High speed Porn – Is it bad?

One fine morning I got a call from Chennai Live 104.8FM asking me to be a panelist on their talk show “Mid week Ban” hosted by Jane. The topic was about pornography as the debate on porn had escalated in India with a tie off between the Supreme Court and the Central Govt, not to mention the likes of Sunny Leone. There were three of us in all on the panel as I was joined by a Psychologist and a Social activist.

The RJ Jane who hosted Mid week Ban was in her element and though she was apprehensive about whether there would be call in’s we were all flabbergasted by people queing up to call. The discussion went on for two hours and I was asked from time to time to give my views. What is wrong with Pornography(high speed porn)? If this is a moral question, then I may not be the best person to answer this. However, as a sexologist and from a scientific perspective this was right up my alley.

Science at the cellular level talks about how high speed porn triggers the same pathways in the brain that highly addictive substances trigger like cocaine and alcohol. There is a reward centre in the brain which feeds on itself by the release of dopamine. Dopamine is the neurotransmitter that is responsible for craving and seeking. High speed porn causes dopamine release which sets a cycle in motion. The initial sensitization to porn slowly turns into latency which means that one cannot get stimulated with the same pornography that they watch daily. This seeks gratification from porn which is deviant and not analogous to what one usually gets in a straight relationship. BDSM, Gay porn, beastiality, reality cams , revenge porn, voyeurism and even child pornography is sought out avidly after a time frame.

Is this relevant in clinical practice? Well, the jury is still out on whether pornography is good or bad for sexual health and function. Is there a time limit that one can spend on in watching porn? How much of porn is good or how much is too much? While we ponder over these questions, consider this!

90% of my patients are between 20-30years. Sexual dysfunction, be it ED or PE is rampant in this age. Non consummated marriages are growing. The highest porn population is late teens. Rape is turning into gang rape versus a single person. Rapists are increasingly teenagers. Violence against women is increasing. We still don’t have statistics to prove this conclusively. But I do see a pattern emerging.

My advice is simple. Porn is a billion dollar industry. Government regulations cannot touch it at least for now. How does one regulate then? If porn does not let you function socially or interferes with your work you know that you are getting addicted. Seek help before it is too late. It takes time to get de-addicted . One has to reboot. I can help and so can others.

Is Watching Porn Bad?