Not watch porn even once. I am not addicted to it or something, but want to improve my self-control.
Wish you the best.
Addiction to anything is bad, simple.
Well, technically speaking, it wasn't a comparison, it was a rhetorical parallel to indicate that perhaps just because something appears to be pleasurable, it doesn't mean that it's also good for you.
Were I to compare, it would be an apples/oranges thing, which isn't the right way to compare anything.
Not to mention that smoking affects only the user (and their environment, surely, and perhaps their insurance provider), while porn also affects the actors, to a degree that it must be paralleled to abuse.
You may like watching porn; but could you stomach going through that meat grinder as your career?
> just because something appears to be pleasurable
The comment you reply to didn’t only focus on pleasure.
> Not to mention that smoking affects only the user
This doesn’t connect. Smoking affects also people nearby (people that didn’t sign up for it). Porn only “affects” people watching and involved (both parties signed up for it).
Also look up ethical porn. I can’t vouch for all of it, but I know some people here in Europe that treat their performers well.
We largely fixed this with coffee. I hope we can largely fix it with porn.
> You may like watching porn; but could you stomach going through that meat grinder as your career?
I love sex and wouldn’t mind getting paid to have it. I know some performers personally and wouldn’t mind working with them. The only reason I won’t do it is because society will penalize me when I maybe want to become president ahaha.
It also doesn't help to see things like this on his Wikipedia without listing any sort of institution he was affiliated with:
> Wilson was born in Seattle and taught human pathology, anatomy, and physiology, and was especially interested in the neurochemistry of addiction.
The most reputable thing I could find about him is a TEDx talk, and criteria for giving one of those isn't really top-notch.
Three-minute conclusions are the best, and they can last for decades.
Even more so when they're talking about pyschology, anatomy, health... You know, the topics where bullshit information online tends to be quite common.
Porn can also be bad for you if you have no control over your consumption. But that is true for most things.
There is something called “Ethical porn”. It might just be smoke and mirrors, but they promise to be ethical to people involved.
I disagree with both these assumptions. Curious why you think so?
Of course I don't claim to speak for everyone; people are different and there's obviously people who should reduce or abstain from porn.
GP, however, did seem to speak for everyone, so a counterpoint was called for.
One I admire, writer of thelastpsychiatrist, said you should treat porn viewing like a heist - in and out in 10 minutes. That's been the intention for years, but the longer sessions creep back in.
You might as well ask why some people can't handle their liquor, drugs, or junk food. This goes back to self-medicating / emotional consumption from many years back, when easily available pirated porn was a complete novelty and I had no idea of what sort of impact it might have on me.
I once tripped and it was extremely painful. Don't want to do this again.
Depending on how important this is to you, I'd increase/decrease the amount of money on the table.
It's very helpful to do this together with a friend, to keep each other accountable.
For anyone else not seeking to quit porn, one thing I do is just watch the same favorite clips, only looking for new clips maybe once a month.
The way this practice feels is much different from binging on the firehose.
Another thing I do is mix exotic dancing with these clips. It lowers the "direct" stimulation level and adds a sense of beauty and rapture to the experience.
In fact, frontman1988, I would recommend this latter practice as a fallback. If you feel you absolutely need to look at something sensual, don't dive all the way down into the deepest smut you can find. Just allow a little titillation instead, and you won't have gone off the path as far.
The problem with this approach is that if you fail once, there goes the entire year. Try something like "not to do $x on 95% of days" or "go a full month without $x". An all-or-nothing strategy doesn't give you a mechanism to get back on the horse and improve.