A titillating and polarizing subject, porn addiction has been analyzed ad nauseam by scientists, conservative pundits, and women's magazine's alike. If Don Jon taught us anything, it's that frequent porn indulgence can absolutely impact how we view sex IRL, but when it comes to making the leap from loving porn to being powerless in the face of porn, things get a bit trickier.
A new study published in the journal Biological Psychology suggests that porn addiction as we know it is a fiction. Using an EEG machine, researchers analyzed the brain responses of 122 men and women — including 55 people who reported a "porn problem" — to images deemed pleasant, neutral, or unpleasant, where half of the pleasant images were erotic. Scientists focused on the brain's emotional response to visual stimuli, called LLP (or late positive potential). This response is known to increase for addicts when they look at the substance to which they are addicted, whether it be cigarettes, cocaine, or heroin.
According to RT.com, even those with what some might call "porn addiction" “showed decreased brain reactions when shown the sexual images, rather than heightened activity.” Study author Dr. Nicole Prause said these findings don't suggest that pornography can't cause sexual or personal problems, but that the biological components of "porn addiction" are nothing like addiction as it is generally defined from a scientific perspective. Here are 3 other interesting facts about porn you might not know:
1. Men And Women Have Very Different Porn Preferences
A recent survey from PornHub and Buzzfeed found that the most popular porn for women is lesbian porn, followed by gay male porn and threesomes. The most popular porn searches for men, on the other hand, are ‘Teen’, ‘MILF’ and ‘Mom’.
2. Moderate Porn Exposure Might Decrease Sex Crimes
No, seriously. Multiple studies suggest that a moderate dose of smut might decrease the likelihood someone will commit a sexual crime. A safe, private outlet for deviant desires can play out in everyone's benefit, but that doesn't mean that you're fighting crime every time you log onto PornHub.
3. Men Watching Porn Focus Most On One Body Part
It's not boobs, butts, or even the hallowed vagina, but the face that men watch most in adult movies. According to a study from The Kinsey Institute, men prefer to track women's faces in porn to judge just how hot and bothered they are instead of just ogling their naked bods.
Images: Ed Gregory/Pexels; Giphy (3)
