyzed adjusting for factors such as gender, type of pornography, and perception of the relationship.
Overall, the researchers found that people who used pornography were less happy in their relationship.
They also reported lower levels of perceived stability in the relationship, or the likelihood that the participant thought the relationship would continue.
This held true regardless of the type of porn they watched.
Broken down into groups, men and religious men were more likely to say that pornography was negatively affecting their relationship.
Dr. Willoughby suggested that this may be because pornography is more directed at straight men.
He said: ‘The general thinking is that a lot of mainstream pornography is aimed at straight men, that’s kind of a prime audience.
“So perhaps they are more affected by comparing themselves to other men, creating unrealistic expectations for themselves, their body, or what they think their partner should be doing.”
For those who were religious, the scientists suggested that religion may make them feel more conflicted about viewing sexual acts involving others.
In the study, they suggested that viewing pornography may “facilitate the acquisition of sexual scripts that can diminish the quality of a healthy long-term relationship.”
They added: “As much of the content of pornography emphasizes casual sexual encounters and multiple partners, it is possible that regular exposure to these kinds of sexual messages could alter sexual and relational scripts in ways that undermine stability (in a relationship). “.
The scientists also found that porn use was rarely discussed during couples therapy.
This needed to change, they said, so the couples could be closer.
Study limitations included that it contained few participants from low-income backgrounds.
It also contained a larger group of lesbian and gay couples than is representative of the general population.
When asked about this group, Dr Willoughby told DailyMail.com: “We didn’t explore how sexual orientation influenced the results, so I can’t really speak to what the effect might have been.”
“(But) generally speaking, those who identify as non-heterosexual report higher rates of pornography use than those who identify as heterosexual and that was the case in this data set.”