How Watching Adult Content is Impacting Family Life

On the surface, you’re a strong, confident, and successful man. You have a loving wife and a beautiful family. You work, volunteer, and take summer vacations. But behind this facade lies a secret compulsion to watch porn.

Don’t worry — you’re not alone. 95% of men admit to watching Internet pornography. Another 70% of women also admit to partaking in this recreational activity.

While indulging in pornographic material in moderation is normal (and can actually strengthen your relationship in certain situations), it can also have a negative impact on your personal life. This is especially true if you have a spouse, partner, and children.

You might be thinking, “What does my porn habit have to do with my family?”. Keep reading to uncover the answer to that question and more.

When Porn Becomes a Problem

There’s no clear line between a “healthy” porn habit and an obsession or even porn addiction. Viewing pornography for a certain number of hours a day doesn’t automatically label you an addict. Instead, it’s about how pornography is impacting your daily life and your ability to function and formulate healthy relationships.

Pornographic films, videos, stories, and images shared between a healthy, intimate couple can actually be a positive experience. Porn is a form of foreplay and a tool for safely exploring fantasies and desires.

But when you start lying about your porn habit, sneaking around, or neglecting responsibilities, it may be a sign that there’s a problem brewing. Are you less interested in sex with your partner and more interested in the actors and actresses on film? Do you find yourself struggling to get aroused without porn?

All of these are signs that viewing adult content has escalated from a minor indulgence to a significant problem. Online therapy programs like Stop Together are designed to help you not only recognize these warning signs but break the hold of porn addiction.

Once you’ve reached this realization, you’ll likely start seeing the negative consequences in your family life. Here are some of the most obvious and significant ways watching adult content can affect your family life.

Strained Marriage

While 40% of couples admit to occasionally watching porn together, another 56% claim to never indulge in adult content as a couple. Many people prefer to watch pornography in private as a form of foreplay or to get sexually aroused prior to sex. Watching adult content together is a very intimate experience but one that most people don’t feel comfortable engaging in.

Whether your partner is okay with you viewing adult content without them or not, too much of a “good” thing can be bad. At first, you may use porn as a way to get “in the mood”. In time, you may find yourself watching porn more and more often. Before long, you’re more sexually aroused by the adult content you find online than you are by your spouse.

This is a common side effect and warning sign of porn addiction. Adult content is often over-the-top with actors looking, performing, and reacting in ways that aren’t always aligned with reality. When you find the videos you watch more exciting than actual intercourse with your partner, chances are, your sex life will deteriorate. Your significant other will likely wonder why you’re no longer interested in sex or seem dissatisfied. This may cause feelings of distrust and low self-esteem in your partner.

You may also crave more taboo and aggressive sex acts and scenarios based on videos you’ve seen and enjoyed. Placing unfair pressure on your lover to perform these sex acts can cause resentment for both of you. Hiding your compulsions is also a recipe for disaster and can lead to even more trust issues.

Missing Important Events and Responsibilities

The more you view adult content, the more you want it. Over time, your brain may associate happiness and pleasure with pornography. You’ll soon be compelled to watch adult content to avoid mood swings and other negative feelings.

This compulsion to view adult content can slowly trickle over into your personal life, causing you to miss important events in your family’s life and neglect other responsibilities. Missing your children’s sporting events or school meetings, neglecting the monthly bills, or falling behind at work are all negative consequences of a preoccupation with porn.

You may also notice yourself getting irritable, moody, and even angry when something or someone prevents you from indulging in your habit. This can cause tension in your relationships as your loved ones notice a significant change in your demeanor and personality.

Financial Troubles

Speaking of neglecting your monthly bills, in 2018 the adult industry was reportedly worth $6 billion. With the introduction of internet porn, it’s never been easier to fork over your hard-earned money for access to exclusive adult content.

The problem is, that money is probably earmarked for other things like groceries, your mortgage, and utilities. An obsession with watching porn and accessing adult content can quickly lead you down a dark hole of financial debt. While there’s plenty of free content to be had, you may find yourself craving increasingly more intense and exclusive videos. Interactive webcams and other live videos come at a cost.

Chances are, you’ll be entering your banking information without your partner knowing. Once they do find out, not only will you have lost your money but your spouse’s trust.

Accidentally Exposing Others to Adult Content

Other people stumbling on your secret stash of adult content is always a concern, but this is especially worrisome if you have children. No matter how careful you think you are about setting up safety blockers or hiding your favorite magazines, kids are inherently curious.

In today’s digital world, accessing adult content online has never been easier. If you search and view pornographic material on the home computer, tablet, or even on your phone, you run the risk of other members of the family discovering it. Most search engines save your most recent queries. With a few clicks of a button, your loved ones may come face to face with your secret, explicit indulgences.

When your desire for consuming pornographic material outweighs logic or reason, you may get careless, leading to someone else accidentally being exposed to explicit content. This can cause psychological and emotional damage to children and tension between you and your spouse.

Porn Addiction Affects More Than Just You

If you think your porn habit only affects you, think again. Viewing adult content in moderation, in private, or with a partner can be a healthy form of sexual exploration and expression. Unfortunately, it can also negatively impact your family life.

Lying or sneaking around to indulge in your habit can cause trust issues in your marriage. In time, you may find your partner less attractive, negatively impacting your sex life and intimacy. Neglecting personal, professional, and financial responsibilities can also cause a myriad of issues in your family life. Remember, viewing adult content can have negative ramifications that extend far beyond yourself.

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