There are a thousand ways for the young and inexperienced to explore sex and sexuality in healthy and constructive ways.

Unfortunately, with the rampant sexualization of nearly all media, and the constant stereotype that one “needs” to lose their virginity before 21, porn has become a surrogate sexual teacher for far too many Americans.

In terms of pornographic consumption, a study performed by Spencer B. Olmstead and his collegues, titled “Emerging Adults’ Expectations for Pornography Use in the Context of Future Committed Relationships: A Qualitative Study,” found that nearly 71 percent of men questioned reported moments when pornography use was acceptable in a relationship. In contrast, 45.5 percent of women thought the same.

This sets up many unfortunate expectations for those that have yet to experience the act themselves.

For men, porn leads them to expect ravenous women that want nothing more than to please, for hours on end, while constantly having perfect skin, shape, size, hair, etc. For women, they expect massive members, endless stamina, little foreplay, and little overall care. Of course, this is for “normal,” straight porn.

If pornographic habits have extended beyond standard intercourse, it is even possible for viewing porn to be the only way for some to reach orgasm. This hindrance could lead to many dramatic issues in real-world physical relationships, among both men and women.

Beyond the scope of interpersonal relationships as a whole, such extreme sexualization overall sets up many people, women in particular, for many issues.

According to the report from the American Psychological Association (APA), “Report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls,” “research links sexualization with three of the most common health problems of girls and women: eating disorders, low self-esteem, and depressed mood.”

That report was beyond porn, though.

The report explored the sexualization of girls in video games, magazines, advertisements, animation, music videos, music lyrics, television, movies, and many other forms of media. It found many areas of American culture that specifically sexualize or domesticate feminine characters and roles.

In the grand scheme of things, most media serves purely to entertain, porn included. The goal here should be to lessen what we as a society take away from that entertainment.

Porn isn’t real sex, it is two adult actors or actresses performing for a camera. It may be a hyperbolic representation of real life meant to portray a realistic situation, but it will never be “real.”

It takes a mature mind to understand and not be swayed by the false reality of entertainment; watch with care.