Viewing porn is not naturally damaging to males or females. But I would offer some cautions. There are individuals who most likely shouldn't view porn, like those with poor body image or those who have been sexually victimized. Depending on your choice 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 benefits. Therapists often recommend it to assist people become comfortable with a particular fantasy they or their partner might have. Porn can reboot a couple's sex life. It can offer you concepts, or assist you contact what turns you on.
Pornography can reboot a couple's sex life. It can provide you ideas, or help you connect with what turns you on. Pornography can provide you there at best, or disgust you at worst. Everything depends upon what you select to view. With the availability of porn online, it's possible to sample adequate pornography rapidly that you do not have to find yourself viewing wall-to-wall hard-core sex if it's plot driven erotica that appeals to you. You're only a victim of bad pornography if you let yourself be.
And a word about sex or pornography dependency. I don't believe in it. Unlike a chemical substance, like opiates, you can't become "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 personality. 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 damaging or beneficial to the entertainers, let's take ladies first. There are some who choose to perform due to the fact that they like sex a lot and they consider it a terrific way to earn a living. Then there are those who are drawn to porn as a method of acting out subconscious mental problems-- looking for daddy's love or punishment for being a bad lady. For numerous, it's probably a little of each. Even women with the very best psychological health will deal with some drawbacks from this work. Our culture consumes pornography at record numbers, however the women who perform are still evaluated roughly.
I'm uncertain 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.
Maybe if we weren't still so taken in with guilt and shame about sex, neither seeing nor carrying out in these films would bring public porn the weight it does. However then, perhaps we would not be so thinking about them, either. If the fruit were not forbidden, would anybody care to take a bite?