Watching porn is not naturally harmful to men or women. However I would offer some caveats. There are people who probably shouldn't view porn, like those with poor body image or those who have been sexually preyed on. Depending upon your option in viewing, you can develop unrealistic expectations about sex or what people like or how you'll be expected to "perform." And watching with someone requires true permission.
When none of these red flags are up, pornography can certainly have advantages. Therapists often recommend it to assist people become comfortable with a particular fantasy they or their partner may have. Pornography can reboot a couple's sex life. It can give you concepts, or assist you connect with what turns you on.
Porn can reboot a couple's sex life. It can offer you concepts, or assist you contact what turns you on. Porn can deliver you there at best, or disgust you at worst. It all depends on what you pick to see. With the schedule of pornography online, it's possible to sample sufficient porn quickly that you don't need to find yourself seeing wall-to-wall hard-core sex if it's plot driven erotica that interest you. You're just a victim of bad pornography if you let yourself be.
And a word about sex or porn addiction. I don't believe in it. Unlike a chemical compound, like opiates, you can't end up being "addicted" to sex or pornography; you can end up being a compulsive audience. In this case, it's not the porn that's the problem; it's the compulsive character. If it weren't porn being utilized to act out one's compulsive nature, it might be food or some other behavior.
As for whether it's harmful or beneficial to the performers, let's take females initially. There are some who select to carry out due to the fact that they like sex a lot and they consider it an excellent method to make money. Then there are those who are drawn to porn as a way of acting out subconscious mental concerns-- read more searching for daddy's love or punishment for being a bad girl. For lots of, it's most likely a little of each. Even ladies with the best mental health will deal with some disadvantages from this work. Our culture consumes porn at record numbers, but the females who carry out are still evaluated harshly.
I'm not sure the male entertainers go out completely unscathed either. While they might not be evaluated as harshly as the women, eventually they're deemed freaks who make their living with their anatomy. John Holmes's fate is the ultimate cautionary tale.
Perhaps if we weren't still so taken in with guilt and shame about sex, neither seeing nor carrying out in these films would carry the weight it does. However then, possibly we wouldn't be so interested in them, either. If the fruit were not prohibited, would anyone care to take a bite?