‘Our fascination—or worse—our obsession with electronic technology has replaced our interest in sex or intimacy, more generally,’ said Dr. Paul R. Abramson, a professor of psychology at UCLA specializing in sex. ‘Technology is an instrument for accomplishing things. For other people, it is an end in and of itself. The latter are most vulnerable to having technology consume their lives. The tragedy of this consumption is not the power or evil of technology, but the psychological deficits.’

‘A study by the Specialist PlayStation3 site PS3pricecompare.co.uk of 1,130 British men found that one in three men would rather play video games than have sex with their partner. According to Genie James, M.Sc., Executive Director of the Natural Hormone Institute, hormonal imbalance and stress may be to blame for the study’s startling results. ‘It is very likely that these men are suffering from a hormone imbalance at a cellular level that causes them to lose interest in sex,’ says James. Lack of interest in sex is even starting to affect young men in their 20s. In the last several decades – young men living in industrialized nations have shown reduced sperm count and quantity of ejaculate.’

But it was as long ago as 2004 that scientists were researching the effects of laptop love on sperm count when ‘researchers from the State University of New York at Stony Brook undertook the first study into the effect of laptop heat on scrotal temperature. They found that using a laptop (on the lap) increased left scrotal temperature by a median 2.6°C and the right by a median 2.8°C. Several previous studies showed that increases in testicular or scrotal temperatures of between 1°C and 2.9°C are associated with a sustained and considerable negative effect on sperm count and fertility.

Lead researcher Dr Yefim Sheynkin, Associate Professor of Urology and Director, Male Infertility and Microsurgery at the University, said: ‘With the exception of an anecdotal report of genital burns, the effect of portable computers on scrotal temperature when they are used on the lap was not known. Laptops can reach internal operating temperatures of over 70°C. They are frequently positioned close to the scrotum, and as well as being capable of producing direct local heat, they require the user to sit with his thighs close together to balance the machine, which traps the scrotum between the thighs. We found that scrotal hyperthermia is produced by [this] special body posture and local heating effect of laptops.’ The median surface temperature of Pentium 4 computers used increased from nearly 31°C at the start of the experiment to nearly 40°C after one hour.’

A more recent study in the medical journal Fertility and Sterility also found ‘a link between laptop use and sperm count. The study took samples of human semen from 29 healthy men, and placed drops underneath a laptop that was using wireless fidelity to enable a download. When examined, a quarter of the sperm was no longer moving, compared to 14 per cent of the samples from a control group that was stored at the same temperature but not near a computer. Nine per cent of the laptop sperm showed DNA damage, which is three times as much as the control group. Fertility concluded that electromagnetic radiation produced by the laptop’s Wi-Fi was responsible for the lowered sperm count. A second test found that computers that were turned on but not connected wirelessly had little radiation.’

Of course it’s not just technology to blame: ‘Stress at work or home leads to high levels of adrenaline and the release of other hormones which can restrict blood flow to the testes and inhibit sperm production,’ explains a spokesperson at The Bridge Centre. ‘Stress can also lead to the release of chemical by-products, known as free radicals, which damage sperm.’

And Then There Was Porn!

‘Many men in their 20s who started watching porn at a young age (as early as 14) and currently consume porn daily have a low libido or even inability to get an erection, according to an Italian Society of Andrology and Sexual Medicine survey of 28,000 men.’

‘The American Society of Addiction Medicine’s definition of addiction states that all behaviors that are rewarding, not just substances, can become addicting including sexual activities. ‘That is what’s called a process addiction,’ says David Smith, M.D., past president of the American Society of Addiction Medicine and coauthor of Unchain Your Brain. ‘Evidence shows that you can become addicted to dopamine and because behaviors like porn, eating, and gambling release squirts of dopamine they can lead to addiction.’

The Internet allows for immediate access to porn, which wires the brain for that type of constant visual stimuli.  New or novel porn jacks up the release of dopamine but can eventually lead to an inability to masturbate without it, he says. So once they get in the bedroom with a real girl and the lights are off they can’t get the visual stimuli they need and can’t get it up.’

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For further reading and the research studies quoted please see From Stress To Vitality NOW Secrets Of Love And Life Mastery For Men And Women