Does Internet Pornography Addiction Result in Erectile Dysfunction?

A report connecting erectile dysfunction in young men to pornography use was unveiled by Italian researchers earlier this month. As reported by the research project’s founder, University of Padua urologist Carlo Foresta, around 70-percent of men in their twenties who sought medical assistance for ED as part of the study confessed to frequent use of online pornography. Additional interviews with the subjects indicate that this trend might be more widespread than the report suggests, however.

Per one of the project’s 20-something participants, “Guys will never openly discuss this with friends or co-workers, for fear of getting laughed out of town. But when someone tells their story on a health forum, there are always at least 50 or 100 replies from other guys who struggle with the same thing.” This kind of feedback was prevalent from the test subjects, and along with additional discoveries by Dr. Foresta and his team, they seem to suggest that ED has become a silent epidemic among the younger generation.

Why Does Pornography Addiction Cause ED?

It was concluded by the Italian researchers that regular use of online pornography leads to “hyper-stimulation” of young men’s sexual sensibilities and a “desensitization” of the brain’s mesolimbic dopamine pathway (in common terms, the brain’s pleasure centers). In his interview, one young patient concluded, “Lots of guys, in their 20s or so, can’t get an erection anymore with a real girl”, because ordinary sexual encounters don’t generate the same level of excitement as the explicit ones depicted in erotic movies. Even more worrisome, this issue was connected to a drop in condom usage among young men who felt that they were incapable of achieving an erection while wearing one.

Information gathered pointed out that the instances of erectile dysfunction in young men were virtually always preceded by stretches of progressively intense pornography usage – in terms of both the volume and graphic nature of the material watched. This observation, along with the withdrawal symptoms displayed by patients after their direct exposure to the material terminated (foremost among them, urgent cravings and a total loss of libido), further strengthened the hypothesis that the occurrences of impotence were related to the pornography addiction.

How is this Kind of ED Remedied?

It was concluded by Dr. Foresta’s research team that cases of impotence attributed to pornography addiction are fully reversible – but the program is not a quick one.

In fact, the most-effective approach to treatment requires a withdrawal period of one to three months where the patient abstains from strong sexual stimulation like masturbation.

Invariably, however, this technique did enable the test participants to get back full erectile health (usually within eight weeks), including a healthy libido, and the ability to enjoy mutually-satisfying sex with a partner. The highest level of success was among individuals who, when previously diagnosed by physicians, had been told that there was “nothing wrong” with them physically. In summary, it seems as if the cure for erectile dysfunction in young men, at least in cases connected to overuse of pornography, is abstinence.

Darin Mendanor is an authority on erectile dysfunction in young men and erectile dysfunction symptoms in men of all ages. He is a regular contributor to this site.