A few weeks ago I released a podcast episode about how to have firmer erections and keep Mr. Happy happy. I brought up evidence of how porn use interferes with male sexual functioning.
A reader asked an insightful question:
“My wife and I use your Just Between Us app and send each other sexy pictures. We don’t intend to stop, but I’m wondering if that is considered porn and if that impacts erections.”
Great question!
The research shows a high correlation with habitual porn use and erectile dysfunction in partnered sex. In other words, they can get hard and masturbate to orgasm with the woman on the screen but struggle with the real live woman in front of them in the bedroom.
It’s probably partially because porn is often filled with extremes and novelty (not the kind of sex that most people experience in real life) and people habituate to those extremes for arousal.
Another theory is that the way people masturbate to porn is often a different sensation compared to partnered sex, conditioning the body to be very specific in the type of stimulation typically received… then in partnered sex, not experiencing different stimulation leads to worry / concern which leads to erectile problems.
So about couples sending each other exciting pictures — I would not necessarily put that in the “porn” category because I’m assuming the context there is completely different from the habitual porn user studied in the research above.
I would put your sharing of images in the categories of intimacy, sharing a connection, and creating something special and secret (in a healthy way) just between the two of you. I’m assuming you’re not using the photos to replace your in-person sexual connection, but instead it’s used to enhance it.
Keep up a good thing!
