Porn: Does It Enhance Relationships or Ruin Intimacy?

More people think porn can be a part of a normal relationship. Pair (dating app to find the right person) carried out a poll from 5/16/14 to 9/4/14 and measured public opinion on the topic.

People were asked: “Is internet porn ruining real intimacy in relationships?” The responses were rather balanced: “Yes” — 48%, “No” — 52%.

72,721 people were polled. They represent different countries, which indicates that this issue is topical around the world. Most interested were the participants from the USA — 89%, Canada — 2%, Britain — 4%, Australia — 3% and other countries — 2%.

Jim Wysong, author of “The Neutering of the American Male”, explains: “People usually turn to porn when they’re depressed and lonely. Instead of making the effort to improve the relationship, they take the easy way with porn. Sexual intimacy is a byproduct of emotional intimacy. That means that sexual desires won’t disappear when people don’t have a fulfilling relationship.”

61% of females believe porn is devastating for a relationship, while only 39% of males do.

Alex Cusper, Pair service analyst, comments that “Men tend to be more visual and physical and often are the ones who spend most of the time watching porn. This may seriously affect the relationship, as a partner can feel left out and cut off from the other person.”

Pair, a leading mobile dating service, regularly conducts research among its users. Millions of people from the U.S., Canada, Britain and Australia answer hundreds of questions every month. You can find more results from our research on how to find the right people for you, learn about how Pair blocks fake profiles, discover what invisible mode is and how to use it, find tips on how to save time searching for people on Pair, and read about how not to lose the right people on Pair. If you are interested in research on a particular topic, please contact us. Any reprint of the material should be followed by clickable links to the survey.