[smart (OP)]

There's no such thing as porn addiction: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140212153252.htm

In fact, I love porn (and masturbation) because it is a totally safe sexual activity.   

The pseudoscience of porn addiction is nonsense.

There's no evidences whatsoever that it may affect negatively your mental and physical health.

In specific, the positive effects of pornography are greatly misunderstood.



What do you think?

.


 

[chiralSPO]

As far as I understand, masturbation with or without pornography is typically healthy behavior.

However, as with any other activity (for instance hand-washing, or playing online games), there are disorders that are defined by people who do something over and over, so often, or at such wrong times that it leads to negative consequences, but they continue anyway (often acknowledging that logically, it makes sense to change their behavior) . "Addiction" is not a well defined word, especially when not talking about drugs, some of which have remarkably powerful physical dependence and withdrawal symptoms. But these (dependence and withdrawal) are only two dimensions of "addiction," often called physically addictive. But there are also psychological dimensions (common to chemical drugs as well as activities), like habituation (ritualization), obsession, and compulsion. As I understand it, OCD and addiction have very similar psychological profiles.

Are there people out there who would literally get sick and risk death if they stopped watching pornography immediately, as a serious alcoholic would if they ceased drinking? No.

Are there people out there who are so obsessed with pornography that their relationships with family, friends, and co-workers suffer, but they continue to pursue this "passion" even after they lose a job or get divorced etc.? Yes, there are. I have no idea how many, or how easy it is to treat, or whether "addiction" is the best term for it, but it's the best word I know of to describe the phenomenon...

Again, this can be applied to other behaviors, like gambling, gaming, watching (non-erotic) movies or tv, distance running or bicylcing, shoplifting...

[smart (OP)]

As I understand it, OCD and addiction have very similar psychological profiles.

Sex is not a obsessive-compulsive disorder. It is human nature to have a sexual life. You can have a perfectly healthy life and watch porn on a daily basis. Addiction, however is different. I don't think it's possible to get addicted to sex like you could become addicted to drugs.

 

[chiralSPO]

I didn't say that sex (including sex drive) was OCD. Sex (or masturbation) every day would probably not be considered any sort of problem. But there are people around the world who get fired from their jobs because they repeatedly use company resources to access adult content, during work hours, at work. If somebody did that every day, I think it would be cause to suspect a psychological disorder...

[jeffreyH]

People don't like to admit that their behaviour is becoming a problem. Even though they might realise it themselves. Then they try to justify it to themselves so that it doesn't appear so extreme. At the moment a lot of sexual harassment cases are coming to light. In the past it has been ignored and the perpetrators felt justified in their actions since lots of others were doing the same. It is a grey area but shouldn't be shrugged off.

[smart (OP)]

People don't like to admit that their behaviour is becoming a problem. Even though they might realise it themselves. Then they try to justify it to themselves so that it doesn't appear so extreme. At the moment a lot of sexual harassment cases are coming to light. In the past it has been ignored and the perpetrators felt justified in their actions since lots of others were doing the same. It is a grey area but shouldn't be shrugged off.

Are you suggesting that pornography may promote sexual offenses? If so, let me reassure you of the opposite. Pornography has nothing to do with sexual harassment. In fact, a lot of scientific studies are proving that pornography does NOT lead to sexual misbehavior and actually prevent somebody from becoming an aggressor.

[evan_au]

There's no such thing as porn addiction

Pornography addiction is not listed in DSM 5, so Americans can't suffer from it in 2018 (but the authors certainly considered adding it as a sub-category of hypersexual disorder).

Your brain is tuned to reward activities like sex, eating, talking with friends, etc, through dopamine and serotonin pathways.

It is possible for your brain to be so focussed on one of these activities that others are ignored, to the detriment of self, friends, family and work/income.

It is possible for this excessive behavior to be triggered by drug abuse which disregulates the dopamine system.

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_addiction#Mechanisms
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pornography_addiction

The lady doth protest too much, methinks

[chiralSPO]

People don't like to admit that their behaviour is becoming a problem. Even though they might realise it themselves. Then they try to justify it to themselves so that it doesn't appear so extreme. At the moment a lot of sexual harassment cases are coming to light. In the past it has been ignored and the perpetrators felt justified in their actions since lots of others were doing the same. It is a grey area but shouldn't be shrugged off.

Are you suggesting that pornography may promote sexual offenses? If so, let me reassure you of the opposite. Pornography has nothing to do with sexual harassment. In fact, a lot of scientific studies are proving that pornography does NOT lead to sexual misbehavior and actually prevent somebody from becoming an aggressor.

Viewing pornography and masturbating in front of unwilling witnesses is considered a form of sexual harassment in most of the world. This is different from the question that you initially posed, but I don't think that JeffreyH is too far off topic--those who perpetrate sexual harassment in this (or other) forms may be more than just @$$holes--some of them may also have dysfunctions classifiable as "addiction" to masturbation.

I know enough people who have been confronted by the unwanted sight of a guy pleasuring himself (on a bus, or in the library are apparently the main problem areas...), though thankfully I have thus far avoided such episodes.

Obviously there is a whole range of forms of sexual harassment, varying from dismissible annoyance to causing grave harm. It is a very complex topic, made only more difficult by differing societal norms and an overall reluctance to broach such subjects. It might be worthwhile for this forum to have a thread allowing *rational* and *cool-headed* discussion of sexual harassment, but not this thread.

[smart (OP)]

Viewing pornography and masturbating in front of unwilling witnesses is considered a form of sexual harassment in most of the world. This is different from the question that you initially posed, but I don't think that JeffreyH is too far off topic--those who perpetrate sexual harassment in this (or other) forms may be more than just @$$holes--some of them may also have dysfunctions classifiable as "addiction" to masturbation

I agree. Masturbating in public places is a sexual offense. But generally speaking,  people using explicit pornographic material to masturbate are doing it alone in private. I do admit however that I fail to understand why some people are committing sexual harassment. I'm guessing that pornography doesn't provide enough excitation to satisfy them.   

[syhprum]

I think pornography poses a danger in as much as it gives a false impression as to what normal sexual activity should be like.
When I was a callow youth information on sexual matters was very hard to come by and I read that the normal size of an erect penis was 6 to 9 inches and assumed that my 5.16 inch average size was so tiny that I would be an object of ridicule from any woman with whom I tried to have a relationship.
Performers in pornographic episodes are chosen to have abnormally large penes  and could well give the wrong impression.
by means of film editing sexual intercourse is shown to last much longer than it does in reality and women are shown to enjoy activity that few would.

[evan_au]

I heard that many women seeking plastic surgery on their private parts get ideas on what is "normal" by viewing images of other women.

Body Dismorphic Disorder is a category in the DSM, so is this a case of porn causing a mental condition?

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_dysmorphic_disorder

[smart (OP)]

The DSM manual has no objective scientific value and is highly speculative. In my opinion, it is just a textbook written by hypocrites for hypocrites...

 

[evan_au]

The DSM manual has no objective scientific value and is highly speculative. In my opinion, it is just a textbook written by hypocrites for hypocrites...

An equally cynical view is that the DSM manual has objective, measurable criteria for identifying mental illness, supported by scientific papers in Psychological journals.

It is a textbook written by US psychologists so they can get US insurance companies to pay US psychologists to treat insured US residents. While leaving uninsured US residents under-treated.

In this cynical view, there is a clear incentive for the DSM to "diseasify" more and more conditions over time.

Of course, a double-blind trial is not easily designed when it comes to psychological treatment, so papers in psychological journals will rarely meet the "Gold Standard" we expect in other fields. (On the other hand, a randomised trial should be easy to design.)

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diagnostic_and_Statistical_Manual_of_Mental_Disorders

[smart (OP)]

Florida apparently is planning to declare pornography a health risk! http://thehollywoodunlocked.com/florida-plans-to-declare-pornography-as-a-public-health-risk/

Where the world is going?

Naughty America really needs porn just like water!! 

[JellyBomb]

I think this can not be compared with drug dependence. It's like heaven and earth. For comparison, you can read an newbielink:http://www.ncsm.nl/english/marijuana-health-effects [nonactive] on how marijuana affects the body. Because apparently you are not familiar with the topic at all. I take the marijuana as an example.

[evan_au]

Body Dismorphic Disorder is a category in the DSM, so is this a case of porn causing a mental condition?

As a follow-up on this comment, see:
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/ockhamsrazor/pursuit-of-perfect-private-parts-gemma-sharp/9743580