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Did porn warp me forever?

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Re: Did porn warp me forever?

#121

Post by VigUi7vv8G2 »

_ddkb wrote: post #85

I know this is outing myself but this is my personal experience. I won't post anonymously in case anyone wants to contact me. I came to the realization about 2 years that I am addicted to porn. For anyone out there struggling with the same thing, it can get better and yes, it is probably having a negative influence on your life. Previously I would look about once per week but in the past 6 months, I have probably vie…

> Each time you view something new, your brain gives a hit of dopamine.

Oh dear god. That is not how dopamine works. Dopamine is a chemical that your brain secretes when you are trying to get something, not once you get it - so when you're hungry, for example, you'll have higher dopamine levels. Then when you eat, they go back down. The actual sensation of higher dopamine levels is stress and anxiousness - it actually doesn't feel good at all.

Here's an NYT article talking about the common misconception: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/27/science/27angier.html?_r=0

> they're addicted to the chemical sensations that their brain provides.

EVERY experience is a "chemical sensation" in the brain. Good. Bad. Whatever.

> In fact, now that I have learned about this, whenever I see a post on HN about how someone has lost their interest in programming or other activities, the first thing I think of is probably this person has a porn addiction.

What the fuck? This is the dumbest thing I've read in a while. There could be a million things that cause a loss of interest in programming. Maybe they got girlfriends or started families? Maybe they suck at it, and just realized that?

It sounds like you used to be obsessed with porn, and now you're obsessed with "porn addiction"

Re: Did porn warp me forever?

#122

Post by xk_id »

"9/10th* of the working of the gonads is to vitalise the whole body – brain included. If the gonads would secrete a blue fluid, the whole body would be blue, and the brain very blue – and even the bones would be slightly blue. […] It is quite often the case that very creative people have very active gonads."

* fundamentally true; not correct, but fundamentally true.

Re: Did porn warp me forever?

#123

Post by VigUi7vv8G2 »

_ddkb wrote: post #118
pekk wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What you are relating isn't scientific information, though it may help you in some way, it isn't necessarily accurate or helpful to others. You have oversimplified the function of dopamine to the point that you have said something misleading. It isn't a drug. You also get a "hit" of dopamine when there is a loud, surprising noise, and any number of similar situations. Including good, natural situations. Including nor…

I didn't mean to say dopamine is a drug. Yes dopamine is normal and it increases from many things. The problem is constantly altering it through activities that would not be occuring in nature. The videos I linked to on yourbrainonporn.com really explained it well for me. Maybe you could watch them and let me know what you disagree with. I maybe getting some things mixed up as I don't have a great understanding of th…

> The problem is constantly altering it through activities that would not be occuring in nature.

Pretty sure humans have always been masturbating. So do chimps and lots of other animals.

Re: Did porn warp me forever?

#124

Post by _ddkb »

VigUi7vv8G2 wrote: post #121
_ddkb wrote: post #85

I know this is outing myself but this is my personal experience. I won't post anonymously in case anyone wants to contact me. I came to the realization about 2 years that I am addicted to porn. For anyone out there struggling with the same thing, it can get better and yes, it is probably having a negative influence on your life. Previously I would look about once per week but in the past 6 months, I have probably vie…

> Each time you view something new, your brain gives a hit of dopamine. Oh dear god. That is not how dopamine works. Dopamine is a chemical that your brain secretes when you are trying to get something, not once you get it - so when you're hungry, for example, you'll have higher dopamine levels. Then when you eat, they go back down. The actual sensation of higher dopamine levels is stress and anxiousness - it actuall…

Thanks for the article. I'm still trying to learn more about it. However, I would appreciate it if you did not judge me and wrote your response in a more polite manner.

Re: Did porn warp me forever?

#125

Post by xk_id »

guard-of-terra wrote: post #65
jacoblyles wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>"Porn isn't bad, it's a part of society now and has been for a long while" Are you sure about that? It seems that widespread, easy access to porn is something very new. Before the internet, you would have to go through some embarrassing procedure at a checkout counter to purchase just a few pornographic items. The amount of free porn I could access in the next hour would have cost me thousands of dollars in the 1980…

Let's pretend we figured out porn is kinda bad. Our next steps?

Just like porn became a socialised behaviour… so can its rejection.

Re: Did porn warp me forever?

#127

Post by VigUi7vv8G2 »

grimboy wrote: post #95
stephengillie wrote: post #76

porn — especially the porn I was watching — just had to be taboo. The author's fetish is with the anxiety of getting caught. He's making anxiety porn by watching something so extreme that it's guaranteed to offend anyone who catches him. The author has connected the anxiety of being caught with sexual desires in his head. It's actually a very common fetish.

Maybe he should be an exhibitionist.

Why do you think he wrote that article?

Re: Did porn warp me forever?

#128

Post by andrewflnr »

psykotic wrote: post #71
andrewflnr wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have made a couple unfounded assumptions. One, that the GP, abstains from porn and two, that the fact that it's not clear that it's harmless is the reason for it. They were responding to a specific claim of the GGP, that porn is harmless. Respond to what people actually say. If you really need to respond to something unsaid, make it explicit. Anything else is a strawman fallacy.

I accept your point while submitting that everyone in this thread, yourself included, fails this stringent test: > They were responding to a specific claim of the GGP, that porn is harmless. Speaking of strawmen, it was Jacob who used the word harmless. Nicholas went so far as to draw an analogy with drugs concerning the effects of responsible versus irresponsible use. When he said porn wasn't bad, he clearly didn't…

"Porn isn't bad" is close enough to "porn is harmless" that I see little point in distinguishing them. not(P = 0. I guess I don't see the nuance. I'll definitely admit to failing my test sometimes. It's easy to be sure you know what someone really meant.

Re: Did porn warp me forever?

#129

Post by VigUi7vv8G2 »

jacoblyles wrote: post #52
nicholassmith wrote: post #32

It's one of those things that can rapidly spiral, you start needing a bigger kick to keep it interesting. The problem being it is incredibly difficult to talk about, it's something parents will start needing to discuss with their kids straight up. Porn isn't bad, it's a part of society now and has been for a long while, but it's the same way drugs aren't necessarily bad unless you start needing a bigger and bigger ki…

>"Porn isn't bad, it's a part of society now and has been for a long while" Are you sure about that? It seems that widespread, easy access to porn is something very new. Before the internet, you would have to go through some embarrassing procedure at a checkout counter to purchase just a few pornographic items. The amount of free porn I could access in the next hour would have cost me thousands of dollars in the 1980…

> We have normalized porn very recently and it is just a piece of modernist faith that it is harmless.

Which is true of everything. How do you know eating chicken is harmless? What about cellphones? What about under arm deodorant? Laundry Detergent?

There are tons and tons of new things added to society all the time.

The only reason anyone has a problem with porn is because some people have moral hangups about it.

Re: Did porn warp me forever?

#130

Post by therobot24 »

msluyter wrote: post #48

On the same topic, "The Great Porn Experiment" TED talk, which provides some empirical grounding for the anecdote in the article: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSF82AwSDiU

Makes some valid points, but some of the evidence he uses in the talk reminds me of evangelical christians tv hosts - 'Just look at this testimonial! While on the porn he dropped out of college twice, was fired twice, was taking paxil, ritalin, and tried several anti-anxiety pills. BUT once he gave up porn he doesn't need those pills, has no depression or anxiety, and frankly...he feels like a stud!'
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