I've been thinking about whether it's a good idea to quit porn (not masturbation, just porn). Does anyone have anything to add to the below?
Reasons not to quit:
Reasons to quit:
A study found that 17% of people who viewed pornography on the Internet met criteria for problematic[clarification needed] sexual compulsivity.[9] A survey found that 20–60% of a sample of college-age males who use pornography found it to be problematic.[10] Research on Internet addiction disorder indicates rates may range from 1.5 to 8.2% in Europeans and Americans.[11] Internet pornography users are included in Internet users, and Internet pornography has been shown to be the Internet activity most likely to lead to compulsive disorders.[12]
I haven't viewed porn for about 2 weeks and it hasn't actually been that difficult, so I'm trying to decide whether I should just commit to quitting it completely. Right now I'm leaning toward quitting -- viewing porn might be harmful, and it's almost certainly not beneficial, so there's a higher expected value from quitting for anybody who doesn't assign much higher utility to the fun from porn than the fun from alternative activities.
For completeness, I should also mention the "nofap" movement. The anecdotes on there are the same sort of things you'd find when reading about homeopathy or juice fasts, though, so those can be mostly ignored.
Porn gets me off quicker. That is it's utility. When I'm self-pleasuring for enjoyment, I don't watch it, because it's more fun to use my imagination. However, when I'm sexually frustrated and can't focus on what I want to focus on, pornography allows me to cut masturbation time down from 10-20 minutes to under 5. This is a great time saver, and allows me to spend my time more productively.
It is superstimulation, and if you come to rely on it to come or develop an addiction (arguably the same thing), then you'll have a problem. But if it isn't having any negative affect on your life, then why drop it?
If it's worth saying, but not worth its own post (even in Discussion), then it goes here.