What Pornography Was Originally For — and How the Internet Turned It Into an Addiction Machine
Pornography didn’t always function the way it does today, and the way it’s changed is why people are more addicted to it than ever. I’m Dr. Carli Blau, a licensed Sex Therapist in New York, New Jersey and Florida. I work with individuals and couples every day regarding sex-related issues including porn use.
Many clients who come to me for sexual issues around porn use, including erectile dysfunction, delayed ejaculation, frequent use, inability to climax without it or even feeling inadequate in comparison to it - don’t understand why their bodies are not being impacted by the porn itself - but rather the dopamine it creates in the brain.
In fact, for most of human history, porn was rare, contextual, and limited—not endlessly available, algorithmically optimized, or financially dependent on keeping people stuck in a loop of arousal without satisfaction.
Understanding how pornography used to function helps explain why modern porn feels so different—and why so many people now describe their relationship with it as compulsive, numbing, or out of control.
Let me give you a brief history of pornography, including scarcity, not saturation:
Historically, pornography existed in constrained forms:
Ancient erotic art and carvings (Greece, Rome, India) were symbolic and narrative
Erotic manuscripts and drawings were rare, expensive, and discreet
Printed pornography emerged alongside the printing press, but distribution was limited
Even magazines (like Playboy) required intentional purchase and privacy
Porn was static.
It didn’t chase the viewer.
It didn’t change mid-experience.
And it didn’t escalate endlessly.
A person consumed pornography deliberately, briefly, and usually infrequently.
The key psychological difference? Scarcity.
When Porn Went Online, Everything Changed
The internet didn’t just make pornography more accessible — it fundamentally rewired how it works.
Once porn moved online:
Access became instant and anonymous
Content became unlimited
Novelty became endless
Escalation became expected
But the most important shift wasn’t availability.
It was monetization.
Porn Is No Longer the Product — Attention Is
Modern pornography is not primarily about sexual satisfaction.
It’s about ad revenue.
Porn websites make money when users:
Stay longer
Click more videos
Scroll endlessly
Switch scenes repeatedly
Chase the “perfect” climax
The business model depends on delay.
People aren’t supposed to finish quickly.
They’re supposed to keep clicking.
Each new video loads ads.
Each switch increases engagement metrics.
Each unfinished climax keeps the nervous system activated and searching.
In other words:
Porn is engineered not to satisfy — but to retain.
The Dopamine Trap: Why People Feel “Addicted”
This is where the addiction conversation enters — not as a moral failing, but a neurobiological reality.
Online porn leverages:
Dopamine spikes from novelty
Variable reward schedules (the same mechanism used in gambling)
Escalation of intensity to maintain arousal
Visual overstimulation that bypasses emotional processing
The brain learns:
“Don’t finish yet — maybe the next video will be better.”
That loop is profitable.
But it’s dysregulating.
Over time, many users report:
Needing more extreme content
Difficulty becoming aroused without porn
Trouble climaxing with partners
Emotional numbness or shame
Compulsive use despite wanting to stop
This isn’t because porn is inherently “bad.”
It’s because the delivery system is designed to override natural sexual rhythms.
What We Lost Along the Way
Pornography used to be:
Finite
Intentional
Supplementary
Separate from daily life
Now it is:
Endless
Algorithm-driven
Embedded into stress relief
Used to regulate boredom, anxiety, loneliness, and fatigue
Sexual arousal has quietly become a coping strategy, not an intimate experience.
And climax — once the point — is now postponed in service of clicks.
The Bigger Question We’re Avoiding
The real issue isn’t whether people should watch porn.
It’s whether we’re comfortable with:
Sexual desire being monetized through dysregulation
Intimacy being replaced by stimulation
Arousal being trained for novelty instead of connection
Human sexuality being shaped by ad revenue models
Porn didn’t start as an addiction engine.
The internet turned it into one.
The Takeaway
Pornography, historically, was about sexual expression.
Online pornography is about attention extraction.
When arousal is optimized for profit instead of pleasure, it changes not only how people consume sex — but how they experience desire, intimacy, and connection in their real lives.
This isn’t about shame.
It’s about awareness.
And awareness is the first step toward choice.
