'Definitely' a rise in people watching porn during pandemic, says sex therapist

Psychosexual and relationships therapist Eithne Bacuzzi says some couples have become bored of each other during lockdown.

A sex therapist believes there has "definitely" been a rise in the number of people viewing porn during the pandemic in Ireland.

It is after research from the UK's communications regulator found half of British adults had watched porn as the country was in lockdown.

Ofcom carried out this research which covered the month of September last year.

It says over 15 million people visited PornHub in this time frame - which is more than the audience for the likes of Sky One and BBC News.

Psychosexual and relationships therapist Eithne Bacuzzi says she would not be surprised if there were similar increases in Ireland.

"It comes out sometimes out of boredom or relationships have become a little bit mundane - not all, absolutely not," said Ms Bacuzzi.

"However, some can be because they are in a little bubble and there is no external influences, no excitement out there. They can't go for dinner, they can't meet their friends.

"So they kind of get bored with each other."

Further analysis has found the average user spent 10 mins and 23 seconds on the website.

While the likelihood of a person watching porn increased among younger age groups.

One third of young women and three-quarters of young men visited the site in that timeframe.

Ms Bacuzzi warned that addictions to porn can put a serious strain on relationships.

"They get used to reacting to air-brushed images which is completely different to a real person," she explained.

"Then when they try to become intimate with their partners or their wives - I'm talking about men because it is men generally who watch porn though not always - it just becomes much more difficult.

"They can then often have sexual issues as a result."