To what extent does porn addiction affect the individual & relationships?

Addiction problems are becoming more and more noticeable in society. Such problems, negatively affect the psychological development and greatly hinders the functioning of the addicted. Addiction to pornography, which is a serious problem of young people who  have very easy access to pornography , can have irreversible consequences in terms of changes in the brain and in social life.  As a teenager who lives in the world of technology where all content can be searched in seconds, making it very easy to fall victim to addiction, I want to know what such addiction causes and also warn others about its consequences. I am motivated to write this exploration on this topic by curiosity and the desire to change people close to me for the better, which is sometimes possible only when showing irrefutable and reliable evidence.

Within chosen topic the visible effects of the abuse of pornography in the heterosexual relationships are presented. One of the main goals of my research work is to see what behaviors can be expected in a relationship where at least one partner is addicted to pornography. The secondary goal, based on secondary data is to see how pornography addiction  manifests itself in teenagers and adults. The work also aims to spread awareness about the problem of pornography, which is very often neglected, and is to show the real behavior of people with whom we live on a daily basis.

Research shown that pornographic films (from websites such as www.pornhub.com, www.xvideos.com)  shot between 2005 and 2018 contain many more acts of physical violence than those recorded in earlier years and and unrealistic content that distorts the image of real sex. Given the accessibility of children to the internet, it can be assumed that the first pornographic content they see will contain violence the objectification of women, which can disrupt the perception of a healthy relationship.  This problem does not only affect children, but also adults who are equally susceptible to sexual content. The question arises - where does such susceptibility of man to stimulants come from?

The reward system is a very important brain structure from the perspective of our functioning.  When a rewarding stimulus reaches the brain, which stimulates the reward system (food, sex, pornography), some areas of the brain are stimulated, of which the three most important are: the ventral tegmental area (VTA), the nucleus accumbens, and the cortex, specifically its frontal lobe. Figure 1. Shows one of the most important dopamine pathways that is actively involved in triggering the reward system – Mesolimbic dopamine pathway.  In the nucleus accumbens, dopamine begins to be secreted - a chemical compound called the happiness hormone. It is this compound that is responsible for our feeling of pleasure, and consequently - we willingly return to the activities that bring this pleasure and at the same time lead to a state of comfort and fulfillment.  Dopamine thus regulates motivational processes that lead to our pursuit of pleasure. An increase in the level of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the endings of this system affects our motivation to act, our ability to plan or set goals. Figure 2. Shows the main components of the reward system.

In normal conditions, the release of dopamine triggers a process of inhibition from other areas of the brain, which are responsible for assessing our own actions in terms of norms, moral standards, etc. This inhibition is meant to prevent us from becoming people who are unable to feel other emotions - people in a permanent state of bliss. In a healthy person, dopamine is released in a continuous normative level, which is known to humans for thousands of years. To achieve an inner balance (homeostatic), any stimulation of the reward system leads to a CREB protein increase in the nucleus accumbens. This activates the production of Dynorphin A, an opioid peptide that inhibits dopamine release, thus providing a periodic “shutdown” of the reward system.

When the production of dopamine is produced artificially, the braking processes are disturbed. The dopamine "shots" that we experience during non-physiological mood-altering stimuli, such as pornography, cause the activation of a different transcription factor than CREB – the Delta Fos B protein – which has a more lasting character. Delta Fos B protein reduces the effects of CREB and strongly sensitises the reward system to the stimulating factor, such as pornography. This is the mechanism that leads to addiction. Excessive dopamine bursts are the starting point for the brain damage process. When the brain cannot naturally bring about braking and regain balance, it begins to degenerate by reducing the number of nerve cells.  The consequence of such damage to the frontal lobes of the brain is compulsion,to act towards a certain reward (or a mood-altering stimulus), caused by an inadequate level of dopamine released by the nucleus accumbens. This results in an excessive need for stimulation which leads to a feeling of pleasure, which is known as „arousal addiction”. That is why, regardless of age and gender, each addicted individual can be dangerous to others.  The lack of physiological inhibition leads, in the case of pornography consumption, to behaviors previously rejected by the person. These can be sexually dangerous behaviors: behaviors contrary to previously accepted social, legal or moral norms. If pornography addiction is viewed objectively, evidence indicates that it does indeed cause harm in humans with regard to pair-bonding.

Null hypothesis -  The null hipothesis would state that there is no effect of porn on the functioning of a relationship.

Directional hypothesis - Using pornography for self-gratification negatively affects the functioning of a  relationship. The adjective ‘negatively’ includes any misunderstandings in the relationship, difficulties in conversation, embarrassment, arguments, acts of violence and possible ending of the relationship.

Independent variables -  All forms of pornography

Dependent variables -  Interpersonal relations in heterosexual relationships

The data was collected using a survey. The group of respondents were divided into: gender, age, and  relationship status to look at the problem in each group. The entire survey was attended by 32 people who answered anonymously. The poll ended with female dominance by 17 to 15. The survey was conducted via the website Google Forms. Table below shows the questions that were used in the survey and their division into technical, additional questions ,and those that have been analyzed (opinion questions).

The anonymity of the survey and no physical handover of the survey made it more reliable and less biased. The comfort of the respondents was particularly important due to the fact that the questions concerned their private lives. Respondents are not informed about the division of questions shown in Table 4. so as not to disturb their truthfulness. Technical questions are the basis for drawing conclusions; they are not subject to any analysis, and are only statistics, thanks to which it is possible to determine the severity of the problem in a given group. The most important takeaway when it comes to the technical question is the frequency of pornography use. The table below shows the "groups" by which it can be determined how often responds use pornography.

On the other hand, the open (opinion) questions made it possible to get to know the opinions of the respondents, which are very necessary to unambiguously determine the impact of pornography on interpersonal relationships. It is impossible to investigate this problem without going deeper into the respondent's thoughts.

Additional questions were used to fill in the gaps in the responses to the opinion questions. They are also the basis for looking for additional data that could be useful to develop conclusions. For example, asking about favorite porn site gave the basis to check statistics on the most viewed categories, etc. However, they are not included in the analysis, because they do not answer to a given question.

According to the Graph 1. It can be calculated that: 17% of women use pornography regularly. 41,5% of women use pornography rarely and 41,5%  of women do not use pornography at all. On the other hand: 60% of men use pornography regularly,  26% of men use it rarely and 13% of men do not use it at all.

Based on the chart, it can be concluded that regular pornography use is a phenomenon that occurs in the lowest age group (Age 15-18), which clearly coincides with many scientific researches. Adolescence is the period between childhood and adulthood encompassed by changes in physical, psychological, and social development. Greater emotional reactivity and sensitivity during adolescence may play a role in the higher incidence of affective disorder onset and addiction during this developmental period. It can therefore be considered that the highest percentage of people who practice pornography started in childhood (Age 8-12), then they become addicted to the point where they have to watch porn every day/several times a week. Many users begin to seek higher levels of excitement, as current experiences result in a lack of gratification; their tolerance levels change and/or they become satiated to particular activities. Moreover, for underage persons, such activities may increase the youth’s sexual desire for in-person sex and thus result in earlier real-life sexual experiences.

When it comes to gender division - men may be more prone to porn addiction because of biological factors:  they show higher  sensitivity to reward and neural sensitivity to the receipt of reward, big or small, and to loss, as compared to women, which can lead to higher levels of arousal and an increased likelihood of addiction; furthermore, the male brain may be more prone to developing addictions in general, as it is less capable of regulating emotions and impulses. In this case, the scientific literature is also confirmed – 60% of men use pornography more than once a week, making them potential addicts, (Graph 1.).   Psychologically, men are much more likely to be rejected by a woman. This fear may make them look for satisfaction in pornography, where they will not refuse it. In addition, in open questions, respondents very often claimed that pornography gives them an infinite choice of the subject in the video, so it can be assumed that faster and infinite choice makes men prefer contact with pornography over a 'physical' woman.

The division of answers by marital status in combination with the answers to openion questions provide analyzed in section 4.3 an important basis for further analysis of the problem. The table below (Table 6) shows the percentage statistics of Graph 2.

In the 'PEOPLE IN A LEGALLY UNOFFICIAL RELATIONSHIP' group, past relationships were also taken into account , which means that a person who was once in a relationship is included in the group ‘PEOPLE IN A LEGALLY UNOFFICIAL RELATIONSHIP’.Problems with pornography are most often born from an early age. Addiction usually requires the will of the individual, whether in a relationship or not; however, this does not explain the emergence of such an astonishing statistic. The reward system during the state of addiction requires increasingly stronger/different stimulants to make the production of dopamine in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) felt by the addict. The partner then becomes the 'norm' for the addict, which results in seeking 'new experiences' in pornography.

On the other hand, singles who have never had a steady partner do not need a variety of stimuli (in the form of pornography) to stimulate the perceived amount of dopamine,

This part of the analysis focuses on the study of problems between people regardless of age and gender. The only variable that stands out in this analysis is people in relationships and singles, because it is the basis for determining how pornography affects partners/relatives (co-addicted), only respondents who are/were in relationships have been taken into account. The analysis of the answers written by the respondents allowed to identify the 4 most common problems that occur between people (caused by pornography). Table 6 shows the percentage of people who complained about the most frequently mentioned relationship problems. The answers were 

collected from the question -  Does your partner use pornography? If so, how do you feel about it? Has your relationship deteriorated since you found out?