User:Amyaris/Effects of pornography

Article Draft
This is the sandbox for the article "Effects of Pornography".

Tolerance (portion will be used in "Sexual Preferences" sub-heading)
Prolonged exposure to pornographic content can lead to a development of increased sexual stimuli tolerance. Study showed earlier exposure may lead to potential desensitization to the stimuli, meaning individuals seek longer stimulation (12.0%) and more intensive sexual stimuli (17.6%) to reach climax. Such increase in tolerance was connected to a change in online pornography use pattern, major one's being "switching to a novel genre of explicit material (46.0%), use of materials that do not​ match sexual orientation (60.9%) and need to use more extreme (violent) material (32.0%)."

Withdrawal Symptoms (new sub-heading in "Psychological Effects" or add on below same heading)
Individuals who have developed form of dependence on pornography use, and do consider themselves as addicted to pornography, have experienced withdrawal symptoms. A study on effects and consumption of pornography across large sample of students from various universities has shown more than a half tried to give up consumption for pornography (or at least minimize the use of such material. Within those who at least made one attempt, almost 75% experienced at least one symptom of withdrawal. Withdrawal symptoms included erotic dreams, irritability, attention disturbance, and sense of loneliness. Other recorded potential symptoms included depression, anxiety, obsessive thoughts, and an intense longing for pornography. On topic on anxiety, a survey performed on a sample of internet users with porn dependency, concluded 24% of the participants had experienced anxiety symptoms if access to porn on the Internet was inhibited. Individuals who showcased an abstinence from online pornography has shown "most common positive effects" to include improvements in day-to-day functioning, increased energy, mental clarity and productivity. Some surveyed individuals even experienced enhanced sensation and greater pleasure from ordinary activities (e.g. sports, socializing, writing on paper).

Sexual Deviations (further add on to "Sexual Preferences" sub-heading)
A cross-sectional study on prevalence and patterns in pornography use has detected individuals who mentioned an increased need for more extreme content. Although this may have been depicted as a result of desensitization due to frequent use of pornography, thus a need to use more graphic, violent, and degrading porn material to achieve similar sexual arousal, the actual causation comes from aggression as "more extreme pornography material was more frequently reported by males describing themselves as aggressive." On the other hand, females who increased their search for extreme pornographic content came from the curiosity aspect itself rather than a need due to desensitization.

The research focused on associations of dark personality traits with online activities has also found some dark traits related to online sexual use. Specific online activities of the study covered social media, online gaming, online gambling, online shopping and online sex. The results showed that "Machiavellianism, spitefulness, sadism, and narcissism were related to different types of internet activities such as online sex, social media use, online gambling, online gaming, and online shopping." Individuals' correlation to sexual use to such study variables is Machiavellianism (.32), spitefulness (.31), sadism (.34), narcissism (.24), and psychopathy (.26).

Preference to pornography than sexual excitement (add on "Sexual Satisfaction" sub-heading)
Individuals who use pornography alongside masturbation as the primary tool of sexual arousal and fulfillment of one's sexual satisfaction (or needs) may become conditioned to prefer pornography more than other needs of sexual arousal. Furthermore, the "frequency of pornography consumption was also directly related to a relative preference for pornographic rather than partnered sexual excitement." The individuals in the given study primarily used pornography for masturbation purposes. Such preference of pornography over sexual satisfaction fulfilled with a partner, especially in the case of extracting sexual information from pornography, would lead to lower overall sexual satisfaction. Individuals who seek pornography as the main source of information about sexuality were associated with lower sexual excitement, and in return, lower sexual satisfaction in a partnered relationship. Gender did not affect the results of such findings.

However, pornography among some individuals is not only used for sexual satisfaction. A study on affection substitution has shown that "pornography consumption is positively related to affection deprivation, depression, and loneliness and inversely related to experienced affection, relational satisfaction, and closeness." All presented above variants, except affection deprivation, had a significant correlation based on statistical data. Due to such positive relations, individuals who consume pornography not only use it to satisfy their sexual arousal but also to reduce loneliness and create a coping mechanism against social disconnection. Some of the examples of coping mechanisms may include "creating parasocial relationships with the characters depicted in pornography."

Female negative body image (add on to Body image-female sub-heading)
A study done in 2021 has shown a mediating role of pornography use among women and how it affects the consciousness of body image and attachment insecurities. Girls who have not experienced a sensitive response to their needs and/or were emotionally deprived under the parent/caretaker childhood environment had a greater chance of developing insecurities about their body image. The use of pornography seems to amplify attachment fears and anxiety. Such anxiety is correlated to females seeking approval of their bodies and self-worth from their counterpart in a relationship setting. The findings did correlate with past research articles which found that "anxious but not avoidant attachment affects body image, the drive for thinness, body dissatisfaction and body appreciation." Furthermore, pornography use could also amplify women's body image self-consciousness in an intimate setting. The acts performed in pornographic movies created a feeling of pressure among women, not only creating a higher negative body image but also the feeling of being criticized by their partners if their body was not resembling the body shape of models in pornographic content. However, mediating role between pornography, and anxiety attachment, and body image self-consciousness was found only in women in a relationship at the time of the study, which correlated with attachment theory.