According to a study, it could be good for you to watch porn before your first date

Never have we been so eager to share dating advice, so let’s not waste another second on small talk. A recent study says watching porn before a first date boosts the odds of its success. Wait, what?! Just when we thought we’d heard all of the weird dating tips we could stand, science decided we had room for more.

We were rather surprised when a study last year found that watching porn makes guys more sexually sensitive, and the findings of this first date study — strangely dubbed “Sex Unleashes Your Tongue” — also have us questioning everything we know about how pornography affects the brain.

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According to Daily Mail, professor and psychologist Gurit E. Birnbaum studied the reactions 246 heterosexual undergraduate students had to being shown either a naked photo of a member of the opposite sex or a photo of a fish. The findings revealed that those who saw the naked photo for .03 seconds expressed more willingness to go on a blind date than those who were shown the fish photo.

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Right. So, what does this all mean?

According to Birnbaum and her fellow researchers, “sexual priming,” or “activation of the sexual system” makes people want to become closer to potential partners.  The findings proved to be true in both online and in-person interactions.

"People reciprocate to these advances [brought on by erotica], and that initiates a positive cycle of intimacy," Birnbaum told The Times. "Disclosing personal information makes the other person like you more, thereby motivating him or her to reciprocate," she said, adding, "Overall, sex starts a positive cycle of getting closer to a stranger that may eventually build emotional connection between previously unacquainted people."

Huh. Well this is certainly news to us. The only advice we have for anyone going on a first date is feel free to incorporate porn-viewing into your pre-dating rituals if you so choose, but don’t automatically assume that it will lead to love at first sight.