31–40 of 196 posts
This is such a laudable aim. Hope you succeed. Compulsive behaviour of any kind is terribly harmful and undesired porn watching is even worse because it is humiliating (to oneself) and destroys self-esteem… Wish you the best.
What are you replacing porn with? Addiction or not, porn is a symptom of urban life, the tabooization of sex (paid or not) and the death of social clubs. Is there research that shows that such "blocking" interventions make people happier?
This app also doesn’t seem to work as an intervention, it is something the person themselves chooses to use or not.
I know this isn't your fault, but I dislike society's tendency of trying to band-aid things instead of solving the actual issue. People wouldn't be addicted to sex if the media wasn't shoving it down your throat 24/7. If I open Netflix now, I guarantee at least half of the recommended shows are about sexual relationships, if not porn/sex worker stories explicitly. You can't get away from it.
Also, FWIW, I do not see any of these Netflix show recommendations with significant sexual undertones. Then again, we also do not watch any of the fake reality TV, "dating" shows, or other drama-based programming.
CovenantEyes has pretty advanced blocking/monitoring tech with a similar accountability system, you may want to check it out. They use a VPN config on iOS to monitor traffic, and on MacOS make their monitoring app very difficult to uninstall without an uninstall key (which notifies your accountability partners)
Earlier quoted context omitted.
after speaking to users, we figured out that what to replace with is best left to the user based on their choices. a lot of our users keep posting in our forums that they took up weight lifting, exercises, meditation etc. to distract them from their problematic behavior. as to studies, there is very little research on impact of porn. but, our users seem to be happy when they make progress and stay off porn for a long…
So that's a "no" to the question of whether there is any empirical evidence saying that this intervention has a positive effect. Got it. No evidence.
I know this isn't your fault, but I dislike society's tendency of trying to band-aid things instead of solving the actual issue. People wouldn't be addicted to sex if the media wasn't shoving it down your throat 24/7. If I open Netflix now, I guarantee at least half of the recommended shows are about sexual relationships, if not porn/sex worker stories explicitly. You can't get away from it.
I disagree. I personally think it would be less of an issue if it wasn't treated as such a taboo topic. Particularly in America, many people get far too worked up (IMO) about basic issues of sexuality or displays of anything mildly erotic in mainstream media. Also, FWIW, I do not see any of these Netflix show recommendations with significant sexual undertones. Then again, we also do not watch any of the fake reality…
What are you replacing porn with? Addiction or not, porn is a symptom of urban life, the tabooization of sex (paid or not) and the death of social clubs. Is there research that shows that such "blocking" interventions make people happier?
There are definitely various forms of internet addiction which are growing rapidly and it appears traditional psychiatry hasn't been able to keep up. A community-based approach to address this problem for folks with common goals seems like a good idea. I don't know how I feel about this as a YC "start-up" but there's nothing wrong with the concept which at least tries to solve a real problem.
Isn’t it like dieting? What I mean is that digital escapism is a symptom, not a problem. Before social media existed, people used to fill up their time with: 1) Having many children 2) Watching TV 3) Excessive alcohol use etc. Media addiction is a manifestation of something, not the root cause.
Removing all carbs from your home forces you to get out of the house to get junk food. During that time or because of the effort involved you may be able to control your emotions and make a better decision. The problem with porn is that it is so easy to get another way Phone, Another computer, saved locally on your hard drive.
I know this isn't your fault, but I dislike society's tendency of trying to band-aid things instead of solving the actual issue. People wouldn't be addicted to sex if the media wasn't shoving it down your throat 24/7. If I open Netflix now, I guarantee at least half of the recommended shows are about sexual relationships, if not porn/sex worker stories explicitly. You can't get away from it.