The Unconscious Allure of Internet Pornography in Adolescence and Adulthood

The use of internet pornography combines the pursuit and elaboration of sexual fantasy with masturbation. In adolescence, masturbation with fantasy may be used developmentally to consolidate the adult sexual organization and as “trial action,” a rehearsal for intimacy; in young people who are unable to use masturbation in this way, there may be developmental “deadlock.” For patients presenting with compulsive use of internet pornography, we witness an equivalent state of “deadlock,” in which pornography use has become sterile and repetitive, primarily serving a defensive rather than a developmental function. This defensive use of pornography often starts in adolescence in response to both explicitly sexual and broader emotional challenges. A case example of compulsive use of internet pornography is presented which illustrates the way in which the images viewed, the use made of the electronic device, the timing of the enactment, and the physical experience of sexual arousal and masturbation, may all contribute to a system of defense within the mind. It is proposed that the psychic “satisfaction” from the operation of these systems of defense underpins the unconscious allure of internet pornography; this combines with the sexual gratification from masturbation and orgasm to contribute to the “addictive” quality of internet pornography.