Porn Kills Teenage Boys Chances of Healthy Relationships
When most parents imagine their teen’s future, they picture their teen growing up and having a loving and committed relationship. By watching porn, teen boys put themselves at risk of never experiencing that future. The truth is porn kills teenage boys chances of healthy relationships. Porn creates a distorted view of sex that is not compatible with healthy relationships. Porn can cause young men to have a more negative image of their own body, their future partners, and the value of relationships.
Solitary Sex, No Intimacy Required
When teenage boys watch pornography, they associate sexual satisfaction with isolation. The people they watch and fantasize about have no relationship to them. The objects of the viewer’s sexual interest do not need or want anything from them, but their attention. There is no expectation of building a healthy, loving, mutually satisfying relationship with a partner. Young men may become addicted to this solitary activity, which may have a negative impact on their future relationships.
Dr. Alexandra Katehakis compares the rush of dopamine that a teen experiences when masturbating to porn alone to heroine. Teen boys who indulge in masturbating alone become addicted to the high. When they are ready for relationship with another person, they find their experiences unsatisfying by comparison. Moreover, porn creates expectations of sex that are far from healthy.
Katehakis described the problem as follows: “Pornography shows us a world where relationships mean nothing and immediate sexual gratification means everything. Therefore, the adolescent viewer’s brain is being wired to expect that sex and relationships are separate from one another, and that men and women’s bodies should be sexually exaggerated as they are in porn–which can lead to shame about one’s own body as well as failure to be aroused by the bodies of others.”
Porn Prevents Healthy Relationships
People pay a great deal of attention to the negative effects that porn has on mental and emotional health. There is good reason for this. Multiple studies indicate that watching porn can have negative effects on relationships. These effects include poorer communication, decreased satisfaction with the relationship and increased infidelity. In addition, there is some indication that porn can cause physical sexual dysfunction as well.
A psychosexual therapist in the United Kingdom observed an increased number of men in their teens and twenties who were being referred to her for erectile dysfunction. “These younger men do not have organic disease, they’ve already been tested by their GP and everything is fine,” reported Angela Gregory. “So one of the first assessment questions I’d always ask now is about pornography and masturbatory habit because that can be the cause of their issues about maintaining an erection with a partner.”
Is your son showing signs of porn addiction? If he is, don’t stay silent. Don’t shame him, and don’t give in to shame yourself. Work together to set healthy boundaries. As a parent, you are responsible in helping to shape your son’s future. His future relationships will benefit from your intervention today.