Is porn ruining real sex for men?
Is too much porn detrimental to your love life? A provocative article in the latest edition of New York magazine suggests that it is, citing a University of Kansas study in which 25 percent of college-age men said they'd faked orgasms.
"Porn is not only shaping men's physical and emotional interest in sex on a very fundamental neurological level, but it's also having a series of unexpected ripple effects — namely on women," writes Davy Rothbart in the New York piece. "For a lot of guys, switching gears from porn's fireworks and whiz-bangs to the comparatively mundane calm of ordinary sex is like leaving halfway through an Imax 3-D movie to check out a flipbook."
But Time magazine said science doesn't support Rothbart's thesis. Men's bond with porn is nothing new; these performance problems arise -- or don't -- because opportunities to satisfy the lust for variety have never been more available, according to neuroscience journalist Maia Szalavitz.
Rothbart, undeterred, acted as his own guinea pig, resisting porn for three days. "On the fourth day, I had the fortune of having sex with a woman," he writes. "And nothing was faked, although I can only speak for myself."
Read the full article at New York Magazine.
About the Author
A native Atlantan, Boone joined the AJC staff in 2007. He quickly carved out a niche covering crime stories, assuming the public safety beat in 2014. He's covered some of the biggest trials this decade, from Hemy Neuman to Ross Harris to Chip Olsen, the latter of which was featured on Season 7 of the AJC's award-winning "Breakdown" podcast.
