Heavy internet porn use is a worry for men
A survey of one thousand and fifty seven 18-24 year olds conducted by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust has revealed that a quarter of men are worried about the amount of internet porn they watch.
According to the online survey almost eight out of ten men admitted they had looked at porn compared to just over a third of women. Furthermore, those who used adult sites heavily were far more likely to report issues in employment, relationships and sex lives.
Dr Heather Wood, who helped to draw up the study commented that more people are spending large amounts of time to accessing porn but are not having fun. She said: “They are more worried about themselves, more worried about what they are looking at, and report more relationship problems.”
Other key findings from the study included the following:
-The average man in the study spent over two hours per week viewing adult sites.
-The average women in the study spent 15 minutes per week viewing adult sites.
-Two-thirds of men surveyed considered viewing porn to be fine in moderation.
-Half of women surveyed considered viewing porn to be fine in moderation.
-One quarter of men said they were worried about the amount of porn they were looking at, with almost as many feeling concerned about the kinds of images they were viewing.
-Four per cent of men said they used adult sites for more than 10 hours a week.
The internet is now a huge resource for porn, allowing individuals to access adult material for free. According to internet ranking company Alexa, some internet porn sites are actually more popular than mainstream sites such as Channel4.com and ITV.com.
Jason Dean, a counsellor who set up a website to help online sex addicts, said: “I speak to people who feel unable to cut down or stop using these sites.
“It used to be mainly middle-aged single guys but now I get more contact from women, teenagers and people in their 20s.”
The survey suggested that men who viewed porn for 10 hours a week were more likely to feel concerned about their habit influencing their behaviour and were also more likely to report it putting them off their real sex life.
For further information about porn addiction/internet addiction and how hypnotherapy may be able to help, please view our fact-sheet.