Getting off offline: when porn gets in the way of a real-world relationship

Many believe that porn is addictive, and that the endless stream of on-demand internet erotica makes real-life sexual experiences not stimulating enough

Gregor Schmidinger was eight when he viewed his first porn magazine, found in a rubbish bin in his hometown in Austria. Aged 11, he had access to the internet at home, which he used to explore his burgeoning attraction to men. As the years progressed, he spent more time masturbating to increasingly hardcore - and in some cases violent - pornography online.

"Once I'd climaxed I would look at the screen from a new perspective, and it was always weird or alienating," says Schmidinger, now 31 and a film-maker.