Men, more than women, are commitment-phobic. There might be several reasons for their phobia – just not ready for a relationship, very content in their singlehood and want nothing/nobody to stir the peace, bad experience in past relationships, or just plain immature. Whatever be the reason, men, in general, are delaying getting married.
In the US, the reason for delay in marriage among men is an interesting one indeed – porn!
Image source: Google, copyright-free image under Creative Commons License
According to a study conducted by scientists from the German Institute for the Study of Labor (Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit), the increased ease and access to free porn on the Internet has affected the number of men getting married. The researchers studied the Internet habits of more than 1,500 American men between the ages 18 and 35 during 2000 and 2004. The researchers analyzed two main aspects among these men – a) the number of hours spent on the Internet per week, and b) the types of websites they frequent, including porn sites, religious sites, sports sites, news sites, and others.
Taking into account the variables that impact marriage, such as age, education, and income, the researchers then measured the correlation between porn use and marriage rates. They found that the rise of free Internet porn correlated with declining marriage rates, and also concluded that it may have been a contributing factor for most of the participants being single.
While the study’s findings are in no way conclusive, the researchers assert that there is a causal link between porn usage and marriage rates. They even went as far as to speculate that, “Traditionally, one of the reasons to enter into a marriage was sexual gratification. But as options for sexual gratification outside of marriage have grown, the need for a marriage to serve this function is diminishing.”
Image source: Shutterstock
Further adding that, “If a man can choose whether to get married at the beginning of the period, higher utility from marriage is required in order for the man to marry. Thus, cheaper pornography is unequivocally associated with lower marriage rates.”
But these researchers aren’t taking into account the fact that if a man only gets married for sexual gratification, then that man should be teleported back to the Stone Age. Because in the 21st century, both women and men, get into relationships for more than sex. Companionship, a sense of belonging, love, emotional intimacy, romance.
Granted, there are some, who are just looking for sex without all the trappings of an actual relationship, but that number is small – I hope. But to “unequivocally” declare that men are delaying marriage because of porn – is kind of hard to believe, whether they have access to all the free porn in the world and/or access to sexual gratification without being married. Whatever they may declare, porn is NOT a substitute for an actual relationship.
Last but not least, the study found that porn users were less likely to attend church, more likely to cheat on their partners, and more likely to engage in sex work. Huh.
Featured image source: Shutterstock
Facebook
Disqus
Google + 
