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My opinion: Porn is the new drug. Our daughters are the dealers and our sons are the users. Sex addiction fueled by free internet porn has ruined countless live

My opinion: Porn is the new drug. Our daughters are the dealers and our sons are the users. Sex addiction fueled by free internet porn has ruined countless lives. At least OnlyFans is behind a paywall, keeping it out of view of children.

jseliger 6y ago
Sex addiction fueled by free internet porn has ruined countless lives. I would like to see a citation on this. Moral panics around sexuality are at least a couple centuries old, and technologies that are said to have contributed to or created them include the printing press, radio, the bicycle, the car, TV, movies, magazines, and now the Internet. For many of the earlier technologies, Gay Talese's book Thy Neighbor's Wife has a serviceable overview of the moral panics.
- smt88 6y ago
  Nicole Prause is a lucid, pioneering researcher on such issues, and she has spent a lot of time debunking myths like the one GP proposes. One write-up here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/understanding-the-erotic-code/201911/how-porn-and-sex-are-different-in-the-brain https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/understanding-the-er... (She has unfortunately become a target of certain right-wing elements, so if you Google her, you will find a lot of non-scientific attacks. You should read her publications directly and form your own opinion.)
  - mikevm 6y ago
    Nicole Prause did no myth busting, and your blaming of "right-wing elements" on disagreements with her is downright disingeneous. See https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/relevant-research-and-articles-about-the-studies/critiques-of-questionable-debunking-propaganda-pieces/peer-reviewed-critiques-of-prause-et-al-2015/ https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/relevant-research-and-articl... I think that the recent scientific articles cited on https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/ https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/ and the countless of self-reports by men in various "NoFap" communities make a pretty good case the porn-addiction is not a myth. Also, see: https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/relevant-research-and-articles-about-the-studies/critiques-of-questionable-debunking-propaganda-pieces/is-nicole-prause-influenced-by-the-porn-industry/ https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/relevant-research-and-articl...
    - smt88 6y ago
      Your comment is exactly what I was expecting when I wrote mine. I'm not surprised to see it or the downvotes. Your Brain on Porn is written by a non-scientist with an axe to grind. > countless of self-reports by men in various "NoFap" communities make a pretty good case the porn-addiction is not a myth. Self-reports and anecdotes are not controlled, blinded studies. They're not scientific. They tell us nothing. If that kind of data were scientific, then we'd all be 100% certain that drinking certain herbal teas cures 50% of the flu, or that marijuana use has a causal relationship with using cocaine. Sex and porn addiction may or may not be a myth, but the thing that Prause debunks in her various research is that the availability of porn and sex causes those addictions. What researchers have found is that excessive, obsessive, and/or life-damaging usage of porn and sex are due to existing mental health issues. You don't have a healthy, happy man in a relationship suddenly see extreme porn for the first time and then stop going to work.
      - mikevm 6y ago
        > Your Brain on Porn is written by a non-scientist with an axe to grind. This is plainly ad-hominem and argument from authority. There are also plenty of scientists who publish junk papers, with poor methodology and/or statistics. > What researchers have found is that excessive, obsessive, and/or life-damaging usage of porn and sex are due to existing mental health issues. You don't have a healthy, happy man in a relationship suddenly see extreme porn for the first time and then stop going to work. This is nonsense, and it is quite clear that you have not read much about this. These issues are mainly affecting men who have been watching porn since an early age. Plenty of stories here: https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/rebooting-accounts/ https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/rebooting-accounts/ > Self-reports and anecdotes are not controlled, blinded studies. They're not scientific. They tell us nothing. This is dogmatic and silly. There are various fields where the science is lagging behind and it takes quite a while to catch up. Let me post a quote from Gary Wilson's book (which I highly recommend, despite him not being a scientist): ---------------------- > Quitting internet porn is the equivalent of removing refined sugar or trans-fats from your diet. It is simply the elimination of a form of entertainment that no one had until recently, and everyone got along without. As one porn user said, > Here is the schema: > 1. Exciting, but bad-in-long-term behaviour is introduced for money. > 2. People get hooked. > 3. Precise, scientifically backed-up research takes decades to kick-in. > 4. Hooked people start to get educated. > 5. They start behaviour-elimination. > > Problem is that this whole cycle is so damaging. Cigarettes were (widely) introduced in the early 20th century and took decades to regulate. We now know that certain types of foods are harmful. Yet, with food we are still in phase 2-3. Guess where we are with pornography? The useful scientific research is not even a few years old. > A consensus about the risks of high-speed internet porn could be decades off despite the efforts of urologists such as Cornell Medical School professor and author Harry Fisch, MD, who warns that too much porn use can make it ‘significantly more difficult’ to get aroused and stay aroused during real sex.[181] Most of society will need a lot longer to get up to speed. ---------------------- > If that kind of data were scientific, then we'd all be 100% certain that drinking certain herbal teas cures 50% of the flu, or that marijuana use has a causal relationship with using cocaine. The difference is that stopping using porn and waiting for your symptoms to improve is different from taking supplements. You just eliminate a single variable and watch the results. > Sex and porn addiction may or may not be a myth, but the thing that Prause debunks in her various research is that the availability of porn and sex causes those addictions. Sorry, but once again, she did not debunk anything with that 2015 study of hers, in fact its results suggests that porn does affect the brain. I've already linked to criticism of her research, and you have clearly not addressed any of it. P.S. I'm an atheist and don't have any moral issues with porn, so I have no axe to grind here.
  - heromal 6y ago
    And by "form your own opinion" you mean left only.
- marpstar 6y ago
  I'm not making a moral argument. I'm making a "porn is bad for mental health" argument. Plenty of research out there: https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/research/ https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/research/
- buffin 6y ago
  Although i don't have any citations of scientific research, but it shouldn't be hard to find. I am not concerned about moral implications. But it sure is addictive. Head over to r/NoFap on Reddit, you'll find many first hand tales of how Porn has played an important role in ruining their lives.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
smt88 6y ago
What makes you think porn is new?
- marpstar 6y ago
  Porn isn't new, obviously. But there's a big difference between finding a stack of your grandpa's Playboys 30 years ago and having a never-ending stream of high-resolution video. Worlds apart as far as the effects on the brain go. Read the research: https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/research/ https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/research/
  - smt88 6y ago
    I have read that website and the studies on it. I went through it in some detail with a friend who went through a breakup due to her boyfriend's excessive porn use. The current scientific consensus[1] is the following: - porn addiction and sex addiction may be real; the issue is still up for debate, although there wasn't enough evidence to consider porn addiction its own disorder yet - excessive porn or sex are devastatingly harmful to some people, regardless of whether they're technically an addiction or not - there are different causes for excessive uses of porn, some of which look like compulsive disorders, while others look like "hypersexuality" (abnormally high sex drive) - there is no evidence that the increase in porn quality or availability are responsible for destructive porn usage 1. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/04/pornography https://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/04/pornography
  - lostmsu 6y ago
    That site can not be used as a credible source, as it does not list any research contrary to its agenda.
    - kcmastrpc 6y ago
      Yes they do? https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/relevant-research-and-articles-about-the-studies/critiques-of-questionable-debunking-propaganda-pieces/ https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/relevant-research-and-articl...
GaryNumanVevo 6y ago
Watching porn is healthy and normal. Like any form of entertainment it can be abused, but there isn't a moral panic about binge watching Netflix or video gaming. Like anything, it's best in moderation.
- marpstar 6y ago
  Do people really think that watching other people have sex is "healthy"?
  - GaryNumanVevo 6y ago
    Sure, it's a safe way to explore one's sexuality.
    - rdruxn 6y ago
      How can you claim that porn is safe? You're completely sweeping porn addiction under the rug. Viewing porn itself is not inherently unhealthy, but to make a claim that it's safe is at minimum misleading.
      - GaryNumanVevo 6y ago
        Like anything, it's best in moderation. Is driving a car "safe" by your standard? Porn addiction is real, but often caused by other issues in one's life such as alienation, etc.
    - heromal 6y ago
      "explore one's sexuality." That actually means absolutely nothing lmao.
      - GaryNumanVevo 6y ago
        Sexuality, like anything, is a set of preferences. I don't think you've properly explored it if that statement means nothing to you.
commandlinefan 6y ago
Incidentally, that's exactly the same logic behind gay conversion therapy: "you think this makes you happy, but it's actually a really unhealthy, unnatural lifestyle that will ultimately leave you isolated and alone, and harms society overall to boot".

jseliger 6y ago

Sex addiction fueled by free internet porn has ruined countless lives. I would like to see a citation on this. Moral panics around sexuality are at least a couple centuries old, and technologies that are said to have contributed to or created them include the printing press, radio, the bicycle, the car, TV, movies, magazines, and now the Internet. For many of the earlier technologies, Gay Talese's book Thy Neighbor's Wife has a serviceable overview of the moral panics.

smt88 6y ago
Nicole Prause is a lucid, pioneering researcher on such issues, and she has spent a lot of time debunking myths like the one GP proposes. One write-up here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/understanding-the-erotic-code/201911/how-porn-and-sex-are-different-in-the-brain https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/understanding-the-er... (She has unfortunately become a target of certain right-wing elements, so if you Google her, you will find a lot of non-scientific attacks. You should read her publications directly and form your own opinion.)
- mikevm 6y ago
  Nicole Prause did no myth busting, and your blaming of "right-wing elements" on disagreements with her is downright disingeneous. See https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/relevant-research-and-articles-about-the-studies/critiques-of-questionable-debunking-propaganda-pieces/peer-reviewed-critiques-of-prause-et-al-2015/ https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/relevant-research-and-articl... I think that the recent scientific articles cited on https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/ https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/ and the countless of self-reports by men in various "NoFap" communities make a pretty good case the porn-addiction is not a myth. Also, see: https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/relevant-research-and-articles-about-the-studies/critiques-of-questionable-debunking-propaganda-pieces/is-nicole-prause-influenced-by-the-porn-industry/ https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/relevant-research-and-articl...
  - smt88 6y ago
    Your comment is exactly what I was expecting when I wrote mine. I'm not surprised to see it or the downvotes. Your Brain on Porn is written by a non-scientist with an axe to grind. > countless of self-reports by men in various "NoFap" communities make a pretty good case the porn-addiction is not a myth. Self-reports and anecdotes are not controlled, blinded studies. They're not scientific. They tell us nothing. If that kind of data were scientific, then we'd all be 100% certain that drinking certain herbal teas cures 50% of the flu, or that marijuana use has a causal relationship with using cocaine. Sex and porn addiction may or may not be a myth, but the thing that Prause debunks in her various research is that the availability of porn and sex causes those addictions. What researchers have found is that excessive, obsessive, and/or life-damaging usage of porn and sex are due to existing mental health issues. You don't have a healthy, happy man in a relationship suddenly see extreme porn for the first time and then stop going to work.
    - mikevm 6y ago
      > Your Brain on Porn is written by a non-scientist with an axe to grind. This is plainly ad-hominem and argument from authority. There are also plenty of scientists who publish junk papers, with poor methodology and/or statistics. > What researchers have found is that excessive, obsessive, and/or life-damaging usage of porn and sex are due to existing mental health issues. You don't have a healthy, happy man in a relationship suddenly see extreme porn for the first time and then stop going to work. This is nonsense, and it is quite clear that you have not read much about this. These issues are mainly affecting men who have been watching porn since an early age. Plenty of stories here: https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/rebooting-accounts/ https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/rebooting-accounts/ > Self-reports and anecdotes are not controlled, blinded studies. They're not scientific. They tell us nothing. This is dogmatic and silly. There are various fields where the science is lagging behind and it takes quite a while to catch up. Let me post a quote from Gary Wilson's book (which I highly recommend, despite him not being a scientist): ---------------------- > Quitting internet porn is the equivalent of removing refined sugar or trans-fats from your diet. It is simply the elimination of a form of entertainment that no one had until recently, and everyone got along without. As one porn user said, > Here is the schema: > 1. Exciting, but bad-in-long-term behaviour is introduced for money. > 2. People get hooked. > 3. Precise, scientifically backed-up research takes decades to kick-in. > 4. Hooked people start to get educated. > 5. They start behaviour-elimination. > > Problem is that this whole cycle is so damaging. Cigarettes were (widely) introduced in the early 20th century and took decades to regulate. We now know that certain types of foods are harmful. Yet, with food we are still in phase 2-3. Guess where we are with pornography? The useful scientific research is not even a few years old. > A consensus about the risks of high-speed internet porn could be decades off despite the efforts of urologists such as Cornell Medical School professor and author Harry Fisch, MD, who warns that too much porn use can make it ‘significantly more difficult’ to get aroused and stay aroused during real sex.[181] Most of society will need a lot longer to get up to speed. ---------------------- > If that kind of data were scientific, then we'd all be 100% certain that drinking certain herbal teas cures 50% of the flu, or that marijuana use has a causal relationship with using cocaine. The difference is that stopping using porn and waiting for your symptoms to improve is different from taking supplements. You just eliminate a single variable and watch the results. > Sex and porn addiction may or may not be a myth, but the thing that Prause debunks in her various research is that the availability of porn and sex causes those addictions. Sorry, but once again, she did not debunk anything with that 2015 study of hers, in fact its results suggests that porn does affect the brain. I've already linked to criticism of her research, and you have clearly not addressed any of it. P.S. I'm an atheist and don't have any moral issues with porn, so I have no axe to grind here.
- heromal 6y ago
  And by "form your own opinion" you mean left only.
marpstar 6y ago
I'm not making a moral argument. I'm making a "porn is bad for mental health" argument. Plenty of research out there: https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/research/ https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/research/
buffin 6y ago
Although i don't have any citations of scientific research, but it shouldn't be hard to find. I am not concerned about moral implications. But it sure is addictive. Head over to r/NoFap on Reddit, you'll find many first hand tales of how Porn has played an important role in ruining their lives.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

smt88 6y ago

What makes you think porn is new?

marpstar 6y ago
Porn isn't new, obviously. But there's a big difference between finding a stack of your grandpa's Playboys 30 years ago and having a never-ending stream of high-resolution video. Worlds apart as far as the effects on the brain go. Read the research: https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/research/ https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/research/
- smt88 6y ago
  I have read that website and the studies on it. I went through it in some detail with a friend who went through a breakup due to her boyfriend's excessive porn use. The current scientific consensus[1] is the following: - porn addiction and sex addiction may be real; the issue is still up for debate, although there wasn't enough evidence to consider porn addiction its own disorder yet - excessive porn or sex are devastatingly harmful to some people, regardless of whether they're technically an addiction or not - there are different causes for excessive uses of porn, some of which look like compulsive disorders, while others look like "hypersexuality" (abnormally high sex drive) - there is no evidence that the increase in porn quality or availability are responsible for destructive porn usage 1. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/04/pornography https://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/04/pornography
- lostmsu 6y ago
  That site can not be used as a credible source, as it does not list any research contrary to its agenda.
  - kcmastrpc 6y ago
    Yes they do? https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/relevant-research-and-articles-about-the-studies/critiques-of-questionable-debunking-propaganda-pieces/ https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/relevant-research-and-articl...

GaryNumanVevo 6y ago

Watching porn is healthy and normal. Like any form of entertainment it can be abused, but there isn't a moral panic about binge watching Netflix or video gaming. Like anything, it's best in moderation.

marpstar 6y ago
Do people really think that watching other people have sex is "healthy"?
- GaryNumanVevo 6y ago
  Sure, it's a safe way to explore one's sexuality.
  - rdruxn 6y ago
    How can you claim that porn is safe? You're completely sweeping porn addiction under the rug. Viewing porn itself is not inherently unhealthy, but to make a claim that it's safe is at minimum misleading.
    - GaryNumanVevo 6y ago
      Like anything, it's best in moderation. Is driving a car "safe" by your standard? Porn addiction is real, but often caused by other issues in one's life such as alienation, etc.
  - heromal 6y ago
    "explore one's sexuality." That actually means absolutely nothing lmao.
    - GaryNumanVevo 6y ago
      Sexuality, like anything, is a set of preferences. I don't think you've properly explored it if that statement means nothing to you.

commandlinefan 6y ago

Incidentally, that's exactly the same logic behind gay conversion therapy: "you think this makes you happy, but it's actually a really unhealthy, unnatural lifestyle that will ultimately leave you isolated and alone, and harms society overall to boot".