In a recent survey of 2000 ex porn users by Stop Procrastinating, a research and productivity website, 76% of men said “Realizing the damage that porn causes made them want to give up.” The survey also found that more than 75% of men who adopt a plan will reduce or break their addiction to porn.[1]
Now the term porn addiction has always been a hot topic of which there’s an endless maze of opinions. Last year a Huffington Post article rebutted the terminology and suggested, based on cited research that “There’s one thing porn isn’t, and that’s addictive.”[2] Another Huffington article suggested that “religious people are more likely to to feel they’re addicted to porn” [3] and Vice suggested that “focusing too much on the ‘porn addiction’ can mean ignoring underlying problems.”[4]
As you can see there’s lots of opinions and thoughts about this topic. Some true, some researched, some maybe not so true… it can be so confusing! Once we get over the debate, we should realize that if we just leave it to the academics we might be arguing forever. Now that’s not to discount the efforts they are putting in to find the truth and we whole heartedly support it, but the ongoing argument is not helping those who are currently stuck in it, wondering what to do.
The truth lies, or at least some of it, when we take the time to scroll down to the comments. It’s here that we find the real stories popping out. “Porn and masturbation addiction is so easy to do that it is incredibly hard to break once you are hooked” says one commenter. “And the escalation is horrific, there’s almost no bottom you can hit. Straight sex, lesbian, pegging, trannies, the rabbit hole just keeps going and sucking you in.”[5] On another website a former porn user said “Porn was ruining my life. I didn’t see friends. My girlfriend dumped me. My grades dropped. I felt anxious. I watched porn for hours each day. But once I decided to give it up, I followed through and now I’m free. I’ve never felt happier, more focused, good about myself!”[6]
Given the huge void porn has become for society it’s no wonder that Stop Procrastinating’s research is very telling and very interesting. Out of the men surveyed, 76% said that “They wanted a normal and meaningful relationship in the bedroom instead of one online” and 83% of ex-porn users said “They wanted to find a new relationship or improve the one they were already in.” Now that’s encouraging :-).
Here at Guilty Pleasure we know that regardless of whether or not we call it porn addiction, an excessive porn habit, compulsive porn use etc. that does not stop the damage it is causing to people’s lives. We’ve heard countless stories of the absolute destruction porn has brought and often the aftermath is not pretty. In 2014, researchers from the Max Planck Institute in Berlin found the part of the brain controlling motivation and reward, shrinks and works less efficiently in people who use porn. People who watched more than four hours a week were found to be less able to make decisions, less able to enjoy sex and were likely to be less motivated in their lives generally.[7] If true, this research (yes another bit of research) just confirms why porn can be so damaging.
For us, we call it porn addiction because it helps people to understand that it’s something you can get over. Drug addicts and alcohol addicts get clean and go on to do amazing things in their lives, leaving their past behind. So why can’t we use the same terminology for people with porn? If they can get over their “addiction” maybe, just maybe there’s hope for them and without porn they’ll start to feel good about themselves and achieve so much more. Actually we can guarantee it.
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If you are struggling with porn viewing and want to quit Guilty Pleasure is here to help. Check out our help page for steps you can take to quit porn.
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