Is pornography ruining your sex life?

Whether it’s your dad’s or your uncle Barry’s hidden stash of playboys or you and your right-hand man (or woman) and your trusty laptop, or even if it’s Babe Station daytime – most of us have been exposed to pornography at some point in our horny little lives. For the (what I would call) few of you that haven’t experienced the pleasure/experience/awkwardness that is porn, I’d say hey – it’s the 21^st century – how have you NOT seen some form of porn yet? I mean people; you’re really missing out!

Or are you?

As much porn as there is out there, (trust me – there’s a lot*) and for as many of us that have seen it once, or even watch it frequently, can we really look down on our non porn-watching compatriots and judge them for being prudish? Maybe…maybe not – there are so many different opinions on sex nowadays, porn included, it’s hard to determine whether or not the Porn-splosion of the last 20 years has had a detrimental effect in our bedrooms, classrooms, bars and even the gym…as porn would have you believe. It could be that people who do not watch porn are better off. Personally I would disagree. The only advantage that non porn-watchers have over porn-watchers is that their expectations are lower.

The negative side effect of porn is that it skews your outlook on how sex should go down. Too much porn can lead to unrealistic ideals, for instance – nine times out of ten, your partner isn’t going to be wearing spandex, or stiletto heels, or ass-less chaps. I’d go as far as saying 9.5 times out of 10. I do not apologise here for bursting any bubbles, but my fellow dudes out there, sex doesn’t always start with oral sex (the irony of writing this on the self-proclaimed steak and blowjob day is not lost on me, I assure you).

In addition there’s the obvious; don’t masturbate too much to porn! Don’t waste your libido on the fake stuff – especially if you have a girlfriend or a boyfriend that you can actually have real coitus with! As with all of life’s vices, a little goes a long way, do everything in moderation and all that jazz. The same applies to porn. Despite how creepy this sounds, you can learn a lot from watching two complete strangers having sex. You could come across a new position you wouldn’t have been able to think of on your own. Besides, who has time to trawl through the karma sutra anyway?  Just Google it – safe search turned off of course. Missionary is great and all, but variety is the spice of (sex) life.

If you can look past the awkwardly hilarious/cringe inducing “storylines” I would highly recommend giving porn a look in. It can teach you a lot. But if you’re a porn novice, maybe ask someone who knows what to search for. You don’t want to end up on the weird side of the Internet.

You know what I’m talking about. Two females, one receptacle from which one consumes beverages.  STAY CLEAR OF THAT ONE.

Verdict: No, porn isn’t ruining your sex life, it can improve it – if you watch it in small doses.

*Obviously I don’t watch porn; I am a respectable young man with traditional values. I had to watch some porn, of course, in order to have an understanding of the topic before writing this article. It was research. Yeah… that’s it… research…

Image courtesy of nerve.com