Your Brain on Porn: Internet Pornography and the Emerging Science of Addiction

When high speed internet became widely available a few years ago, growing numbers of people began to worry that their porn use was running out of control. Far from preparing them for fulfilling relationships, viewing an endless stream of porn videos led to unexpected symptoms. Perhaps most surprisingly, for the first time in history erectile dysfunction was becoming a significant problem for young men. This led to one of the largest informal experiments in the history of science. Tens of thousands of people have tried abstaining from sexually stimulating material in a process they call ‘rebooting’. Many of them reported startling changes, from improved concentration and elevated mood to a greater capacity for real-life intimacy.

Gary Wilson has listened to the stories of those who have tried giving up internet porn and related them to an account of how the reward system of the brain interacts with its environment. And now a growing body of research in neuroscience is confirming what these pioneers have discovered for themselves – internet pornography can be seriously addictive and damaging.

In Your Brain on Porn Wilson provides a concise introduction to the phenomenon of internet porn addiction that draws on both first-person accounts and the findings of cognitive neuroscience. In a voice that is generous and humane, he also offers advice for those who want to stop using internet pornography. The publication of Your Brain on Porn is a landmark in our attempts to understand, and remain balanced in, a world where addiction is big business.

About the Author

Gary Wilson presents a wealth of evidence that fast Internet porn can have harmful addictive effects. The series of highly favourable reviews of this newly-released book on both American and UK Amazon bear witness to just how relevant and helpful it has already been. The book is written in a simple clear language appropriate for expert and layperson alike. It is rooted firmly within the principles of neuroscience, behavioural psychology and evolution theory. The suggested ways of addressing the problem are also based upon established principles of behavioural psychology. They do not involve probing the depths of the unconscious mind or years of expensive therapy. The book does not preach a moralistic message. As an experimental psychologist, I have spent over 40 years researching the bases of motivation and I can confirm that Gary’s analysis fits very well to all that I have found.”

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