Pornography Use and Holistic Sexual Functioning: a Systematic Review of Recent Research

Abstract

Purpose of ReviewPornography use is a common recreational activity in most developed nations with unrestricted internet access. As public awareness of pornography’s popularity has grown, so have concerns about potentially deleterious effects of pornography. One domain of particular concern has been the impact of pornography use and online sexual behaviors on sexual wellbeing. Over recent years, a number of studies have examined how pornography use relates to sexual wellbeing. The present work seeks to review such literature, with a particular focus on the effects of pornography on sexual functioning and sexual satisfaction. To this end, a systematic review of recent research (within the past 5 years) was conducted.Recent FindingsA total of 44 articles were included in the systematic review. In some situations, pornography use is associated with greater sexual functioning and greater sexual satisfaction, and in other cases it seems to be associated with lower sexual functioning and lower sexual satisfaction. Specifically, mere pornography use itself was most often not associated with sexual functioning in either direction, but self-reported problematic use of pornography was consistently associated with more sexual functioning problems.SummaryCollectively, results suggest a nuanced understanding of the effects of pornography on sexual wellbeing, with the context of and perceptions about pornography use being extremely important in predicting whether or not pornography has negative effects.