Is there such a thing as watching ‘too much’ porn?

Our author Nadia Bokody is often asked by concerned readers whether she thinks they’re watching “too much porn”. And she always gives the same answer. Here it is…

I’m going to paint a picture for you: It’s the end of a long weekend and you’ve spent the last three days on your couch glued to the screen greedily devouring the latest season of Orange Is The New Black…

Your friends called to invite you out, but you didn’t want to leave the house. You were hooked on the latest episode and determined to consume the entire season in one sitting. You even sacrificed a night of sleep just because the viewing was so good, you couldn’t bring yourself to step away.

Now, does anyone tell you you have a ‘serious addiction’? That you need to get help? That what you’re doing is shameful and wrong? Of course not. So why then, do we take that attitude to porn? Why do we call a certain level of consumption unhealthy when we wouldn’t apply the same standard to our other online viewing habits? It doesn’t make any sense, does it?

Watching too much porn? Here is the answer

As a sex columnist, I’m often asked by concerned readers whether I think they’re watching ‘too much porn’, and what advice I can offer to help them stop. My answer is always the same: we shouldn’t put restrictions on our sexuality. There is nothing innately more harmful about spending an entire weekend binge-watching porn than there is binge-watching Netflix. The only difference between the two is the unnecessary shame and stigma our society creates around sex.

Of course, it can lead to addiction…

However, there is no question that pornography can lead to addiction. But this varies from person to person. It is not possible to deduce the generality from a single case. A study conducted by the University of Laval in Canada in 2017 approached the question of when porn consumption becomes questionable. The answer: It only makes sense for you to seek professional support if your behaviour becomes compulsive and, for example, your social life suffers permanently from porn consumption.

If, on the other hand, you have only spent a weekend with binge-watching erotic films as an exception, I say: Don’t worry! Next time you will follow the invitation of your friends again.