It's great when friends feel so comfortable with you that they share sensitive personal information. This happened recently when a friend told me about his challenges with erectile dysfunction. He's become surprisingly knowledgeable on the topic -- not only for his personal challenge, but how this problem is affecting society. For my friend, he's been experimenting with ED drugs, generic Viagra and Cialis, with good success. However, he's really bothered by how he got here -- the cause. ED can be caused by other health problems, like obesity, circulation problems or diabetes, but often it just gradually occurs as you age.
My friend always thoroughly researches a topic he's interested in. He was explaining to me how widespread ED has become in society. In his view the main culprit is the widespread availability of porn. PIED -- Porn Induced Erectile Dysfunction is apparently an epidemic. The concerning thing here is the population being affected by ED -- it's not just men over 50. It's men in their 20's and even younger. Look at online postings where 20 year old guys bemoan their ED and describe their use of porn going back to twelve years old. Stopping porn is a start, but it's not a quick cure.
Some states have started to require age verification to access porn sites. I guess that's somewhat helpful in keeping minors out. What's one of the biggest porn sites these days? It's X (fka Twitter). There's no age verification for that site. Several people have told me that X is their go-to for porn these days.
As my friend was explaining, prior to the internet, or let's say more than forty years ago -- how many penises (in a porn context) did a man see in his life? Ten? Twenty? How many penises has the regular porn user seen in his life now, even if he's 25 years old? Easily tens of thousands. What does that do to the brain?
The day of reckoning is here for the ill effects of porn.
