Watching more porn linked to worse erectile function in men

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is the inability to get or keep an erection firm enough to have sexual intercourse. It's sometimes referred to as impotence. According to the survey, presented at the EAU virtual Congress, only two-thirds of male respondents rated sex with a partner as more stimulating than watching porn videos.

The research team established an online questionnaire, which was advertised mainly to men in Belgium and Denmark through social media, posters and flyers. For the study, 3,267 men replied to the 118 questions, answering questions about masturbation, frequency of porn watching, and sexual activity with partners. The questionnaire concentrated on men who had had sex within the previous 4 weeks, which allowed the team to relate the effect of porn watching on sexual activity.

The questionnaire incorporated questions from standard erectile function and sexual health surveys. "In our sample, men watch quite a lot of porn, on average around 70 minutes per week, normally for between five and 15 minutes per time," said study researcher Gunter de Win from Antwerp University in Belgium.

The study found that around 23 per cent of men under-35 who responded to the survey had some level of erectile dysfunction when having sex with a partner. The study showed that there was a highly significant relationship between time spent watching porn and increasing difficulty with erectile function with a partner, as indicated by the erectile function and sexual health scores.

People who watch more porn also scored high on porn addiction scales.

The researchers also revealed that 90 per cent of men fast-forward to watch the most arousing pornographic scenes. "There's no doubt that porn conditions the way we view sex; in our survey, only 65 per cent of men felt that sex with a partner was more exciting than watching porn," the study authors wrote. "In addition, 20 per cent felt that they needed to watch more extreme porn to get the same level of arousal as previously. We believe that the erectile dysfunction problems associated with porn stem from this lack of arousal," they added.