What has caused the rise in anti-masturbation and anti-porn sentiments lately?

Conservative backlash to anyone having a good time

Republicans controlling their own Incels.

It's a call to rape.

People love to talk abut themselves while projecting their own shortcomings on to others.

Its coming from inside the house!

Nothing is more masculine than tanning your balls

It is about control, R2. They want to control every aspect of our lives, right down to when, how, and if we get off.

Scapegoating

It started online a few years ago with straight white male “gurus” and that’s what started things like No Fap November or whatever.

Just right wing conservative bullshit. Old school American nonsense remixed by millennials.

Clearly there is a lack of ball tanning

OP, as explained on the other thread, there are a lot of medical studies showing that there is so much exposure to porn today at young ages that it is causing erectile dysfunction in young men and teenagers. This was unheard of before. Dr. Aaron Spitz, a leading urologist, has talked about the harmful effects of porn on erectile function at length.

It appears to be a legitimate medical problem today, and not just something made up by the right-wing.

The same thing that caused the backlash against Roe v. Wade: The GOP and fundies want more white babies and more workers.

By blaming masturbation, they avoid addressing the elephant in the room... Late-stage capitalism and lack of workers' rights is keeping young people in poverty while steadily increasing their workload, putting immense stress on people, resulting in mental health problems and the need to escape reality (e.g., by being chronically online). Capitalism also results in polluting the world and making foods unhealthy in a malicious manner.

[quote]OP, as explained on the other thread, there are a lot of medical studies showing that there is so much exposure to porn today at young ages that it is causing erectile dysfunction in young men and teenagers. This was unheard of before. Dr. Aaron Spitz, a leading urologist, has talked about the harmful effects of porn on erectile function at length.

I have never heard of this Aaron Spitz, but if he's an urologist and talks about porn being responsible for erectile dysfunctions, I know he's a hack with an agenda. First, I doubt there is any valid and unambiguous evidence for the connection of porn and erectile dysfunction. It is much more likely both porn consumption and erectile dysfunction are symptoms of another cause, such as depression or other stressors. So, the question would be, what is causing this stress, what is causing the depression? And then, we're likely back to what I said in R11...

Besides, we know that frequent ejaculations are a protective factor against prostrate cancer.

[quote] Compared to men who reported 4–7 ejaculations per month across their lifetimes, men who ejaculated 21 or more times a month enjoyed a 31% lower risk of prostate cancer. And the results held up to rigorous statistical evaluation even after other lifestyle factors and the frequency of PSA testing were taken into account.

So, what does the precious urologist say about that?

They will have to pry my dick out of my cold, dead hands.

R12, the studies show that daily or frequent porn use can shrink the parts of the brain connected to the penis and erectile function.

In this video, Dr. Aaron Spitz explains this issue to his son (who stopped masturbating to porn after he learned of its effects):

The relevant portion starts at about 17:00 minutes in:

Too much porn actually isn’t good for your brain though. It’s clearly causing widespread problems with erectile dysfunction among young men; guys that in the past would have been able to get hard at the drop of a hat. I found it was having an effect on me so I rarely watch it now. If you think about it, it only makes sense. With porn, you get used to heightened stimulation and often need increasing more hardcore or extreme content in order to get turned on the same way. Then when you just meet a regular guy to hook up, you’re not able to get the same arousal you would if you were watching extreme porn. That’s not me making some moral judgement about it; I just genuinely think it can fuck with the arousal centres in the brain.

I know I'm post spamming but this is making me mad at the moment...

Again, blaming the individuals and their behavior while ignoring the environmental factors completely.

To adapt Rosa von Praunheim's movie title, "It Is Not the Masturbator or Porn Consumer Who Is Perverse, But the Society in Which He Lives"

Of course, excessive porn consumption and masturbation can be damaging, just as almost everything done as a form of dysfunctional avoidance or coping strategy. Yet, if you ask which stressors cause people to display dysfunctional behavior, I can guarantee you environmental pressures are at the top of the list.

A recent paper from a respectable scientific journal says there is no causal relationship.

[quote]Results indicated that frequency of pornography use was unrelated to either erectile functioning or erectile dysfunction (ED) severity in samples that included ED men with and without various sexual comorbidities or in a subset of men 30 years or younger (p = 0.28–0.79). Masturbation frequency was also only weakly and inconsistently related to erectile functioning or ED severity in the multivariate analyses (p = 0.11–0.39). In contrast, variables long known to affect erectile response emerged as the most consistent and salient predictors of erectile functioning and/or ED severity, including age (p < 0.001), having anxiety/depression (p < 0.001 except for a subset of men ≤ 30 years), having a chronic medical condition known to affect erectile functioning (p < 0.001 except for a subset of men ≤ 30 years), low sexual interest (p < 0.001), and low relationship satisfaction (p ≤ 0.04). Regarding sexual and relationship satisfaction, poorer erectile functioning (p < 0.001), lower sexual interest (p < 0.001), anxiety/depression (p < 0.001), and higher frequency of masturbation (p < 0.001) were associated with lower sexual and lower overall relationship satisfaction. In contrast, frequency of pornography use did not predict either sexual or relationship satisfaction (p ≥ 0.748).

R18 that study concludes by saying:

[quote]we do not dismiss the idea that heavy reliance on pornography use coupled with a high frequency of masturbation may represent a risk factor for diminished sexual performance during partnered sex and/or relationship satisfaction in subsets of particularly vulnerable men (e.g., younger, less experienced).

Nice try, go shift the goal post somewhere else.

There's a number of conservative, right-leaning, fundamentalist Christian organizations that are pushing the narrative right now, under the guise of these new anti-porn organizations. But like a lot of the right-wing, religious think tanks, their front is to look the least obvious from the outside. So you can't really tell unless you start looking at who runs, funds, and connects these organizations together. They also push their narrative to not just say 'porn is bad', but to get all porn banned under the guise of going after sex-trafficking. which is their biggest initiative. They may have even been part of the group that got the PornHub purge going, if I remember correctly. They're very sly. It's just a big rebranding of the old anti-sex, anti-masturbation, anti-porn sentiments under a new banner.

Just masturbate and be conscious of what you consume.

[quote]Dr. Aaron Spitz, a leading urologist, has talked about the harmful effects of porn on erectile function [bold]at length.[/bold]

Yeah, sure he has.

R20, you seem very keen to try and show that heavy porn use is no big deal. I think I will trust a leading urologist like Dr. Aaron Spitz who has seen thousands of penises and who has read lots of studies on this subject. Young men are having a lot of ED problems today and that didn't just come out of nowhere.

[quote]By blaming masturbation, they avoid addressing the elephant in the room... Late-stage capitalism and lack of workers' rights is keeping young people in poverty while steadily increasing their workload, putting immense stress on people, resulting in mental health problems and the need to escape reality (e.g., by being chronically online).

Exactly. Young people today face an impossible burden to pay for college, then finance a life after college thanks to student debt, including buying a home (which is generally necessary to raise a family).

So it's an endless loop. You can get off online, and the endgame of dating seems financially prohibitive—not to mention old-fashioned complicated and occasionally uncomfortable—so it just encourages more isolation and online living.

If conservatives and all these God-botherers want more people to date and marry, they need to help young members of the middle class afford college and home ownership.

But no, it's always easier to encourage guilt and blaming The Other, which only leads to hopelessness—which allows conservatives to line their pockets and stay in power.

If you go from 8 to 6 hard, it’ll make your life easier.

[quote]Dr. Aaron Spitz who has seen thousands of penises

The fucking braggart.

Love seeing capitalists whining about birth rates, directly or indirectly. They need the poors to keep cranking out little workers for the machine. I don’t have many personal values, but anti-natalism feels so justified these days.

The irony is that it’s quite possible that a lot of the things the RWNJs are upset about around gender and fertility are caused by pollution and the real solution would be through a strengthened EPA and more regulations.

"Just masturbate and be conscious of what you consume."

Unless you have a food fetish, the only thing around to eat when you masturbate is cum -and cumsumption doesn't cause ED.

Seriously, though, no one has mentioned the number-one cause of ED in America: obesity. More and more young men are clinically obese, so of course they are going to start showing early ED problems. Combine that with estrogen in many foods and chemicals in the environment (as well as the diet) and you have a recipe for limp dicks. And let's not forget how prudish many of the youngsters are! That's going to lead to feelings of guilt whenever they view porn or jerk off -and that's not going to help matters any...

Masturbation is a normal, healthy, and pleasurable activity. Unless you're rubbing yourself raw you have nothing to worry about.

"What has caused the rise in anti-masturbation and anti-porn sentiments lately?"

hate is all-consuming; hippies, independent-thinking women, gays, trans, again with the gays, porn, education, teachers, porn, more gays, etc. It's a self-feeding machine of hate.

It’s exhausting.

Masturbation is exhausting, R32?

R33 I meant the self-feeding machine I’d hate. The masturbation is re-energizing.

This isn’t anything new. I don’t understand some of the posters above trying to cast doubt - isn’t it this almost common sense? If you don’t believe the relationship exists, try abstaining from both porn and masturbation for an entire week and see what effect it has both on your overall sex drive / willingness to actually MEET real men IRL, as well as your performance in the bedroom.

Old joke: 95% of men will admit to masturbating: the other 5% are liars.

If you look at something like nofap on Reddit you’ll see a bunch of deluded young guys who literally think not masturbating gives them super powers. I’m not sure what the psychology behind this is.

I think the problem is linking masturbation TO porn. Lest we forget there was a time when we’d just close our eyes and use our imagination to get off. Nowadays I think masturbating for guys doesn’t make sense UNLESS there is porn, they are one and the same. There lies the problem. Masturbation is healthy. Masturbation only to porn - maybe not so much.

Dr. Spitz doesn't know his perineum from his pee hole. Take it from me!

“There is some research on the effect of abstinence on testosterone levels. Overall, these studies suggest that abstinence from masturbation or sexual activity can raise testosterone levels.

A study from 2003 measured testosterone levels in men after various lengths of abstinence from ejaculation. There was minimal movement in testosterone levels between 2 and 5 days of abstinence.

However, testosterone levels peaked after 7 days of abstinence.

Another study from 2003 measured hormone levels, including testosterone, during a masturbation-induced orgasm both before and after 3 weeks of abstinence from masturbation. Data revealed that testosterone levels were higher after the 3-week abstinence period.”

There’s a reason why the average guy (straight, gay or otherwise) has the sexual energy of a wet noodle these days. In addition to the better known culprits - obesity, sedentary lifestyles, stress - overexposure to porn and excessive masturbation absolutely play a role.

It is all the beginning of the pro-rape movement.

What do I need my testosterone levels to peak for? I’m not pulling Jeeps. I’ll stick to my daily wank thank you.

"If you look at something like nofap on Reddit you’ll see a bunch of deluded young guys who literally think not masturbating gives them super powers. I’m not sure what the psychology behind this is."

Not psychology -PATHOLOGY.

R43, I hate to tell ya this, but you’re basically exemplifying everything said here about young men nowadays and their low energy / simpish attitude (both in the bedroom and out)……

The oligarchs are afraid we are not going to have enough soldiers to fight an inevitable war with China in the next couple decades. They're also afraid there won't be enough workers and consumers to sustain their operations. So they'll ban porn, abortions, etc.

[quote]There’s a reason why the average guy (straight, gay or otherwise) has the sexual energy of a wet noodle these days.

r41 still don't believe gay men have ANY shortage of sexual energy. Monkeypox spread last year proves that we are still the most active whores on earth. This antiporn shit is a straight people problem

R45, I have been masturbating since I was 12 years old and haven't gone for more than a week without since then. I am 48 years old now. I don't know how I am exemplifying anything that is going on with young men now considering I am not one.

I guess they need to bring back saltpeter so America can continue to dominate the world with its massive full balls.

I do believe that there could be a correlation between excessive consumption of internet porn and erectile dysfunction. A constant stream a graphic content could definitely numb you, as it’s different than the occasional viewing of a video or magazine in the old days. But trying to abstain from masturbation is just stupid.

Again, the question is why do people feel the need to deep-dive into porn in the first place?

That's the reductionism in the anti-porn and anti-masturbation movements... All these fanatics act as if curtailing both would make things somehow better (also: better for who and for what?), while completely ignoring the underlying causes.

Like, while I think that a normal amount (i.e., in temperance, not negatively impacting any areas of life) of porn consumption and masturbation is unproblematic, I agree that an excessive amount (i.e., several hours a day every day, negatively impacting at least two areas of life) is problematic. But then it raises the question: Why do people masturbate or consume porn excessively? What is the function of this behavior? What are the causes? Without function, people wouldn't do it after all... Sure, jerking off is pleasurable by itself, but that's usually not enough to cause people to do it excessively. So, the question is, what are the drivers of excessive behavior. And usually, the answer is either the avoidance of unpleasant alternative behavior or a dysfunctional way of coping with problems by focusing on the short-term gratification without considering the hidden costs.

Without addressing the causes, it'll just result in people choosing other ways to escape reality/release stress, such as drugs, gaming, etc.

A whole generation has grown up with easy access to internet porn, OP, and that has caused all sorts of problems. ED in young men, crap sex because what you see in straight porn doesn't work in real life, young men becoming pathologically angry Incels because real life isn't enough like porn, etc.

Look, even a porn-lover can seriously look at all the shit going on today, and realize that porn isn't an unmixed blessing.

Right wing's bullshit. Porn is the last thing to threaten our health. Gun violence, medical system, political corruption, slow economy... There are tons of things need to be deal with. But they only focus on porn cos it's effortless and won't affect their votes.

R47, perhaps i should’ve used different nomenclature. While gay men are still by and large huge whores (comparatively..), in that they have frequent sexual encounters, that doesn’t say anything about the quality of those encounters (or their stamina, energy, passion, skills, etc.). I’ve been with plenty of whores that are either average at best or just plain bad at sex. And I feel like I’ve been experiencing that with increasing frequency over the past 5 years or so. Idk.

R48, as a biological male (presumably you are?) why WOULDN’T you be interested in ensuring your testosterone levels are at their peak? (Notwithstanding the manner by which you achieve that - abstinence from masturbation or otherwise). Just curious. Particularly at your age, I just find that a surprising / slightly bizarre statement. I don’t know any male IRL that wouldn’t be interested in having a peak or optimal testosterone level.

The Evangenical belief that "seed" cannot be wasted. It has to be used to procreate. Hence the attack on abortion, on birth control. on LGBTQ,

R54 is making the case for procreation for the glory of human race or some shit lmao. Gay men have been fucking for their own pleasure for thousands of years, hun. No one cares about sperm. You sound like a desperate capitalist, yearning for just a little more growth.

It’s not just porn, it’s social media, the internet and all the other overstimulation. It all burns out dopamine receptors.

[quote] OP, as explained on the other thread, there are a lot of medical studies showing that there is so much exposure to porn today at young ages that it is causing erectile dysfunction in young men and teenagers.

Sure, Jan.

[quote] The Evangenical belief that "seed" cannot be wasted. It has to be used to procreate. Hence the attack on abortion, on birth control. on LGBTQ,

That’s what Catholics teach.

[quote] A whole generation has grown up with easy access to internet porn, OP, and that has caused all sorts of problems. ED in young men, crap sex because what you see in straight porn doesn't work in real life, young men becoming pathologically angry Incels because real life isn't enough like porn, etc.

1000% bullshit. Next you’ll be telling us porn watching leads to rape. Fuck off.

R56, no “hun, “lmao.” We were discussing testosterone levels, which if you weren’t such a retarded shop bottom little queen with a low IQ, you’d know that test levels and fertility / sperm count don’t have a positive correlation (in fact, the literal opposite in the case of exogenous T). My post had nothing to do with fertility or procreation, but thanks for playing, lmao. Now back to your closing shift at the GAP, hun, lmao.

[quote] There is some research on the effect of abstinence on testosterone levels. Overall, these studies suggest that abstinence from masturbation or sexual activity can raise testosterone levels.

That has been debunked a million times.

R62, see r40. Now post the studies debunking that.

Keep jerking, dears.

There are plenty of old wives’ tales out there when it comes to the effects of masturbation — from claims that it can cause hairy palms to a purported link to blindness. We’re happy to report that, after decades of “hands-on” testing, we still have perfect vision and smooth palms.

But does masturbation decrease testosterone? Contrary to what you might have read online or heard from certain social media influencers (or your youth pastor!), masturbating doesn’t appear to lower your body’s production of testosterone.

In fact, scientific research hasn’t established any real link between masturbation and a reduction (or increase) in your levels of testosterone.

Well, the main reason is the evidence. Two studies keep popping up when evidence is quoted to support benefits of sexual abstinence as a means to increase testosterone. In the first one, ten men had their testosterone levels measured twice (baseline) before masturbation and orgasm (several tests are more reliable than just one), and then in ten minute intervals after.

This was followed by a three-week period in which they were instructed to refrain from “any type of sexual activity”. After that period, the process was repeated. Testosterone was reported as being higher in the baseline measurements after abstinence.

Despite the conclusions of the research, the sample size of this study was tiny. And the increase in testosterone may have actually been due to the anticipation of sexual arousal in the second experiment after abstinence. What’s more, testosterone levels at the first baseline measurement were actually the same before and after abstinence, with the second measurement differing slightly. So without more data it is impossible to really say that abstinence increases testosterone at all.

The second study reported a 45% increase in testosterone levels after seven days of abstinence. But this was a temporary peak which then returned to the same levels as before, even with continued abstinence, and stayed that way. Such transient alterations in testosterone levels are unlikely to have any lasting effects on men’s health and may primarily serve as a regulator of the creation of new sperm.

A few studies, on the other hand, have shown either no effect of abstinence on testosterone or that testosterone levels were actually higher after masturbation or sex. Measuring testosterone before and directly after masturbation in 34 healthy young men found that testosterone levels increased after self stimulation. But any longer term effects were not checked. At best, the evidence linking masturbation with changes in testosterone levels is limited and with mixed conclusions.

No, Abstinence Won't Increase Your Testosterone

Claims that abstinence from masturbation increase T are based on bad science.

lol so many triggered weirdos on here up in arms about not only common sense but what the research has already borne out. I get off to porn all the time but I won’t deny reality. Maybe some of the posts here are making some of y’all feel insecure in your sex lives IRL? 🤔

Issue of impact on testosterone levels aside. Does anyone here think that regular masturbation (however you want to define that - at min I’d think that includes those daily wanks that most dudes do on basically autopilot, even if they’re not *that* horny) does NOT, on average (/ all other things equal, etc) decrease a man’s willingness to actually meet other potential sexual partners in real life and performance in the bedroom (which is undoubtedly much more complicated than just total T levels)?

“NoFap” and similar movements take these things to the extreme, but with respect to this premise I think there is a lot of truth.

[quote]No Fap November or whatever.

I could do a No Fap November.

Like if I were in an accident and in a coma or got a terrible case of COVID and were placed on a ventilator (nah, I could probably still do it with a ventilator) if I got a terrible case of COVID and were placed on a ventilator [bold]and put in a medical coma[/bold].

But if I did it, I’d need one of you cunts to start a fundraiser for cancer or something because I ain’t doing a No Fap November unless it’s for a good cause. And you’ll have to do it for me since I’ll be in that coma.

The most popular kinds of porn right now are extreme degradation scenes and age play. Your average girl doesn’t want to get choked, spit on, a foot in the face, or do anal sex, but many men expect that out of a partner.

I find it so strange why so many people care so much about what others do.

I masturbate probably twice a week on a average. I sometimes use porn when I masturbate and sometimes I don’t.

I’m sure some men masturbate 10 times a day and use porn every time. But it has no impact on me, so I couldn’t give a flying fuck. Why do some people seem so hell bent on controlling what others do in private?

^ I don’t think anyone here is advocating actually controlling what others do, but in an era when interest in (and more importantly, actual follow-thru for) real-time human interactions with potential romantic/sexual prospects is seemingly only decreasing / increasingly fraught with apathy, disinterest, etc. - you cannot help but wonder to what extent excessive porn consumption and mindless fapping contribute to the problem.

Now, this is likely much more an issue among the hetero crowd, but among the gays / men seeking men crowd, it DEFINITELY seems to be an issue with those under 30.

The answer is always capitalism R72. It’s what always drives people to control others, in the interest of maintaining the fucked up status quo. Business leaders need to exploit you, and they definitely don’t want you being distracted with porn.

R73 But I don’t think the availability of porn has massively increased in recent years. I’ve been using the internet for 20+ years and I’ve never had a problem finding it for free. I’m not the most technical person either.

The whole thing reminds me of “video games are bad cause they make people do bad things, so let’s ban them!” type hysteria.

No, fuck off. As a libertarian I find myself getting increasingly twitchy. It feels like the desire to control others is increasing (not just when it comes to this subject).

Straight men aren't getting laid - they are on a nonsensical and desperate search of solutions.

R74, what a bizarre fucking statement. You do understand the, uh, extremely capitalistic (among other things) nature of the porn industry?

R75: “ But I don’t think the availability of porn has massively increased in recent years.”

Are you on crack? Have you never heard of things like OnlyFans, Chaturbate, etc.? In case you weren’t aware, those things didn’t exist 20 years ago. You may also want to consider the impact of smartphone use/availability, which also weren’t a thing 20 years ago.

“As a libertarian”

Figures… 🙄

[quote]The answer is always capitalism [R72]. It’s what always drives people to control others, in the interest of maintaining the fucked up status quo.

I agree with you to an extent, but religion, and in particular extreme, right wing Christianity are a huge driving factor.

But I also think Christianity and many other religions are just capitalism without taxes. People give money to their church, and then, because they’ve invested money, they feel like they have to use their religion to get their moneys worth.

R78 I have and my understanding is that OnlyFans costs money. I don’t think loads of young men are shelling out cash on a quick jerk off session.

I’m not sure what smartphone usage has to do with it either. Porn has been available on any device that connects to the internet for many years. Computers have been popular since the 90s to the degree that most households have one.

As usual it’s simple minds who want to apply a simple explanation (porn) to a complex trend.

I’m not surprised you roll your eyes at the very notion that people should be free to do legal things in the privacy of their homes without criticism.

R80, literally NO ONE in this thread has advocated restricting porn via government control or legislation. No one. But thanks for creating a strawman that had NOTHING to do with this conversation, except for the one in your retarded head.

The fact that you cannot conceptually understand how smartphone availability would impact porn production and consumption seriously shows how dumb you are (or that you are a master troll). I don’t even know where to begin.

R81 You sound as dumb as you’re making me out to be, given I already addressed that very point.

But I’ll say it again more slowly this time.

Smartphones are one of several methods of accessing porn. Another popular method is via personal computers (PCs) which have been readily available in most homes for 20+ years. Given it’s been possible to access porn via methods other than smartphones for many years, I don’t buy that smartphone availability has the impact you’re making it out to be. That would only make sense if porn hadn’t been easy to get hold of until the advent of the smartphone.

Maybe you think that because it’s the only way you consume porn but not everyone’s the same as you.

Hopefully I made it clear enough for you this time.

R81, all I see is someone who has not brought forth any substantive argument for your position, just bad studies that have been debunked, anecdotal evidence (at best), and your "feelings", resorting to ad hominem attacks when you're failing to convince people.

The anti-porn and anti-masturbation faction has not even set their parameters. So, are masturbation and porn bad in itself or only in excess? If the latter, how do you define "in excess"? Also, why are you so obsessed with testosterone? (It's such a weird obsession, I never hear men talk about their testosterone levels outside DL and, rarely, in the context of certain medical conditions.)

This thread has now merged with the Josh Hawley masculinity thread...

Madonna's visage

R82, Jesus fucking Christ, do you really need someone to break this down for you?

First off: home PCs were NOT household staples or in a majority of households in the 90s.

“Census figures showed that 54 million households, or 51 percent, had one or more computers in 2000, up from 42 percent in 1998. It was the first time computer ownership surpassed 50 percent, the report said.”

And these are HOUSEHOLD numbers - ie in those days, it was very unusual for each family member to have their own PC, unlike today in the case of smartphones. Combine that with the bandwidth and processing issues of those days (your average smartphone now is more powerful than a 90s PC powered by Windows 95). Now if you just could try using a few brain cells to make the obvious logical connections here, what impact do you think these factors would inherently have on access and availability to pornography for the average person (and thus on the overall demand and supply in the porn market)?

[quote]Also, why are you so obsessed with testosterone? (It's such a weird obsession, I never hear men talk about their testosterone levels outside DL and, rarely, in the context of certain medical conditions.)

Adding to that: Of course, we also know that the alt-right has been politicizing testosterone in recent years, for instance, by calling "weak" progressive men "soy boys," etc.

I don't want to assume you repeating alt-right talking points though. "Honi soit qui mal y pense..." etc.

R86 Not everyone lives in the US. Your figures only prove my point anyway; that there were millions of PCs as early as the 90s and these increased to the current popularity of smartphones before smartphones were available.

R82. From 2017

Mobile Is Fueling The Massive Growth Of The Porn Industry

While seldom talked about and considered taboo, the fact remains that pornography is a major aspect of the internet. Moreover, new data shows that the porn industry is only growing, with more and more people watching every year.

According to Pornhub’s “Year In Review” reports for 2015 and 2016, nearly 92 billion videos were viewed in 2016. This is up from the 87.8 billion videos viewed in 2015. This amounted to nearly 4.6 billion hours of porn watched in 2016 compared to 4.39 billion hours watched in 2015. What’s even more astounding is that Pornhub got 64 million visitors per day in 2016. To put this in perspective, video streaming giant Youtube gets 30 million visitors per day.

Not only are people visiting Pornhub more, but they are also spending more time on the website. The time spent per session increased for almost all countries, with the average time globally being 9 minutes and 36 seconds. This is about 16 seconds more than in 2015. All this has made Pornhub the 44th most popular site in the world.

This incredible growth has been facilitated in large part thanks to mobile platforms. In 2016, the traffic from smartphones increased from 53% to 61% at the expense of desktops, which fell from 36% to 28%. Traffic from tablets remained nearly stagnant, dropping from 12% to 11%. The increased proliferation of smartphones and the introduction of fast wireless technologies like 3G, 4G have enabled this migration towards mobile.

"I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids." —General Jack D. Ripper

R89 You snooker yourself with your own stats. As that shows, people are swapping PCs to access porn with their smartphones (the increase in the latter is equal to the decrease in the former).

R88, my figures do not prove your point at all. If PCs weren’t in a majority of US households in the 90s, then they surely weren’t in a majority of households worldwide. I posted data in r89 showing the YoY growth in porn in the 2010s which has been driven in large part by mobile phone traffic.

You have to be a complete and utter moron to not think smartphones have com

^ I hit Post too quickly, but I’m sure you can complete that last statement on your own.

R91, I guess you missed that entire part about the “incredible growth (IE IN THE PORN INDUSTRY) has been facilitated in large part thanks to mobile platforms.”

R92 Men have been cracking one off to porn for ages and it’s only being labelled as a problem now.

It looks like you can’t even operate your own device propeller and I noticed you’ve ignored other rebuttals in this topic since I made mine.

^ No one has made any rebuttal to my claim (or should I say the fact) that smartphone usage has absolutely increased the market for porn and its consumption. I’m sorry that you can’t admit when you’re obviously wrong.

R96 No one can categorically say I’m “wrong”, given that it’s impossible to definitively prove the link this thread asserts.

Even if porn consumption has increased, it has still been widely used for many years, so we’d expect to see the trend increase over time, whereas it appears to be new.

And anyway, out of curiosity I had a look at your other posts where you openly talk about wanting to lick Novak Djokovic’s hole and the fact you use Grindr regularly. So I don’t see why you’re being so prissy about this topic. (I should add that I’m not knocking you for either of those things; you should be able to say/do them because it’s legal and affects no one else - in the same way stranger’s masturbating to porn affects no one else.)

R88: from 2017 DM article re PornHub (can’t link to DM):

“Whether one views on their desktop or mobile device, they certainly have a wide array of videos to choose from. In 2007, 134 hours of video were uploaded to the site. A decent number, but nothing in comparison to the 476,921 hours uploaded in 2016.

In total, the site now has more than 1.5 million hours of video available to stream. That amounts to more than 173 years worth of content.

These days, the average viewer spends an average of four minutes less, and browses fewer total pages. In 2017, PornHub visitors spent nine minutes clicking through just nine pages.

The explanation for the decrease? 'The worldwide penetration of broadband internet has grown considerably in that time, so faster loading means less waiting,' says the survey.”

R97, awww. Mad that you’re wrong, so you stalk my other posts and change the topic. 🥰

Thanks again for the strawman, but no one here has argued re: legality.

R98 So they spend less time on the site now and attribute that solely to broadband Internet? Seems simplistic given they say themselves that there’s more content, so surely it takes longer to look through the videos to find what you might be interested in, regardless of Internet speed.

And I’m not mad at all - I was just interested in whether your other views gelled with this one. They don’t. I think that’s noteworthy. Notice I combined that observation with a post about the same subject. If I’d wanted to change it, I wouldn’t have continued discussing the point as I’m continuing to do here as well. Nice try, though! 😀

“Even if porn consumption has increased, it has still been widely used for many years, so we’d expect to see the trend increase over time, whereas it appears to be new.”

No one here has stated it hasn’t been “widely used for many years”. At issue are the specific drivers in the explosion in the market over the last 15 years, which if you knew anything about the industry (you obviously do not), are - as already mentioned about 10 times already - the shift to smartphone usage (and increasing processing prowess of those phones) and rise of non-professional porn production (e.g., OF and similar - content which is easily pirated and thus not always behind a paywall) and concomitant fall of studio-based porn (which imposed way more barriers to entry).

R101 All I see is you trying to shame men for masturbating to porn by implying it’s responsible for a whole host of other problems, and using simplistic observations to do so. (Which I’ve pointed out numerous times.)

You ain’t convincing me, mate.

^ you’re literally projecting your own feelings onto my posts. I haven’t shamed anybody.

I’m not shaming anyone either. Wank as much as you like as long as you’re in private.

“ .So, are masturbation and porn bad in itself or only in excess? If the latter, how do you define "in excess"?”

How do you define any other activity or habit as “in excess”? Ex, eating, drinking alcohol, exercise? Apply the same logic and you have your answer.

“Also, why are you so obsessed with testosterone? (It's such a weird obsession, I never hear men talk about their testosterone levels outside DL and, rarely, in the context of certain medical conditions.)”

And where did I suggest an “obsession”? The issue of testosterone arose on this thread, originally in relation to porn / wanking. I participated. Another poster said he didn’t care if his testosterone levels were at their peak (in response to the claim that X days of abstinence resulted in peak T levels), and I responded saying I found that statement unusual for any guy to say (in the context of a discussion of testosterone). Do you know any guys IRL where if the issue of testosterone is *already being discussed* would say they don’t care about their T levels not being at their peak? Honest question.

You sound like an [bold]EXHAUSTING[/bold] person R105.

[quote]as a biological male (presumably you are?) why WOULDN’T you be interested in ensuring your testosterone levels are at their peak? (Notwithstanding the manner by which you achieve that - abstinence from masturbation or otherwise). Just curious. Particularly at your age, I just find that a surprising / slightly bizarre statement. I don’t know any male IRL that wouldn’t be interested in having a peak or optimal testosterone level.

R54 because I am not a Formula 1 race car about to hit the track. I don't obsess over my bodily functions. I eat healthy, exercise, take care to watch my blood pressure, cholesterol, etc.. I do the average stuff to stay heathy, fit and alive. But I have bigger concerns in my life than monitoring my testosterone levels to keep them at peak levels. And for what? If my doctor says they are good and within my age range, that is fine. I don't need to obsess and especially don't need to stop masturbating to keep them at peak levels. All this self-absorption over every little facet or our lives, making sure we are at peak levels in all areas at all times, is the real reason nothing is getting done in the country. Sometimes your happiness ISN'T the most important thing in the world. People need to get over and out of themselves and start looking around.

R106, sorry you’re so EXHAUSTED reading my response. Maybe get your thyroid checked out?

I think some critcisms of porn are warranted and thoughtful debate is always worthwhile.

I think anti-masturbation sentiments are always harmful, though. Everyone gets themselves off and associating shame with it is dangerous.

Not to mention stupid, r109.

[quote] Dr. Aaron Spitz, a leading urologist, has talked about the harmful effects of porn on erectile function at length.

R9 Aaron as in famous for his rod and Spitz also meaning "horny" German (literally "pointed", "spitz auf jemanden sein" / to be lusting after someone)? Name checks out.

Why is the media full of anti-porn and anti-jerkoff sentiments? Probably because so many young adults are stuck in failure-to-launch mode, living with their parents and conducting their social lives from the computer in their childhood bedrooms, showing no sign of getting married, buying houses, and producing grandchildren.

And the parents' generation would rather blame porn and jerking off for the lack of grandchildren and mortgages, than the cost of living or their own parenting.

R112 Bingo!

Because America desperately needs more white babies. -Anti-abortion, -Anti-gay, -Anti-masturbation. Less than half of the US children under age 15 are white anymore.

My stepfather told me when he was in Catholic school as a child, the nuns told him masturbation was a sin and he would go to hell if he did it.

Today there’s no one around to instill that fear in men so religious people online are doing it.

To me it’s that simple.

R113 Thank you for writing "Bingo!" instead of "Nailed it!"

I don't know why, but it really annoys me when people reply to a comment just to say "nailed it!"

^ you need to stroke one out R116, take the edge off.