Is porn actually harmless, or are we just pretending?

[Monster Energy]

Let’s be honest for a second. People act like porn is just normal, harmless, no big deal. But is it really? Or have we just normalized something we don’t want to question?

And here’s the real question no one wants to answer properly if you’re in a relationship, is it actually okay to sit there and get off to someone else online? Or is that just a socially accepted version of cheating?

Because if your partner was doing the exact same thing, watching someone else, getting turned on by someone else, would you genuinely be fine with it? Or would something about that feel off?

I’m not even saying it should be illegal. But the way people defend it without thinking twice is interesting. It’s like we’ve decided it’s harmless, so no one looks deeper.

So what do you think? Is it normal, or is it just normalized?

 

 

[Hojo]

Its one of the worst things for a society.

[something_else]

16 minutes ago, Hojo said:

Its one of the worst things for a society.

I can think of so many things worse than porn for society that I don’t even know where to start listing them because too many things are coming to mind

Edited 5 hours ago by something_else

[Hojo]

@something_else cant even name 1.

[LastThursday]

I'd say it's in the same category of question as do computer games cause violence? The answer to that one is is that most people can sensibly tell the difference between fiction and reality, and don't go around stealing cars and running over pedestrians in a big city. 

In the same vein I think most people can tell the difference between porn and reality. If you have or have had a sex life, then there's no comparison. In that case you only continue watching porn like you continue eating fast food, because it gives you an instant pleasure hit. Like fast food, that pleasure hit is addictive, and addiction is bad (so says society).

There's a lot of moralising about porn, but if you strip that away, then porn could give you a disorted view of sex and how and why it's performed, especially if you're young and uninformed. 

The question really is then, does repeated exposure to porn cause a long lasting negative effect on libido, expectation, attraction and fashion in how sex is performed? Is faux strangulation and shaved genitals the norm now because of it?

[Eskilon]

It's definetly not harmless, plenty of people have problems with it. But also is a complex issue because plenty of people watch and don't have problems with it. 

It depends, I don't think one can say it's overall bad and that it should be banned or restricted based on a statistic or something.

Edited 5 hours ago by Eskilon

[Monster Energy]

53 minutes ago, Hojo said:

It’s one of the worst things for a society.

Yes 

[Monster Energy]

13 minutes ago, LastThursday said:

I'd say it's in the same category of question as do computer games cause violence? The answer to that one is is that most people can sensibly tell the difference between fiction and reality, and don't go around stealing cars and running over pedestrians in a big city. 

In the same vein I think most people can tell the difference between porn and reality. If you have or have had a sex life, then there's no comparison. In that case you only continue watching porn like you continue eating fast food, because it gives you an instant pleasure hit. Like fast food, that pleasure hit is addictive, and addiction is bad (so says society).

There's a lot of moralising about porn, but if you strip that away, then porn could give you a disorted view of sex and how and why it's performed, especially if you're young and uninformed. 

The question really is then, does repeated exposure to porn cause a long lasting negative effect on libido, expectation, attraction and fashion in how sex is performed? Is faux strangulation and shaved genitals the norm now because of it?

I get your point, especially the fast food comparison, that actually makes sense. Most people can tell the difference between fiction and reality.

But I think the real issue isn’t whether people know the difference, it’s how repeated exposure slowly shapes expectations without people realizing it. Just because you know something isn’t real doesn’t mean it doesn’t affect how you think or what you expect over time.

That’s where it gets interesting to me.

 

[Elliott]

I've never heard anyone say it wasn't harmful, everyone knows it's bad

Also don't drink soda......

Edited 5 hours ago by Elliott

[Monster Energy]

3 minutes ago, Elliott said:

I've never heard anyone say it wasn't harmful, everyone knows it's bad

Also don't drink soda......

Don’t drink Monster Energy 

[LordFall]

I think it's somewhat good. It allows people to choose intentional relationships instead of forcing people to engage in mediocre entanglements to get their impulses met. 

 

[Elliott]

1 minute ago, LordFall said:

I think it's somewhat good. It allows people to choose intentional relationships instead of forcing people to engage in mediocre entanglements to get their impulses met. 

 

...... I think porn use tends to make guys more desperate to jump into a relationship. You don't need porn to masturbate.

[Monster Energy]

4 minutes ago, LordFall said:

I think it's somewhat good. It allows people to choose intentional relationships instead of forcing people to engage in mediocre entanglements to get their impulses met. 

 

If you always have an easy way out, why would you ever push for something real? It doesn’t replace mediocre relationships, it just replaces the need to grow.

It might reduce the need for mediocre relationships in the short term, but over time it can make real connection feel less necessary. When there’s always an easy outlet, you stop pushing yourself toward something deeper.

So instead of improving relationships, it might just replace them.

 

[CARDOZZO]

Porn is more addictive than cocaine.

Just do sex with a real partner. Period.

Avoid porn and masturbation. If you really need to fap, do it alone with your own imagination or ask your partner to do it.

[EmiHyen]

It’s only harmful if you’re being deceived by it.

At the end of the day, porn is a constructed experience, a performance. What you’re responding to is an image, not reality. You’re jerking off to pixels on a screen. It’s not that different from watching too many romantic movies and starting to believe that’s how relationships are supposed to be.

Of course, it can become addictive. You can grow dependent on it. But it can also be a way to explore and appreciate the beauty and vastness of sex.

It all depends on how you relate to it.

That’s why it’s 18+. Because you’re supposed to have the judgment and maturity to handle it

[bazera]

It's addictive nature makes it bad for most guys / relationships. For me it's problematic, it's really easy do get addicted and then you jump through all the addiction hoops that wastes time, energy, etc.

Also the whole industry is very shady and unconscious.

Edited 2 hours ago by bazera

[Carl-Richard]

My view is cheating is doing something that would likely create a wedge between you and your partner (it's not an exclusive definition, but it works for the phenomena of cheating in my opinion). Seeing another person might likely do that, having sex with another person might do that. These examples are particularly pertinent because they involve another person, someone who could replace your partner in full (given we treat partners as fungible items, which we can do here for the sake of it). Now, does watching porn do that? What about watching porn in a magazine? What about masturbating to a movie scene? What about simply masturbating? Maybe it depends on the person. If you are that consumed by masturbating to things that your relationship with your partner suffers greatly, perhaps that could be called cheating.

[Hojo]

@Carl-Richard It needs to be limited. Allowing porn for everything is like max level when you need some balance.

Not maximum level for everything.

Its like making a decision for porn or no porn.

Deciding for porn and that meaning you can max level and constantly push boundaries non stop. 

Its like saying seeing a woman's titty can be shown and since that's okay why not 10 men raping a woman in a 'scene.'

Prob best to just not have it.

Edited 58 minutes ago by Hojo