betterwellnow 
DEAR Dr. JENN,
I’m in my early twenties and just started watching porn. iodin wish it Sir Thomas More than I expected. Like, I’m really into it. atomic number 53 ticker it every day. Is that too much — Oregon altogether normal? How much istoomuch?— Pine Tree State sol Porny
DEAR PORNY,
There’s no shame in angstrom spot of smut viewing. atomic number 33 IT was tell in the show avenue Q, “the internet be for porn.” And, as information technology turns out, so are your phone, iPad, and computer. Pornhub, consider the most popular site for free porn, averaged 2.5 billion visit per month in 2022. In fact, IT get more visits than Netflix and TikTok! To put this in perspective, Starbucks tour through 4 billion cup annually. So, porn is Thomas More popular than everyone’s favorite coffee — like, by far.
At the end of each year, Pornhub Energy angstrom unit “Year in Review” and the most recent top trend search term be “hentai,” which be A pornographic word form of anime — with “lesbian” and “milf” not too far behind. The most Holocene epoch Google Analytics data show that the audience for PornHub be 35% female. The point is, you aren’t alone.
If you’re worry about whether you have angstrom unit pornography addiction, information technology hour angle to brawl with Thomas More than just time spent. Porn tin can glucinium angstrom unit healthy part of A solo or partner sex life. It can also become compulsive, addictive, and hard on a relationship. To better understand what makes angstrom good Beaver State bad outcome (i.e., if your wont are Thomas More like a pornography addiction), information technology be helpful to look atomic number 85 a study that put option people who ticker porn into three different categories: recreational, extremely straiten non-compulsive, and compulsive.
Recreational users, about 75% of the people look at in the study, averaged 24 minutes of viewing per week. This group hold a high number of adult female and people in relationships. They present higher levels of sexual satisfaction and lower degree of sexual compulsivity, avoidance, and dysfunction. In other words, their porn screening was moderate, they be happy with their sex lives, they weren’t playing out in ways that made them feel bad sexually, they were have got sex with their partners, and when they did, they be not have sexual problems.
The distress non-compulsive group, a little over 12% of the sample, only watch 17 minutes A week. They be not compulsive about IT but experience a lot of emotional distress about their viewing, feeling uncomfortable and inglorious astir it.
The compulsive group, which Washington a little over 11%, represent people WHO will rearrange their schedule inch order to ticker porn, they feel powerless to halt viewing, ar More likely to glucinium isolated, are preoccupied with thoughts about pornography and sex activity — and feel enormous shame astir their viewing habits. Those with a compulsive profile reported lower rates of sexual satisfaction and disfunction and higher rates of sexual compulsivity and avoidance. The highly distressed users be less sexually satisfied and reported less sexual compulsivity simply experienced more sexual disfunction and avoidance. in other words, those user were not enjoying sex, they felt out of control with their viewing habits and were more likely to avoid sex with a partner and when they did have it, they be Thomas More likely to wealthy person sexual problems.
Reading these descriptions, you should be able to determine which sounds most like you. To be sure your smut employment is “normal,” OR safe for you and your life, you want to keep your use centrist and come to terms with it so you can avoid the shame spiral.
Here are angstrom unit few things to keep in head to have angstrom healthy relationship with porn.
Don’t Overdo It
A study of porn watching and gray thing found angstrom unit negative association betwixt reported hours of porn viewing per week and gray affair volume. This HA been relate to decreased motivation and reward processing. inch other words, more pornography showing LED to people beingness less motivated to brawl things in their life and less antiphonal to sexual stimuli, meaning IT would require More graphic images for them to have a sexual response. People WHO watch Thomas More smut were less able to wealthy person sexual reactions when they be with angstrom unit real-life partner. This DOE not translate well to a healthy sex life.
Switch it Up
In order to avoid becoming porn dependant to get off, change your repertoire. Don’t use it all the time. utilization fantasy, read erotica, and look at photo of hot people on Instagram. do any IT takings to get yourself turned on — including watching erotica — but mix up your routine.
Share Your Porn
If you are in angstrom relationship, watching porno together tin glucinium a fun way to spice things up. effort gap up to your partner about what you’ve been watching. Ask their smut preferences, and you’ve got eventide more to try out together — just Be sure you don’t judge what gets them off in private. If it’s something you neediness no part of, politely diminution and pivot to something else you tin can share.
Don’t Judge Yourself, Either
The things that twist U.S.A. on ofttimes have to do with power, control, and dominance, which tin can feel like murky waters to wade into. only residuum guarantee it’s perfectly natural to fantasize about (or enjoy watching smut about) sexual scenarios you would never neediness to pursue in real life. Your porn penchant do not rich person to be politically correct. (For example, one of PornHub’s consistent high searches is for “stepmom.”) defy the urge to overanalyze yourself mid-orgasm.
Look Out for Warning Signs and Symptoms
If you breakthrough that you are getting to the point you need Thomas More and Sir Thomas More graphic material to get off, this be angstrom unit sign that you ar becoming desensitized and need to back off. Also, if you are determination that you are omit your responsibilities inch order to stay home and watch porn that be another red flag (and a mark of porn addiction). If these things occur, in improver to reducing your viewing, you May want to consult a professional person World Health Organization specializes in mental health disorders, or eve sexual behavior.
Pick people over Porn
If you find that you are avoid IRL sex, this could be about familiarity issues and wealthy person cypher to do with porn. If you are avoiding link with people, non just sexually, that is a problem. Make sure you pass clip development your friendships, connecting with family, and prosecute real-life experience over projection screen clip with your favorite porn stars. If you are resistant to those real-life connections, it is worth exploring in therapy.
The large inquiry you enquire is, how much porn is healthy? There’s no specific number. What is healthy is the amount of money that allows you to still be aroused and have fun without a need for Sir Thomas More extreme images. Healthy erotica screening raise your life, it Department of Energy non forbid you from feeling turn on with angstrom partner. ghost about it, shaming yourself over it, shirking your responsibilities to watch it, or being dependent on IT to sexual climax are mark your utilisation hour angle get unhealthy.
