Porn ‘damages & degrades’ relationships

by christiannewsjournal
Couple

A new study concluding that pornography use leads to decreased enjoyment of sexual intimacy for men illustrates “the detrimental effect” obscene images have on “a male’s sexual health,” according to a leader in the anti-pornography campaign.

“The study reinforces the fact that pornography writes a sexual script that leaves out God, unconditional love, respect for each other and honoring each other,” Jay Dennis, co-sponsor of the Join One Million Men campaign, said in written comments.

“Parents should take heed that the younger a male views pornography the more he will use pornography for sexual stimulation. The study underscores that pornography lessens enjoyment with a real-life partner,” Dennis said.

Launched in, Join One Million Men is seeking commitments from 1 million men to live pornography-free lives.

Researchers Chyng Sun, Ana Bridges, Jennifer Johnason and Matt Ezzell wrote in the December issue of “Archives of Sexual Behavior” that “pornography is sometimes dismissed, celebrated, or problematized as fantasy, and many consumers may access pornography explicitly as a form of entertainment, but pornography is also much more. What happens on the screen may implicate life off of it.”

The researchers asked a sample of 487 males ages 18-29 a range of questions regarding the frequency of their pornography use, their use of pornography in conjunction with sexual encounters and their enjoyment of sexual intimacy.

The research team found “significant positive association” between pornography use and “reliance on pornography to obtain/maintain sexual excitement.” Use of pornography also made men more likely to “view pornography during sexual activity” with a real-life partner. Porn use correlated with less enjoyment of sexually intimate behavior.

“Our findings are consistent with a theory suggesting that pornography can become a preferred sexual script for men, thus influencing their real-world expectations,” the researchers wrote.

Only 10.9 percent of the men surveyed reported that they did not currently use pornography. A mere 1.3 percent of men surveyed said they had never encountered pornography.

The vast majority of study participants (97.9 percent) were unmarried, but 75.4 percent reported having engaged in sexual intercourse. Participants reported on average that religious faith was only moderately important to them, suggesting that the study results may not apply to men in committed relationships with Christ. All participants were college students.

Donna Rice Hughes, president and CEO of the anti-pornography organization Enough Is Enough, said the study proves that pornography “is not just harmless fun.”

“The science proves exactly how harmful porn is to relationships and society,” Hughes said in a news release. “Which is why we are fighting so hard to educate the public about how to prevent this toxic material from its devastating harms to children, women, men, marriages and our culture. At Enough Is Enough, we bring this research to the public, to Congress, to leaders.”

The study also found that 48.7 percent of today’s college males were first exposed to pornography prior to age 13. Researchers claimed that “current sex education models — in the schools and in the home — do not seem well-equipped to assist boys in navigating or critically engaging the messages of pornography.”

The study’s authors criticized abstinence-only sexual education programs, which teach teens to delay sexual activity until marriage, as “ineffective in helping adolescents make informed and healthy sexual choices.”

But Dennis agreed with the principle of sexual abstinence until marriage, noting “the boundaries God has set for our safety and enjoyment.” Pornography ignores those boundaries and depicts as normal “degrading and humiliating acts along with physically aggressive behavior toward women,” he said.

Dennis concluded, “Parents must begin educating their children, especially their sons, on why pornography is not God’s plan and how it damages and degrades real relationships. Education, information, accountability and biblical truth communicated by a loving parent can help turn the tide.”

by David Roach — BP

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