Is porn the problem?

A recent survey by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) has found that 53% of therapists have seen a rise in people seeking help for problematic pornography use.

The survey report defines "problematic pornography use" as "interfering with their life or driving them to seek out more extreme content".

When we talk about "driving them to seek out more extreme content", it's in the sense that watching porn is perceived as a slippery slope. It's a sentiment that we can probably all relate to - we get a bit desensitised, we're always looking for something fresh to fuel our fantasies. While there's nothing more than anecdotal evidence to suggest that this slippery slope encourages men to watch extreme or illegal content, most of us will be familiar with the post-nut clarity of realising that what got us off was something we probably shouldn't have been watching.

The question of "interfering with their life" is a bit harder to pin down. Examples given include porn-related erectile dysfunction, social isolation, relationship problems, or depression and anxiety. There's no empirical evidence to support any cause-and-effect analysis - it's highly likely that in many instances porn use becomes a coping mechanism or a distraction from whatever the underlying issue might be.

But top-line statistics about a dramatic rise in "problematic pornography use" is headline-grabbing stuff, with plenty of experts quick to call on the UK government to implement some kind of porn strategy to tackle what is often described as "porn addiction" - broadly characterising adults accessing adult entertainment as inherently problematic.

The underlying assumption is clearly that watching porn leads to harms. Those harms may be vague, unquantifiable, and anecdotal, but it feeds strongly into the "protect the children" narrative that gives a lot of traction to conservative policy makers.

The BACP itself has a relatively nuanced approach to how therapists encounter use of porn in a therapy setting - highlighting that the consensus is that "problematic porn use" is better described as a compulsion not an addiction, and that "fit-for-purpose sex education, teaching pornography literacy and psychoeducation, and welcoming dialogue are vital".

Undeniably, our relationship with porn is an example of where our online or digital interactions intersect with our real-world experiences. It's not the only example, but it has the most impact in media headlines.

By focusing on something as simple and understandable as porn, policy makers are able to avoid having to dig into the much more challenging question of how is the internet changing us as individuals, communities, and societies? Pointing at porn and calling it the problem is a lot more palatable than suggesting that maybe we're experiencing a fundamental breakdown in how we think and feel as humans.

The end result is that porn is being used as a scapegoat for the societal troubles of the world. The issues that grab the headlines each day are the consequences of capitalism - the rise of individualism, community breakdown, isolation, disconnection, and loneliness. Instead of grappling with the underlying causes, banning porn is seen as not only "a solution" but "the solution".

Adding fuel to the fire is the rise of socially conservative christo-nationalism in the US, with stated policy objectives to ban porn - think of the children.

Around the world, we're already seeing increasing regulation and attempts to control the production, distribution, and accessibility of porn. The momentum for the regulation and restriction of adult entertainment appears to be increasing - adults can't be trusted to watch porn.

History shows us that attempts to restrict access to adult entertainment pushes porn underground and increases the risks for everyone involved, but it seems like everyone wants to turn the clock back to the 1950s and we're all about to experience our trad-wife era.

As governments try to tell you why you're miserable, ask yourself - is your porn use problematic, or has capitalism fucked you over?