How to tell if you’re binge-watching porn, experts say

When the organization dedicated to the defense of children’s rights, Save The Children, published its report on Sexual (mis)information: pornography and adolescence mid-2020, he presented figures that did not go unnoticed: 48% of young people recognize the pornography as a source of learning while 30% said it was their only source of information on topics related to sexuality.

To this was added that the average age at which this content was first viewed was 12 years old an average which, according to the details of the NGO, is falling more and more with the facilities offered by mobile phones and social networks.

Although there is currently an immense variety of pornographic material on the Internet, most of the videos that appear on websites of this type contain audiovisual scenes that fall far short of what many experts consider to be healthy sexual practices. both of the health mental as well as physical .

That is why its excessive consumption, associated with the lack of sex education, according to experts, can present complications in viewers and in their relationships with others. All the more so if this information base is not fed over the years.

Even so, Not all instances where pornography is used result in welfare issues for an individual, male or female .

in conversation with The third a group of specialists in fields such as psychiatry, psychology, gynecology and urology deciphered the most relevant aspects to consider regarding the consumption of pornography.

The doctor of the addiction unit of the psychiatric clinic of the University of Chile, Enzo Rozas, says that the main characteristic that defines addictions – in general terms – is diminished self-control, i.e. “the ability to choose when, how and how much” .

“Another factor would be the repetition of the behavior,” he says, in addition to the appearance of “an intense desire to repeat it with a more or less compulsive pattern”.

In the case of pornography, note that the parameters More than related to the timing or frequency of consumption, “they have to do with how it affects daily life” .

Some harmful consequences that excessive consumption of pornography can generate are related to giving up other activities, spending less time with loved ones (for example, friends or family), work or school performance problems and sexual dysfunctions with the partner, among others.

“It also goes with the fact that there’s a bit of a two-way relationship. There are psychiatric disorders that can lead to an increased risk of engaging in addictive behaviors , as for example, it could be the consumption of pornography. These include mood disorders, anxiety disorders, those on the obsessive spectrum, impulse control disorders, and substance use.

Despite this, Rozas cited an investigation published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine which gave approximately 75% of people who watch this type of content have “a more recreational, non-problematic consumption” as detailed.

“The remaining 25% are divided into two fairly well-defined profiles. One of them is super compulsive generally have less sexual satisfaction and tend to be more compulsive and avoid sex. The others are people with a lot of anguish guilt and uneasiness, these are less active (…) and in general they are less sexually satisfied, but they have less compulsiveness in sexuality and tend to have more sexual dysfunctions than the others”.

So, to find out if you are entering a heavy drinking scenario, according to the academic from the School of Psychology at U. Adolfo Ibáñez, Juan Flores, “the main thing is to perceive if there are changes in daily life, the way in which interaction with others is exercised and in which sexual life takes place”.

“It can be a sign of deeper conflicts” Add.

In addition to the harmful consequences such as those mentioned, the director of the Center for Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy Studies at Diego Portales University, Claudio Martínez, explains to La Tercera that in some cases some direct and indirect effects may occur in the medium and long term.

Within the first category and particularly among men, “it begins to have effects on erectile dysfunction in the absence of stimuli such as pornography”.

“That’s one of the things. Another is delayed ejaculation , which is also a fairly typical sexual dysfunction of addictions. Somehow, by needing more and more stimulation, the possibility of an orgasm, an ejaculation, takes longer and more and more stimulation is needed.

As for the indirect effects, there is the way in which relations with the couple are experienced, “especially in the decreased sexual interest in others ”.

“Many times there are requests to comply with certain expectations that can be very unrealistic in terms of performance (e.g. time and number of orgasms), which also derive from pornography. This happens especially among young people, who have distortions of having learned only through content of this type.

Martínez and Bupa Santiago Clinic gynecologist Soledad Irigoyen agree that the most recurring scenes of pornography tend to feature acts likely to alter viewers’ view of sexuality especially if they don’t have basic sex education.

“Usually you see a relationship where the woman pretends to have a lot of fun with the penetration, but when brought back to reality, it’s not. The woman’s orgasm is primarily clitoral, so, the disservice that the consumption of pornography does to both sexes is that in addition to educating, it is confusing”, explains the doctor.

“This is where a professional has an important role to play in explaining to them that penetration is not what usually brings them to orgasm and that a clitoral stimulus is necessary. What are also the positions, allowing them not to fake orgasms and asking their sexual partners, regardless of gender, to stimulate them properly, so that they have the healthiest and most pleasant sex life possible “.

Along with this, many times the bodies seen in the videos tend to come together characteristics far removed from those of ordinary people, a factor which, according to the UDP academic, can affect the perception that people who consume excessive pornography have of themselves.

“This contrast with reality can begin to affect self-esteem and trigger conflict with one’s own body image “, he assures, evoking cases where comparisons are made according to certain insecurities.

Despite this, Martínez points out that seeing these contents himself (or masturbating while watching them) does not necessarily mean that there is or can be triggered an addiction as such.

“On the contrary, people who become addicted usually face other psychological problems. Pornography in itself isn’t bad either, it’s just a stimulus, which can help induce pleasure or get it through masturbation For example”.

“The only thing I think you have to be careful about, as with everything that generates pleasure, Will if you lose control of it somehow and there begins to be a kind of need (…) when it’s something that acquires a pre-eminence in people’s lives, it gets complicated”.

Irigoyen maintains that each person’s sexuality is so intimate that there is no limit to masturbation times.

“Someone can masturbate three or four times a day and there are people who do it once a month. . If the individual notices that there is suddenly a difference, feels that it is problematic, that it is a lot, or that it changes their daily life, then they can only begin to think that there may be something wrong. anything else that might affect them. If it doesn’t bother the person, no.”

In this sense, the urologist of the Bupa Santiago Clinic, Diego Reyes, assured that “masturbating more doesn’t mean it will cost you more to have satisfying sex (just for the sake of masturbating), but that has more to do with the expectations generated by excessive pornography.

“But it’s not the physical act of masturbation per se that’s going to cause this damage.”

With these elements in mind, the academic of the UDP Sexual and Reproductive Health Counseling Center, Bárbara Gutiérrez, states that “The time to consult a specialist is when the person feels dissatisfied with their own pleasure and also if this causes difficulties during sexual intercourse. with another person”.