Sex Aware

The negative effect of pornography on a teenager's sexuality has been greatly exaggerated, according to a new study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine.

Parents have long had reasons to intervene when they catch their teens looking at pornography. There are arguments to be made against pornography on almost every level: Most films, especially from the mainstream, at best give very unrealistic depictions of men, women, and various sex acts, and it has long been thought that exposure to pornography has a negative effect on a teen's sexual development.

But at least one new study argues the contrary: That pornography might not have as big an effect on teen sexual behavior as thought.

For the new study, 4,600 young people between the ages of 15 and 25 in The Netherlands were surveyed about their sex lives and their use of pornography. The survey asked whether they used pornography, how many sexual partners they have had, and whether or not they've had one-night stands or exchanged money for sex.

Gert Martin Hald, the lead author of the study and associate professor in the department of public health at the University of Copenhagen, said that previous studies on the subject focused too much on the contraction of sexually transmitted diseases and the consumption of pornography. This means that previous studies had already overestimated the link between porn and sexual behavior without laying any proper groundwork. Their study, therefore, focused on sexual self-esteem, sexual assertiveness, sensation seeking, and the extent to which young people sought out sexual excitement and physical pleasure.

The study found that ultimately, there does exist a statistically significant relationship between the subjects' pornography use and their sexual behavior, [but] that link turned out to be a modest one. Hald also argues that more attention should be paid to other influences outside of pornography. Hald said:

There has been a sort of moral panic -- sometimes in Britain and in the U.S. especially -- about the influence of pornography on sexual behaviours. And although this study can't claim to investigate cause and effect, it can still say that there are a lot of other factors that determine sexual behaviours, so maybe we should put the debate into a larger perspective instead of being just one-sided.

Perhaps he is trying to suggest that unemployment and a lack of prospects may be doing far more harm to kids than viewing porn.

Watching porn and posting nude photos of oneself may be good for young people according to a Swedish researcher.

Pernilla Nigard, a doctoral candidate at Malmo University studied men and women 18-25 and found that young people's online porn habits can enrich their lives. She even believes the practices may help shape their identities. Nigard told The Local: A lot of it is about the need to be seen, to get affirmation, and to get attention,

When asked why they posted sexualized images of themselves online, the women Nigard interviewed said that they feel stronger when they receive positive comments.

But it's not all good news. If women receive negative comments, they're likely to strike back at their critics. Nigard found that it's OK to be seen as sexy, but if women are labeled sluts or whores it can become problematic for those who post their photos, especially when they're spread across the internet.

Men on the other hand use porn in the pursuit of independence. Nigard said: It's sort of like uncomplicated sex. There aren't any demands like in a real relationship because there is a lack of intimacy.

Nigard's research also indicated that it's not really clear why young people feel good about exposing their sexuality online when it's those who comment who have the real power. She said that perhaps it's the simple fact that our image-heavy culture helps shape young people's identities regardless of the consequences.

Pornographic Picture Processing Interferes with Working Memory Performance

By Christian Laiera (Department of General Psychology: Cognition, University of Duisburg--Essen), Frank P. Schultea & Matthias Branda (Erwin L. Hahn Institute for Magnetic Resonance Imaging).

Abstract

Some individuals report problems during and after Internet sex engagement, such as missing sleep and forgetting appointments, which are associated with negative life consequences.

One mechanism potentially leading to these kinds of problems is that sexual arousal during Internet sex might interfere with working memory (WM) capacity, resulting in a neglect of relevant environmental information and therefore disadvantageous decision making.

In this study, 28 healthy individuals performed 4 experimental manipulations of a pictorial 4-back WM task with neutral, negative, positive, or pornographic stimuli. Participants also rated 100 pornographic pictures with respect to sexual arousal and indicated masturbation urges previous to and following pornographic picture presentation.

Results revealed worse WM performance in the pornographic picture condition of the 4-back task compared with the three remaining picture conditions. Furthermore, hierarchical regression analysis indicated an explanation of variance of the sensitivity in the pornographic picture condition by the subjective rating of the pornographic pictures as well as by a moderation effect of masturbation urges.

Results contribute to the view that indicators of sexual arousal due to pornographic picture processing interfere with WM performance. Findings are discussed with respect to Internet sex addiction because WM interference by addiction-related cues is well known from substance dependencies.