[notadev]

> Lots of people enjoy it and it doesn't harm anyone.

- Researchers have found that repeated porn use "wears out" the dopamine reward system in the brain.

- A German study shows that some porn users become dependent on new, surprising, or more extreme porn to get aroused.

- Some men report that their level of concentration and emotional well-being have been negatively affected by porn use.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hero/201603/is-porn-...

[GekkePrutser]

Wouldn't those things be the same for people that have very frequent sex? What's distant on the physiological side between porn and sex? I'm sure you don't want to outlaw the latter?

> - Researchers have found that repeated porn use "wears out" the dopamine reward system in the brain.

For example some couples also lose interest in sex after several years and this is a cause for partners to start looking for affairs. It's the same effect.

> - A German study shows that some porn users become dependent on new, surprising, or more extreme porn to get aroused.

So? As long as it's not illegal, perhaps they will discover something that they get satisfaction from in real life too (e.g. S&M)

> - Some men report that their level of concentration and emotional well-being have been negatively affected by porn use.

Possible but not something the state should get caught up in. We don't live in a nanny state.

Also, none of these effects are serious enough on a societal level to justify banning it IMO.

[notadev]

> Wouldn't those things be the same for people that have very frequent sex?

I don’t know, do you have a source to answer that or just trying to muddy the waters? Absolutely no one will ever be able to have as much frequent sex as there are sources of increasingly extreme pornography.

> Also, none of these effects are serious enough on a societal level to want to ban it.

If users become dependent on more extreme porn to get aroused, how long until they need the more extreme porn in existence. How is the presence of that porn, and the victims it requires, not serious enough on a societal level?

If some men report their concentration and well-being are negatively impacted by porn, and about 98% of men view pornography[1]…how can you not see how that will be bad for society?

[1] https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/experimentations/201...

[GekkePrutser]

> I don’t know, do you have a source to answer that or just trying to muddy the waters? Absolutely no one will ever be able to have as much frequent sex as there are sources of increasingly extreme pornography.

I have not done research on it but I recognise the effect in couples, that have even told me their sex life became bland. And that they were looking for more 'extreme' things themselves (involving other people, toys, ropes etc or just having affairs).

You focus very much on a drive to extreme porn but I don't really think this happens for everyone. For me I don't notice this, I don't like the more extreme forms of porn that come over from Japan for example. I don't find that arousing at all. I've come to appreciate the more well-produced camera work. From VHSes with grainy gonzo (that was all that was available back then) to more excellently lighted and seductive camera work. I don't think it's too different from people evolving in their enjoyment of regular movies.

Personally I think that people that gravitate towards ever more extreme things were always inclined to those things but just not engaging with them due to societal pressures. This is usually what I hear from people into bondage and S&M etc. I shared a house with someone really into that who was also pretty 'promiscuous' to put it mildly :) so I've had a lot of chats on the topic. They were always interested in it, but it took time to overcome the shame, and thus it seemed like they were evolving towards it. I'm not into it myself but it was enlightening and cool to talk about. People into these things seem to be very open to discussing it in my experience. I wish more people were like that. Just talking about sex more would make the experience a lot better for everyone.

I find this a very interesting discussion as well, by the way.

> If users become dependent on more extreme porn to get aroused, how long until they need the more extreme porn in existence. How is the presence of that porn, and the victims it requires, not serious enough on a societal level?

They're not victims unless they are doing it against their will. Some people enjoy extreme practices. The ones that are crossing the line are already illegal and don't warrant a ban on pornography as a whole.

But I think you're focusing very much on the extreme which is really a niche in pornography. Only some people gravitate to that and if they do, why is it bad in the first place, as long as they enjoy it?

> If some men report their concentration and well-being are negatively impacted by porn, and about 98% of men view pornography[1]… how can you not see how that will be bad for society?

Personally I think this is none of society's business. Whether it's true for myself I don't even know (I don't think so) but the label 'some' means it's not an effect everyone reports.

But in any case, as long as they can live their lives it is not up to society to interfere, in my book.

[HNresetPass]

no, it is not the same effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coolidge_effect

degenerating into filth is not something to say "so?" about, the whole "as long as its not illegal" is a line that gets thinner as people begin to approach it when they get into more extreeme things.

we should have a nanny state