Healthcare professionals report a serious rise in rates of psychiatric and neuro-developmental disorders in young people today. More adults are experiencing  sexual health problems too. Is it true that pornography affects health? Research points to the impact of the compulsive use of internet pornography on mental health. These conditions particularly affect men. A 2015 Review by Love et al. states

“Regarding Internet addiction, neuroscientific research supports the assumption that underlying neural processes are similar to substance addiction.”

The good news is that recovery is possible. It helps if you understand how the brain changes as you experience different things in your life.

In this section The Reward Foundation introduces the many ways our health can be influenced by the use of the internet. We focus on internet pornography.

Consuming internet pornography can change the brain and alter the human body. It can lead people to develop problematic sexual behaviours including addiction. Put simply, pornography affects health.

We unpack these issues in the following pages.

• Balance and imbalance
• Mental Effects of Porn
• Physical Effects of Porn
• Porn and Sexually Transmitted Infections
• Stress
• A Supernormal Stimulus
• Addiction
• Behavioural Addiction
• Recovery

We also provide a range of Resources to support your understanding of these issues.