What causes porn addiction???

Can philosophers help resolve the real problems that people have in their lives?

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ala1993
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Re: What causes porn addiction???

Post by ala1993 »

surprise me!
Camus Society
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Re: What causes porn addiction???

Post by Camus Society »

As a psychotherapist I have had a few clients presenting pornography addiction. This 'addiction' is self-diagnosed and not like addiction to cigarettes or drugs.

The biggest problem is that the use of porn (especially internet porn) becomes part of the clients life. That is, they spend hours and hours on their computers downloading and using pornography. Possibily due to the fact that so much porn is available for download (free porn, porn sites that can be joined for a fee, and forums that share porn from these sites free for members to download) that the person acquiring the porn becomes a collector.

Like other collectors, porn addicts categorize porn and seek out particular genres, actors and actresses, and so forth. Some are on the hunt for more extreme and unsual porn. Collections never end, being impossible to complete.

Masturbation is not always a substitute for sex. Most porn addicts I have met, have access to sexual activity but prefer to use porn or use porn in addition to having sex. A minority of people choose masturbation as their preferred sexual activity. In order to understand the porn addict one must not make the mistake of thinking of them as motivated only by sexual release or frustrated by the lack of sexual contact with other people. It is more useful to think of them as collectors whose collections have taken over their lives.

In treating porn addiction quicker breakthroughs are found when looking at the client as an obsessive collector rather than concentrating on the sexual aspect.
ala1993
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Re: What causes porn addiction???

Post by ala1993 »

It is more useful to think of them as collectors whose collections have taken over their lives
So you're saying that it's more a desire to possess pornography than to use it in the substitution for a sexual act?
Camus Society
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Re: What causes porn addiction???

Post by Camus Society »

To find and add to the collection is the main drive. Most porn addicts (I'm only referring to the ones I have met but they tell similiar stories) spend little time looking through their collections, most time is spend finding new additions. Obviously they use the porn but the urge seems to be to find it and acquire it rather than use it. I suppose that in 'normal' sexual relationships we all like the thrill of the chase but most of us enjoy the resulting relationship that is more than just the sex.

A drug addict may enjoy the process of acquiring drugs but he or she won't stay up all night finding dealers, adding drugs to their collection and going straight back out to find some more. They get the drugs and take them. Binge eaters, eat the food, locating and buying it may be enjoyable as they anticipate the binge but the main pleasure is in the eating. Porn addicts, spend a tiny percentage of their time actually masturbating over porn.

People who use porn as a substitute for sex tend to use porn as often as they would have sex. They can't have sex, for whatever reason, so they masturbate. Porn addicts, choose porn over sex or use porn in addition to sex.

There is a tendency to think of porn as soley a poor substitute for sex. Sometimes it is but for many people porn is something they use in addition to sex, as a sexual activity (although a solo one) in itself. Porn addicts are not people who spend 10mins having a sly one over a magazine, DVD, or porn site. They are people who spent hours and hours seeking out and collecting porn and beleiving that they can not stop, regreting the hours of their life wasted away (with associated problems such as not being able to control spending, not sleeping properly, sacrificing social activities to spend search for porn, etc.)
PeterWes
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Re: What causes porn addiction???

Post by PeterWes »

Men who are addicted to pornography are likely latent homosexuals.
Nikolai
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Re: What causes porn addiction???

Post by Nikolai »

Are homosexual men addicted to porn latent heterosexuals?
artisticsolution
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Re: What causes porn addiction???

Post by artisticsolution »

LMAO Nikolai!

That reminds me...I've got to update my porn collection! Thanks for the suggestions all! :wink:
PeterWes
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Re: What causes porn addiction???

Post by PeterWes »

Nikolai wrote:Are homosexual men addicted to porn latent heterosexuals?
I guess you are addicted to pornography?
Nikolai
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Re: What causes porn addiction???

Post by Nikolai »

It was actually a serious question, not least because I think thee might be truth in what you say
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Nisus
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Re: What causes porn addiction???

Post by Nisus »

I do not actually understand what's the 'pleasure' a man seeks in porn, since the scenes are totally artificial and the situations described impossible to happen in practice.

It's hard to imagine a woman capable of submitting herself to such a humiliating situation in the real world (i.e, when money is not the key factor) and it's also hard to understand why a man might feel pleasure by seeing women treated in such a base and disgusting manner.
Camus Society
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Re: What causes porn addiction???

Post by Camus Society »

Nisus wrote:I do not actually understand what's the 'pleasure' a man seeks in porn, since the scenes are totally artificial and the situations described impossible to happen in practice.
The scenes are not totally artificial. They are are genuine pornographic acts. The impossibilty of what is depicted happening in real life (if that's what you meant) is the point of porn. Most scenes depict a world in which men have to make almost no effort to seduce women, all of whom are more that ready to have sex.

I think most pleasurable fantasies (including non-sexual ones) are about things that will never happen in practice.
Nisus wrote:It's hard to imagine a woman capable of submitting herself to such a humiliating situation in the real world (i.e, when money is not the key factor) and it's also hard to understand why a man might feel pleasure by seeing women treated in such a base and disgusting manner.
This is something people used to say about women submitting to sex when pregnancy was not the key factor. The idea that all porn is necessarily humiliating, base and disgusting, and, that no women could enjoy working in porn is pretty naive (some would consider it sexist).

Personally, while I can see why men and women (a recent study reported around 30% in the UK regularly use it) enjoy porn I think that it probably does more harm than good.
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Nisus
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Re: What causes porn addiction???

Post by Nisus »

Women are not naturally inclined to drown in the sort of depravity we see in porn movies. And when they become porn actresses, it's because they want money, not because they feel pleasure by participating in the base scenes. Everything about porn is directed at males.

How a woman can feel 'pleasure' in being submitted to scenes of complete humiliation is something beyond me. And what do you mean when you say that not all porn is base, humiliating and disgusting?

Calling 'sexist' a man who considers porn disgusting and base is something very funny, to say the least. Porn is an industry dedicated to promoting the worst type of misogyny, i.e., the idea that women are only good when they can be used as sexual objects.
Camus Society
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Re: What causes porn addiction???

Post by Camus Society »

Nisus wrote:Calling 'sexist' a man who considers porn disgusting and base is something very funny, to say the least. Porn is an industry dedicated to promoting the worst type of misogyny, i.e., the idea that women are only good when they can be used as sexual objects.
While I'm not calling you sexist, there are many who think that a man talking about what women are inclined to do, what they can and can not find enjoyable, how they are supposed to feel and so on - is sexist.

You have your own opinions on porn, and women, and the women who work in porn. And I appreciate that you are merely stating an opinion rather than offering an argument. You may find find all pornography base and disgusting but it is obvious that others don't. I have stated my opinion that I think that porn does more harm than good but I can't prove this.

I do know that many women go out of their way to enter the porn industry, most having many other options and not desperate for money*. Porn doesn't pay a huge amount of money either - not enough to be the sole motivation for working in the industry as an actress. There must be something other than financial reward. I also know that clinical studies have shown that a large degree of women are aroused by pornography. There was an interesting documentary on TV about women's arousal being measured why they were shown porn.

*
Tera Patrick - BS in Biology and an AAS degree in nursing from Boise State University.
Gen Padova – A UCLA graduate, with Bachelor of Science degree majoring in Biochemistry and a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Arts.
Calli Cox – Has a degree in middle level education from Eastern Illinois University, and was teaching 8th grade English before getting into porn.
TJ Hart – Graduated with a triple major in psychology, sociology and art, with a minor in early childhood education from the University of Colorado. She was also member of the 1988 US Olympic swim team.
Ron Jeremy – Used to be a teacher, making good use of his bachelor's degree in education and theatre and a master's degree in special education from Queens College in New York.
Nina Hartley – Graduated magna cum laude from San Francisco State University's nursing school, and is a registered nurse.
Juli Ashton – A Colorado State University graduate, with a degree in Spanish and History.
Joanna Angel – has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature with a minor in Film Studies from Rutgers University.
Audrey Hollander - Graduated from Loyola University Chicago with a degree in Elementary Education.
Lexington Steele – Earned a double degree in History and African-American studies from Syracuse University.
Bobbi Starr - Holds a music degree from San Jose State University. She is currently a pre-med student, aiming to become a gynecologist.
Laurie Wallace – Not only did she graduate summa cum laude with a double major in German and political science from Loyola College in Maryland, she also attended law school at George Washington University.
Lisa Sparxxx – This pornstar who holds a world record for having sex with 919 men in the space of a day has a Master of Arts degree in Multimedia with a minor in Business from the University of Kentucky
Mika Tan - She studied at the San Diego State University en route to a Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry and an Associate's degree in Psychology.
Dave Cummings – Currently laying claim to the title "oldest active male pornstar", Cummings has both a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and a Masters Degree in Public Administration. He also used to be a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army.
Shy Love – A certified public accountant, having earned both a bachelor's and a master's degree in accounting.
Careena Collins - Graduated with a law degree.
Selena Silver – finished university with a degree in Marine Science.
Mandingo - has a Bachelor of Arts in Communications.
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Nisus
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Re: What causes porn addiction???

Post by Nisus »

Talking about arguments, can you offer me a single one to demonstrate the relation between these women's qualifications and their not being used as objects (and therefore abused) by porn? Can you tell me what can possibly make you believe that porn is not a male industry dedicated to promoting sexual abuse of women?

Why didn't you answer my question? Why isn't all porn base, disgusting an humiliating? Do you watch porn? Or do you simply accept the stupid idea that making porn is a 'decision' that these women do, since they are part of a 'egalitarian', 'free' society?
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Nisus
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Re: What causes porn addiction???

Post by Nisus »

I have a theory to explain why many men watch porn.

I think the habitual watcher of porn is a concealed homosexual male who hates women and likes to see them being beaten, humiliated, mistreated. They act just like that man who likes to see his woman being fucked by other guy: what he really wanted was to be in his woman's place, but since he cannot, for shame or whatever other reason, he forces his woman to do the 'job' for him and masturbates unconsciously thinking that he is the one who is being fucked, beaten, humiliated...this is the only possible explanation for a man being able to watch scenes so disgusting and degrading as those which are found in porn movies...and the reason why the 'hottest' porn actresses are the ones who submit themselves to the most humiliating scenes (being fucked by many males at a time, swallowing their cum, a.s.o...)
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