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If it just takes a month to break, itâs not an addiction. Itâs a habit.
Really hate the way that the word addiction is watered down by people who just look at porn a lot.
To be fair, everyone handles habits and addictions differently.
I'd like to agree with you, but I don't think there are fixed periods where stopping something turns it from being addiction into habit.
Addiction is an inability to stop using a substance or engaging in a behavior even though it may cause psychological or physical harm.
I think porn can come within that definition, just as much as smoking or drinking can be called a habit.
And Iâm saying that whatâs described in the OP is a habit, not an addiction.
âAddictionâ is very overused when it comes to porn because people donât have any concept of what addiction actually is. Half the time the harm doesnât come from looking at porn, it comes from the purity culture that weâre inundated with in western society. Being abused by puritanical ideology does not make looking at porn an addiction. Neither does having a strong sex drive that makes us want to engage with sexual content.
Porn addiction is real, and watching porn can have more harm than just puritanical bullshit. Most people that I've watched looking at porn don't just find a video a watch it start to finish. They watch multiple videos, fast forwarding to their favorite parts. Delayed gratification is good for you. Also, porn doesn't accurately depict what sex is like. It can give you fucked up expectations of what sex should be.
If you watch so much porn that you can't have an orgasm without watching it, if you are only aroused by porn that can't exist in real life, if you stop having sex with a partner to instead only masturbate to porn, if you find yourself constantly watching porn even at inappropriate times, if the amount of porn you watch decreases your quality of life... That's addiction.
I think that masturbating is healthy and good for human sexuality, but I think a lot of people could benefit from masturbating differently. Try reading or using your imagination or even just masturbating meditatively, focusing on sensations.
Never said porn addiction isnât real. Iâm saying itâs less common than people think and that most people who say theyâre addicted to porn arenât.
Dude porn addiction is such a real thing. The damage comes in your relationship. Not being able to stop watching porn causes all kinds of issues in your day to day life including fatigue and erectile issues.
Never said it wasnât a real thing. Said most people who say theyâre âaddictedâ arenât.
And Iâm saying that whatâs described in the OP is a habit, not an addiction.
âAddictionâ is very overused when it comes to porn because people donât have any concept of what addiction actually is. Half the time the harm doesnât come from looking at porn, it comes from the purity culture that weâre inundated with in western society. Being abused by puritanical ideology does not make looking at porn an addiction. Neither does having a strong sex drive that makes us want to engage with sexual content.
"It's just a heroin habit!"
Didn't take me more than a month to quit smoking, is that just a habit rather than a real addiction in your eyes?
You're going to have a tough time arguing that compulsive behavior that the individual has difficulty stopping and often performs when they otherwise didn't intend to isn't addiction, just because they found a way to stop.
Again, Iâm not saying porn addiction doesnât exist.
Iâm saying that the use of âaddictionâ with porn is extremely overused and most people who claim to be addicted arenât.
And for what itâs worth, I quit smoking after three years of up to 2 packs a day in a single day. Just made the decision and never craved them again. Every body handles substance dependencies differently. But porn addiction is different and the comparison is apples and oranges.