Not that porn needed to be any more popular, but it would seem that 2022 has been a great year for the industry so far. And no wonder – it’s likely that the pandemic porn habits of the nation have carried over to the current year, even though things are slowly returning to normal. Asking why porn is popular might seem like asking why people like chocolate cake, but it’s still a valid question. Why do people keep watching porn? Even better, why should they keep watching porn? If you’re wondering why so many people are still consuming porn of every description, from traditional porn videos to voyeur cams, you’ll find the answers below.
Porn makes it easier to find out what turns you on
Arousal can be a tricky thing, especially if your sexual proclivities aren’t part of the mainstream. Nobody wakes up suddenly knowing they’re into a certain kink, or even a certain gender; in most cases, they discover their desires when they’re exposed to them for the first time. And how would that happen in most cases, except for porn? It’s a judgement-free option for exploring your sexual self and expanding your horizons. After you’ve made a few of these discoveries about yourself, you won’t just be able to use porn to feed your arousal; you’ll also be able to populate your imagination with whatever images you need to get yourself going.
Porn offers something for everyone
Mainstream porn might be rather limited in scope compared to the actual range of human experience, but this isn’t all that porn has to offer. You can also find ethical porn sites, or porn that’s body-positive, non-binary, hairy, indie, queer, feminist, or sex-positive. Pornhub may be one of the most recognizable names in porn, but there are loads of other options. Even DIY porn is making waves, with the younger generation stepping up to record their sexual experiences.
Porn normalizes sexual desires
In so many cases, people think something’s weird until they see someone else doing it. Do you get all hot and bothered by dirty feet? Does popping balloons really do it for you? Maybe your idea of sexiness incarnate is Hagrid from Harry Potter. Other people might still think it’s odd, but if you can find your tribe, you don’t need to share other people’s opinions about yourself.
The widespread availability of every kind of porn imaginable doesn’t just mean that we get to enjoy ourselves no matter what we like; it also helps break down sexual stigmas. It shows people that they don’t need to be ashamed of how they feel; maybe they just need to realize that they aren’t alone.
Porn relieves stress
No, really; there have been actual studies on the stress-relieving benefits of porn. One study actually tested for a correlation between consuming porn and improving math skills. And guess what? Men who viewed semi-erotic photos (along the lines of bikini models) performed better in math tests than the guys who were presumably looking at IKEA catalogs. Why did this happen? It was demonstrated that the men who’d looked at the slightly dirty pictures had much lower cortisol, a stress hormone, compared to the other group. Lower cortisol resulted in better concentration, and bingo – they had better math skills.
Porn counts as safe sex
Sure, it doesn’t quite have the same effect as the real thing, but porn comes with advantages as well as disadvantages. You can’t get an STD, it’ll never result in an unexpected pregnancy, there’ll never be any judgement or body-shaming, and nobody will care if you haven’t showered in a while. It’s also (sometimes) free, always convenient, and totally safe. Plus, some couples even use porn to help get things going for themselves.
Porn promotes masturbation
If you grew up with the anti-porn campaigns that were spearheaded by certain religious groups, this might not sound like a positive thing at first. After all, they would say the exact same thing in an effort to disparage porn. Despite the naysayers, however, masturbation has been shown time and again to have multiple benefits for both mental and physical health. Do some people overdo it? Sure. Does this mean that we should discourage both porn and masturbation for 100% of the population? Absolutely not. Masturbation is a big part of taking care of your own sexual needs, so if porn can help with that, go for it.
Porn encourages sexual satisfaction
Who could have guessed it – porn makes you feel good. A Danish study done in 2008 surveyed men and women about their thoughts on porn. In general, they said that it was beneficial for their perception of sex, for their sex lives, and for life in general – among many other things. In a nutshell, they thought that porn was a good thing. Imagine that.
Porn helps your sex drive flourish
Here’s something else that may not be a big revelation, but it might as well be said. Not only does regular sexual experience (even if it’s just with porn) keep our sexual fires burning bright, but there’s a hormonal aspect to it as well. High cortisol is known to interfere with sex hormones, which govern libido. If you can lower your cortisol, that gives your body a chance to do what it wants – give you a healthy sex drive.
Porn may even decrease sex crimes
This might seem like a big claim, but there’s evidence to back it up. For one thing, the spread of porn has correlated with a decline in sexual abuse against women. The more people consumed porn, the fewer sexual assaults were committed. As for the claim that porn objectifies women, that can’t really be denied…but then, women have been objectified for centuries. If that’s an issue for you, simply find some porn that takes a more responsible angle.
The takeaway
Porn gets all kinds of hate, and a lot of it isn’t deserved. There are pros and cons, but all things considered, it’s clear to see why porn is so popular in 2022.
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