How online porn is fuelling sex addiction: Easy access to sexual images blamed for the rise of people with compulsive sexual behaviour, study claims

  • As many as one in 25 young adults are believed to be sex addicts 
  • University of Cambridge scientists showed men series of sexual stimuli
  • Study found 3 brain regions were more active in men with sex addictions
  • Men were less stimulated by same images, prompting the search for more 

By Kate Pickles For Mailonline

Published: 05:42 EST, 23 November 2015 | Updated: 09:38 EST, 23 November 2015

The 'endless supply' of pornography on the internet is feeding sex addiction, a study has revealed.

Sex addiction – when an individual has difficulty controlling their sexual thoughts, feelings or behaviour – is relatively common, affecting as many as one in 25 young adults.  

Researchers from the University of Cambridge claim this is being fuelled by easy access to sexual images on the Internet.

Tiger Woods
Russell Brand

Tiger Woods and Russell Brand are both celebrities who have well documented addictions to sex

The ready supply makes it difficult for people with compulsive sexual behaviour to resist their urges, according to the study published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research.

Scientists tested sex addicts and healthy men to see how they responded to sexual images. 

Brain scans revealed that sex addicts became desensitised when repeatedly shown the same sexual images, with a decrease in activity in the region of the brain associated with rewards.

This was found to be consistent with 'habituation', where the addict finds the same stimulus less and less rewarding - so sex addicts need to seek new images to get the same high.

Scientists compared it to a coffee drinker getting a caffeine 'buzz' from their first cup and how this reduces over time and the more they drink coffee.

This same habituation effect also occurred in healthy males who were repeatedly shown the same porn video. 

But when they then view a new video, the level of interest and arousal goes back to the original level, suggesting sex addicts would need to seek out a constant supply of new images.

'We can all relate in some way to searching for novel stimuli online – it could be flitting from one news website to another, or jumping from Facebook to Amazon to YouTube and on,' said lead author Dr Valerie Voon. 

Easy access to pornographic images online makes it easy for sex addicts to fuel their addictions (file image)

Easy access to pornographic images online makes it easy for sex addicts to fuel their addictions (file image)

'For people who show compulsive sexual behaviour, though, this becomes a pattern of behaviour beyond their control, focused on pornographic images.' 

In previous work led by Dr Voon, from the department of psychiatry, scientists found that three brain regions were more active in sex addicts compared with the healthy volunteers. 

These regions – the ventral striatum, dorsal anterior cingulate and amygdala – were the same as activated in drug addicts when shown drug stimuli.

'Our findings are particularly relevant in the context of online pornography,' adds Dr Voon. 

'It's not clear what triggers sex addiction in the first place and it is likely that some people are more pre-disposed to the addiction than others.

'But the seemingly endless supply of novel sexual images available online helps feed their addiction, making it more and more difficult to escape.' 

There is no formal definition of the condition to help with diagnosis of the condition which is heavily stigmatised and can lead to a sense of shame, affecting an individual’s family and social life as well as their work.

 

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