According to research published in the journal Human Communication Research in 2009, exposure to internet pornography reduces adolescents’ satisfaction with their sexual lives.
The study was conducted by Jochen Peter and Patti M. Valkenburg of the University of Amsterdam.
The authors of this study conducted longitudinal study of 1,052 Dutch adolescents aged between 13 and 20. Between May 2006 and May 2007, these adolescents completed three online questionnaires that assessed their exposure to sexually explicit internet material, sexual experiences, their perception of social norms, and satisfaction with their sexual lives.
They found that exposure to sexually explicit material on the internet was associated with reported dissatisfaction in their sexual lives. This relationship was especially strong in adolescents that had little to no sexual experience and believed that sex was easily obtainable.
Peter and Valkenburg believe that social comparison could be responsible for this effect:
When confronted with sexually explicit material, people typically make upward comparisons between their own sexual lives (or partners) and the sexual reality portrayed in such material. The perceived discrepancy subsequently leads some people to consider their own sexual lives (or partners) as inferior, which, eventually, results in dissatisfaction with their own sexual lives (or partners).
Interestingly, this study did not find any significant differences between the effects of internet pornography and sexual dissatisfaction in male and female adolescents.
Reference:
Peter, J. & Valkenburg, P.M. (2009). Adolescents’ Exposure to Sexually Explicit Internet Material and Sexual Satisfaction: A Longitudinal Study. Human Communication Research, Vol 35: 171–194.
