This might not be such a controversial topic to constitute a spot in this forum, but I couldn't think of any other section to include it in.
Recently in my Psychology class, we've been covering the topic of motivation. The different types, intrinsic, extrinsic, biological motivators, etc.
Today we got on the topic of sex because sex, as we all know, is a huge motivator that can widely influence our behavior. Being seniors in high school, we were all more than mature enough to handle a topic like this (I'm actually not being sarcastic). The conversation went as expected. Sex is an underlying drive that is necessary, natural, and healthy, but can lead to impulsive behavior that causes mistakes. Yadda yadda yadda.
Then it got a little heavier. He got on the topic of external sexual stimulus (sexually explicit images, media, porn, etc) and how it an have adverse affects on society.
This is where he "gets on his soap box" as he likes to call it. He reminded us that these were just his own opinions on the matter and that we did not have to agree with him. One of the things he mentioned was the staggering divorce rate within the United States (somewhere above 50% I think). He, being among that percent, was not about to harp on the idea, but he did believe that too many people were getting divorced for not the right reasons.
When I think of the current divorce rate, I believe that many people were always unhappy with their marriages in the past. It's just more socially acceptable to get a divorce now than it was 30+ years ago. Simply put if you were unhappy with a marriage you dealt with it. My psych teacher believes that there is some truth to that, but he also believes that the sexualized media and easy access to pornography is also contributing to it.
Similar to how having gorgeous models shoved in your face 24/7 can make a person feel bad about themselves, it can also decrease a person's opinion of their partner. Porn and the media as a whole provide unrealistic standards, but nonetheless seeing these beautiful models and porn stars can spark some comparisons, comparisons that your partner is bound to lose. That's the theory anyway.
Now, this isn't to say that porn is the cause of divorce. However, what he was saying was something that I'd never even considered before. It was interesting. Whenever I think of porn, I always imagine it as a perfectly healthy habit, and something that all guys do. But when and if I get a girlfriend/boyfriend, I don't want my opinion of them to decrease because they're not willing to try what I've seen online, or they don't measure up to the hype.
All this being said, I'm most likely not going to stop watching porn. I'm a hormonal 18 year old. It's gonna happen. What do you guys think about any of this?