Do you or your partner watch porn? If so, you’re among the many people in the country who do.
The pornography industry is one of the biggest in the country generating $13 billion each year. Many people – both men and women – watch it. One study found that the vast majority of men watch porn at some point in their life. About 30% of porn viewers are women.
Watching porn regardless of gender, brings up a good question – is watching porn harmful to your relationship?
There is no definitive yes or no answer to this question. It’s subjective. First you need to consider how it affects your relationship.
Some may feel that watching porn can be harmful to their relationship since it may cause their partner to withdraw from the relationship because he/she receives instant gratification from his/her fantasies. Others believe that as long as sexual intimacy with their partner is not being replaced by their partner’s porn viewing, then it is not an issue in their relationship. They feel that it may even help with sexual desire problems in their relationship.
You want to ask yourself these main questions below and try to distinguish how porn may affect your relationship.
• How do you feel about your relationship?
• Are you and your partner satisfied with your sex life?
• Is your partner turning outside of your relationship to meet a need that
should be met within the relationship?
• Has your partner become dependent on porn or does s/he watch it
more often than you two are intimate?
These are just a few revealing questions that can help you gauge whether porn is a problem in your relationship or not.
If you and your partner have a satisfying sex life and are happy in your relationship, watching porn now and then probably isn’t a concern. However, if you’re struggling with intimacy and your partner is watching porn more often than you’re being intimate, I suggest you address this and work on issues with your partner.
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