University of Kansas (KU) psychology professor Omri Gillath, Ph.D., Dr. Ateret Gewirtz-Meydan and doctoral candidate Katie Adams will spend the grant money to analyze the consequences of porn, which, according to Pornhub data, has become ubiquitous.
The KU academics beat other researchers and won The Pornhub Grant for Sexual Wellness Research.
"With this grant, Pornhub hopes to help advance important work in the field, be it technological, medical, or sociologically rooted-so long as its end goal is to bring new information into the world that can help people lead happier and healthier sex lives," explained Pornhub.
The team aims to uncover both positive and negative effects of watching porn films. The negative consequences being an enhanced feeling of loneliness, impact on sexual behavior and expectations and development of porn addition, as well as various mental health issues.
"One of the options is that maybe people are consuming porn instead of sexual activity with a partner, and that would fit in with the overall tendency of having less sex and getting married less, and so on," said Professor Gillath.
READ MORE: 'Pipe Dream': PornHub Subsidiary to Pay People for Watching Porn
Some users online jumped at the opportunity to comment on Pornhub's grant.
don‘t worry, the link is sfw
— Alexander Ahammer (@AhammerAlex) March 29, 2018
So pornhub offers a $25k grant. Time to apply I guess
— julian shmurda (@__JulianRuiz) September 9, 2016
@TBTBrandon I have a 4.1 GPA so I'm signing up for this 😂
— 𝔭𝔲𝔫𝔨𝔢𝔩𝔩𝔞✨🌙 (@jayymariefams) September 5, 2015
The University of Kansas researchers argued that in some ways porn has replaced sex education in many families and with it come anxiety, stress and "all kinds of maladjustments."
A study by the Naval Medical Center in San Diego has in 2017 revealed that men who consumed online pornography 3-5 times a week indicated a diminished desire to engage in sexual relations with their partner, as well as an erectile dysfunction.
Much of the current research into the effects of exposure to hard-core pornography has found links between hard-core porn and an increase in sexual deviance, sexual offending, negative attitudes to relationships and being more susceptible to accepting rape myths.
Addressing the concerns, associated with watching porn, Professor Gillath said:
"We have a responsibility, not only at the scientific level but also the educational and societal level, to engage in such work."
Pornhub marked its tenth year anniversary in 2017 and also launched its Sexual Wellness Center "an online resource aiming to provide readers with information and advice regarding sexuality, sexual health and relationships." The Pornhub Grant for Sexual Wellness Research was also part of the company's sexual awareness policy.
Professor Gillath and his collaborators will conduct three studies over the next 18 months, to analyze the nature of pornography watching effects on people.
