In my voyeristic cruiseing of conservative web sites (Oh the joys of pissing yourself off) I have heard a lot about pornography addiction. Apparently porn is bad because people like to look at it.
Can soemone give a better explaination of pornography addiction?
I think people with said “addiction” are either regular folks with too much guilt or people who have other sexual issues to be addressed.
Personally I think the right porn can enhance a realationship.
Porn, like almost anything else you can name, can be used or abused.
Yer pal,
Satan
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I’d guess that the basic idea is that said addict starts to get desensitzed, and needs more and more porn to achieve the desired result. Worst case, this would eventually drain the user’s bank account and/or occupy his or her free time.
As Il Diablo said, people can get desensitized to just about anything. It’s one argument(however convincing) that nekkid people and sex=badness.
In psychology, heavy, regular use of something is only labeled an addiction when its pursuit becomes one’s top priority. (Of course, this excludes somethings that are physically and not just psychologically addictive, namely drugs.) Unless you’re frequently tardy to or skipping work to watch porn, forgoing basic personal hygiene to watch porn, stealing cars to pay for porn, and putting off picking your kids up from soccer practice to watch porn, you can’t be considered to be addicted.
–Person 1 has a few drinks every now and then.
–Person 2 drinks on a fairly regular basis, enjoys it, and wouldn’t really want to give it up.
–Person 3 drinks heavily every day. He can’t function without alcohol, and it costs him his marriage and still can’t give it up.
Which of the above is addicted? Certainly not person 1. The casual porn user can take it or leave it. No lasting problems. A couple using porn in this way probably may have a nice, spicy sex life.
Person 2? Not likely “addicted.” The semi-regular porn user is probably not harming himself. Although if it is done on the sly against the wishes of his wife, some relationship problems concerning trust and boundaries may develop.
Person 3? Obviously addicted/alcoholic. The “pornaholic” may end up valuing porn over an interpersonal relationship. Porn may give this person an unrealistic view of women or what to expect in a sexual relationship. He may have become desensitized to the point that the only way he can function sexually is through pornography. The voyeuristic aspects may cause him to be absolutely unable to be a performer. The use of porn in this way may stifle the natural urge to seek out companionship. It may just be to easy to stay at home and whack off rather than risk getting to know someone.
I’m not talking about addiction in the medical sense. Rather, I’m just presenting a scale of behaviors from benign to toxic for easy comparison. Alcohol is just a frame of reference.
Having said that, I think the #3 above would be “addictive behavior,” if not a medically diagnosed addiction.
I dont see how anyone can be addicted to anything, except something that chemical effects your body. Being addicted to porn is like being addicted to Harry Potter books. You dont NEED to read them, you just do.
well I’m addicted to fig newtons. I have to have fig newtons and coffee everyday. If I run out I go to the store and get more. If I was broke I would likely go the the store and steal fig newtons. Someone needs to ban these things. Oh great government, please protect me, I have been trapped by the evil newton industry.
(hey, arent fig newtons made by RJR nabisco, those evil people who also make cigs. I think a government investigation is needed. Anyone for a class-action suit)
labdude, it’s common knowledge that the Newton companies have increasing FAS (Fig Addictive Substance) levels in order to hook more users. The industry denies it, of course, but we all know the truth.
Yes, it is a “fact” that there is a book out with this title, and that it deals with the topic of “sexual addiction.”
But how real is “sexual addiction”?
One of this book’s reader/reviewers wrote: “This book put words to what I was feeling. It was like all of a sudden I was not alone and I was not crazy.” – which sounds exactly like what many people said who went to a “regression therapist” who got them to believe that they’d been kidnapped by aliens or sexually abused by a Satanic cult.
Common belief in the 12-step programmes is that you can be addicted to just about anything…why else would there be more than 200 different kinds of 12-step group in the UK alone?
Most people I know who have been able to manage their addictions (and there are more than a few, including some people very close to me) have suggested that addressing their “addictive personality” is their primary focus, not necessarily focusing on the drugs, alcohol, food, porn, whatever. One of my friends (former alcoholic) believes that there may be a “universal cure” based on changing one’s personality for all addictions.
So, while porn may be addictive, it’s more the person that’s addicting than the product that’s addictive. As The Book of Lists: the 90’s version noted, even eating carrots can be habit-forming.
One of the criterium for addiction is you need more of the same to achieve the same effect. I know this man who started using porn when he was about 20 and with very little he would get sexually excited. Over the years he teels me he needed more just to achieve the same effect and now that he is 55 he needs much more just to get to the same point. He says he is afraid that in 20 years, when he is 75 he is afraid even husge quantities of porn will not affect him that much. He thinks he has been developing tolerance or immunity over the years…