Addiction to internet porn is not easy to give up entirely because just like drug addiction, it has already programmed the brain and created a chain of symptoms. Nevertheless, you know it has to stop at one point or another.
The best way to stop using internet porn is to find the most compelling motivations to make you want to change.
Here are 33 of them.
Psychological
1. Long-term addiction to internet porn may lead to desensitization.
Desensitization is defined as the point of emotional numbness where anything sexual loses its appeal. It’s what you want to have when you are a priest, but not when you want to have a family.
2. Internet porn can create ideas of dangerous sex.
Porn stars are actors, they act out sex scenes that their target audiences would like to have themselves. They rigorously trained for their “craft,” and that includes the sexual stunts that they do on set.
In reality, the difficult and somehow weird sex positions that many porn stars do while the camera is rolling are not exactly that pleasurable in real life. They enact sex scenes with exaggeration because that is the demand of the market. Seeing girls go wild on top can be dangerous when emulated because this can lead to penis fracture for men, an excruciating condition where the corpus cavernosum is bent past limitation.
Porn stars practice their positions carefully. Every actor in the scene is a professional.
3. Avoiding internet porn makes you a more logical thinker.
Internet pornography is a type of WYSIWYG entertainment: what you see is what you get. It is not designed to tap the audience’s intellect, only their libido. When made a habit, this repetitive rise and fall of hormones without sufficient voluntary brain activity (meaning you have to deliberately think) leads to weaker logical thinking.
4. Men and women become more attractive to internet porn addicts.
Most people want to become more attractive because it is part of human nature to have the desire to feel important and special. However, attractiveness gets a dark twist when it tinged with malice, something that most porn addicts have towards the opposite sex.
Getting constantly exposed to attractive men and women leaves addicts with the wrong impression that every good-looking men and women outside are possible sexual partners. This is an unnatural impression.
5. Internet porn addicts usually give less importance to sex.
The best orgasm porn addicts can get comes from masturbation, not sex. The question is, why would internet porn addicts bother to have sex if they already have everything they need in front of the computer?
It is natural for addicts to give less importance to others things around them, which is exactly what drug addiction does to a person.
6. Internet porn is a compelling influence to habitually masturbate.
You tend to eat more when surrounded by delicious, mouthwatering food. You also tend to feel more stressed when you usually hang out with stressed people. So, what do you think will happen when you expose yourself (pardon the pun) to a lot of porn? Of course, you tend to masturbate more.
It’s a bad thing in so many ways. It’s bad if it ruins your sex life and if it consumes a lot of precious time, which you can use in so many productive ways. To a certain extent, it’s bad as it potentially lowers your sex drive (i.e. masturbating without libido at its peak).
7. Internet porn gives you unrealistic expectations about sex.
It is normal for internet porn addicts to expect sex in real life to be the same with what they watch on pornographic materials.
They expect a round to last for 45 minutes, just like how long they get it on in porn videos. In reality though, the average length of sex for married couples is only two to seven minutes.
They expect their partners to moan and talk dirty like how porn stars act it out to portray a couple experiencing sexual bliss. In reality, many people prefer to moan silently and just concentrate on the sensation rather than talk dirty.
Men expect their erected penis to measure 14 inches like that of the late porn god John Holmes, and women expect their breasts to look firm, round, and big like that of porn goddess Jenna Jameson. In reality, people don’t have to look like pornstars to have a healthy sex life.
Internet porn addicts have many unhealthy expectations that can ruin their lives. The sooner they quit porn, the faster they go back to the real world.
Family
8. Addiction to internet porn can ruin a family.
As it ruins a relationship, it also ruins an entire family, even affecting kids who don’t even know what sex is to begin with. Watching internet pornography can also leave a trauma to a spouse and child either by experience of rejection or exposure to the pornographic material itself.
9. Internet porn addicts can make their loved ones mentally and emotionally vulnerable.
Many spouses and kids feel rejected because their partner or parent rejects them in favor of watching internet porn. What do you think your partner would feel if you choose to have a sexual activity over a computer screen rather than with him or her? In the process, the biggest damage to self-confidence doesn’t fall on the internet porn addict, but on his or her partner.
10. Internet porn addicts usually experience the Coolidge Effect.
The Coolidge Effect is the term given when a person wants constant newness, which can lead to being promiscuous. It is potentially bad for the health and sure to be bad for a relationship.
11. Frequent viewing of internet porn may develop into a real addiction.
What is the difference between the brain activity of a drug addict and an internet porn addict? Nothing! They are both addicts with the same compulsive behavior, but with difference in physical manifestation. Internet porn addicts are just luckier in a way that they’re brain doesn’t have to rot like what happens with long-term drug addiction.
12. Internet porn glorifies sex more than how it should really matter in a relationship.
Porn films rarely have good stories, more so of the romantic kind. They are usually just about one thing: lust. A relationship isn’t really like that normally. Sex is just one part of it, and a couple has to focus on more important things like understanding, faithfulness, consideration, and so many other things that can fill an entire book about relationships.
Glorifying sex may be a good thing in the first phase of a relationship, but as the connection gets deeper, it becomes more emotional rather than physical. Many internet porn addicts never realize that.
Personal
13. Addiction to internet porn sets damaging routines to your life.
A regular day of a busy professional with family is already hard to manage. What more for a person with a lot of obligations and tasks who can’t control the urge to watch porn for hours?
14. Giving up internet porn altogether makes you a believer of yourself.
Most internet porn addicts lack self-belief for the simple reason that they know that there is something wrong with their habits. Most of them come to a point of realization, but they cannot do anything about it. Self-doubting then starts when this habit becomes damaging to the people around them and to their own selves.
Giving up internet porn altogether is the linchpin in reviving faith in one’s self. It’s the last hurdle that not everyone can jump high enough to pass, but it can be all yours for the taking.
15. You risk getting embarrassed in front of other people.
It’s embarrassing to have somebody catch you watching porn and worse, doing something else while watching it. The embarrassment is lesser when it happens at home, but internet porn addicts tend to take their addiction anywhere for as long as there is internet connection, like at work.
16. You risk ruining your reputation and credibility.
The public sees porn addicts as no different from sex offenders because they believe that is where they will end up anyway. How will your family, friends, or workmates treat you if they discover that you are doing something generally classified as abnormal?
17. Addiction to internet porn takes away your desire to look good.
Internet porn addicts feel less need to improve physical appearance because they already get what they want in front of a computer screen, which are excitement and enjoyment. Normally, a person would groom well, exercise to achieve better body, and observe proper hygiene to try to attract the opposite sex or become noticeable in public. All of these change when they feel contented all by themselves (pun intended).
18. Giving up internet porn makes you a better person.
Becoming aware of your addiction gives an emotional burden and constant stressor that bug your mind. It’s the same case as with many drug addicts and chain smokers who know the danger of what they’re doing, but still do it because it’s just so hard to suddenly stop. Over time, majority of internet porn addicts will hate themselves for knowing the right thing to do, but they still cannot do it. They will feel bad of themselves, which will create a chain reaction of other emotional problems, such as insecurity, anxiety, uneasiness, and a lot more.
On the other hand, giving up internet porn altogether will make you feel triumphant over a challenge that seems impossible to conquer. Won’t everybody feel better of themselves if they know that they are able to overcome an addiction?
19. Quitting internet porn altogether makes you feel good about yourself.
An addict will always feel good upon quitting a bad habit. It’s an achievement in its own way.
20. Internet porn addicts usually judge other people in a superficial manner.
Internet porn addicts, being exposed to the physical side of humanity, tend to look at other people in a superficial way. They judge a person’s character based on the body type, face, and sex appeal. This can be a bad thing as the search for a life partner will definitely be harder. Remember that compatibility in a relationship is more emotional and mental than physical. Being superficial can also cloud professional judgments, like when dealing with potential clients and business partners.
21. Internet porn lowers your self-esteem and increases insecurity.
The porn industry defines sex in a different way, but fans of this industry take that definition as their own. As a result, internet porn addicts start to believe that they should also have bodies close to a porn star to attract the opposite sex, and that they should perform sex like how porn stars do it to be loved by their partners.
The big problem here is that for most people, having bodies and performing sex like that will never happen in their lifetime. That leaves them with insecurity also for a lifetime.
Physical
22. Addiction to internet porn lowers testosterone level among men.
Desensitization leads to lower libido, which is caused by lower testosterone. This makes a man less masculine, physically and emotionally. Go figure.
23. Addiction to internet porn may lead to erectile dysfunction.
Erectile dysfunction (ED) is largely psychological in nature. In fact, counseling is the first line of treatment given to men with ED. Men who get themselves too addicted to porn have higher chance of developing ED sooner or later.
Why does this happen?
There are a lot of stimuli that the brain senses as signals to increase libido in preparation for sex. In a scientific point of view, this is exactly what foreplay does. It helps a person get into the mood, lubricate naturally, increase the hormone levels, and of course, improve sensitivity to “enjoy” the moment at its fullest.
However, when a person gets addicted to internet porn, the ultimate stimulus becomes the pornographic material itself. This makes everything else blander and less appealing to that person, which results to ED. It is a mental program that does not get deleted easily, which is exactly why any form of addiction is dangerous.
24. Addiction to internet porn saps energy.
The human body is designed can recuperate after an energizing, yet tiring biological activity. Sexual activity is one of them, but mere increase in libido is already tiring. Why?
When libido increases, the heart pumps faster, basically just like when you exercise. The involuntary brain activity also increases as a lot of hormone excretions happen before, while, and after having any form of sexual activity. Men also tend to get more tired after ejaculation as the body releases a hormone connected to the sleep cycle when orgasm is reached.
Apparently, having increased libido most of the time makes a person less productive.
25. Avoiding internet porn will make real sex more “orgasmic.”
Isn’t this exactly what most people want out of sex—to have an exploding sex experience? Unfortunately, as internet porn addicts become less stimulated with actual partners and actual sex because of the visual overload matched with unrealistic expectations, their sex life also becomes blander and more tedious. The fact that masturbation gives better orgasm than actual sex also adds to the ebbing excitement one gets over sex.
Like with everything else, humans get to a point of emotional and mental saturation where overexposure to something creates a feeling of being burned up and commonality. Orgasm needs to be something like a treat to become special and not an everyday meal that you taste all the time.
26. Addiction to internet porn makes it harder for you to feel sexually aroused.
A staggering 60% of people who frequently watch porn rarely get sexual arousal with their partners. Instead, they get it from watching porn. In a hundred couple, that’s 60 couples with bad sex life, which may ruin their relationship completely. In the long run, the number of people who rarely gets sexual arousal from real partners will also develop erectile dysfunction. That’s a major crisis for men.
Economic
27. Quitting will make you more productive and creative.
The long hours you spend on internet pornography everyday can be used for something more productive, like to create new experience with your family or earn money.
28. Addiction to internet porn usually leads to unnecessary spending.
It is not a secret that many porn sites collect fees for exclusive access to their collections. As porn addicts cannot get enough of what they see online, they are likely to pay for a membership or download. Unfortunately, the amount involved here is not a penny.
Emotional
29. Addiction to internet porn makes you impatient and less attentive.
Porn is usually about the climax, a climax that an addict can go over and over again in a click of a button. If only life can be controlled with a button, people may no longer have to wait and be patient.
30. Internet porn addicts are more prone to becoming homosexuals and bisexuals.
Some psychologists believe that a person who constantly gets exposed to the sexual activity of the same sex is more prone to develop a certain level of attachment that eventually can lead to a change in sexual preference. Some experts believe that everyone, men and women, have homosexual tendencies from birth. This is amplified with sexual exposure, especially when it is considered unnatural for a person to watch someone else’s private activities.
Not everyone may see this is a bad thing at all, but it definitely can ruin lives when family and partners are already involved. There is also a psychological trauma in unwanted emotions, and unwanted change in sexual preference is one of them.
Other Risks
31. You risk becoming a sex addict and possibly a sex offender.
Addiction evolves to different levels because the desire to want more also becomes stronger. Sooner or later, an internet porn addict may also become a sex offender.
32. You save your computer from unwanted viruses, malwares, and spywares.
Porn sites are full of viruses, malwares, and spywares that can damage your computer and steal your important information. You may be clicking on play, but it’s actually download.
33. You risk your freedom.
Access to internet pornography is everybody’s prerogative. However, keeping illegal pornographic materials (e.g. child pornography) is punishable by law. There are many documented cases, some even sensationalized in the media, of pedophiles going to jail. It can be you.
This is the right time to quit watching internet porn. Do it now before you experience some of its worst effects.