Gonzo, BDSM, anal, amateur and voyeur.

These are categories of pornography, and I’m going to explain why men, even those that are like me and in relationships, watch it.

Sometimes the reasons men are drawn to porn perplexes even us. However, we don’t masturbate solely to porn, as our imaginations can be equally useful.

In 2006, the porn industry raked in nearly $13 billion. WebMD states that 26 percent of male Internet users visit adult websites, while only 3 percent of women go to these sites.

I used to be an excessive porn user, watching it two to three times a day. My friends may have even called me a connoisseur. I have since given up the habit, but my overwhelming sex drive during puberty could not have been satiated any other way. However, even writing about it makes me want to whip out the old YouPorn again.

Wondering why some people seem to spend so much time with porn? Here are some likely reasons:

1. To blow off steam, pun intended

After a hard day’s work, a stressful test or an exhausting trip, some scented candles, a couple pornos and a session of selfish pleasure is the greatest thing ever.

2. To learn some new moves in the bedroom

Porn is the only reason I had any idea of what to do between the sheets my first time. One could call it studying.

3. Haven’t gotten laid in a while

Everyone has been there. After hitting a dry spell, some decide to give themselves a little momentary satisfaction. In these cases, a 20-minute date with Palmela Handerson may be in order.

While relatively harmless, there is a darker side of porn use and the implications it can have on these users.

Excessive porn use can lead to sexual anxiety or addiction, inability to perform and distorted mental images of what sex and beauty really are. With a large amount of porn in someone’s life, standards for sex rise to unreasonable levels.

Many of us are naturally drawn to porn and there is such thing as a healthy level of porn usage. It starts to have negative effects on our sex lives when the fantasies get too far-fetched and the amount of masturbation with porn gets out of hand.

Michael Karp can reached at [email protected] or @_MichaelKarp on Twitter.