When we think about who watches pornography, stereotypes often paint a simple, one-dimensional picture.

These assumptions, however, are largely based on older research that relied on self-report surveys, a method notoriously prone to bias when dealing with a stigmatized topic. What happens when you set aside what people say they do and instead look at what they actually do online? 

A massive new study did just that. Using objective, anonymized web-tracking data from 1,933 individuals across five countries, researchers identified 392 pornography consumers, providing one of the most accurate and nuanced portraits of this group to date.

The results challenge many deeply held beliefs about age, gender, politics, and online behavior. 

This article distills the four most counter-intuitive truths from this groundbreaking research, revealing a reality that is far more complex and fascinating than the stereotypes suggest.

1. Viewers Are Creatures of Habit, Not Explorers

The internet seems to offer an endless buffet of adult content, leading to the belief that pornography use is a relentless quest for novelty. The data, however, paints a picture not of explorers, but of creatures of habit.

The study found that consumption is highly concentrated on a few dominant platforms, such as Pornhub, Xvideos, and Xhamster. 

The most surprising statistic revealed a strong sense of brand loyalty and routine. Approximately 46% of users visited only a single, unique adult website during the entire three-month study period.

This behavior suggests that for nearly half of all viewers, pornography is less about exploration and more about visiting a familiar, trusted source. 

As the researchers note: 

This suggests that pornography consumption is not as exploratory as assumed but rather characterized by routine engagement with familiar providers. 

This finding is significant because it reframes consumption as a routine online habit, much like checking a favorite news site or social media platform, rather than a relentless quest for new stimulation. 

2. It’s Not Just a Young Person’s Game 

Conventional wisdom says porn is a young person’s fixation, a habit that fades with age.

The data shows this is simply not true.

Objective tracking reveals that pornography consumption is common across all age groups. It goes from young adulthood well into the 60s and beyond. 

The data shows a clear trend, with consumption peaking among people in their 30s before seeing its most pronounced decline after age 60.

However, the study’s key takeaway is that these variations between most adult age groups aren’t large enough to be statistically significant. This means, for the most part, engagement remains remarkably stable throughout adulthood. 

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Pornography isn’t just a phenomenon of the “digitally native” youth. It’s an integrated part of online habits for a wide and diverse range of adults.

3. Political Ideology is Surprisingly Irrelevant 

In a hyper-partisan world, it’s easy to assume our media habits, even private ones, fall along political lines. But when it comes to pornography, a person’s political ideology is surprisingly irrelevant.

When researchers compared who watches porn and non-watchers based on their self-reported political ideology on a scale from left to right, they found no statistically significant difference between the two groups.

In simple terms, knowing a person’s political leaning gives you no predictive power in guessing whether or not they consume pornography. The user base is ideologically diverse and spans the entire political spectrum. 

But the research did uncover an interesting twist. While personal ideology didn’t matter, media consumption habits showed a small but statistically significant difference. The study found pornography users tended to have slightly more centrist and balanced partisan media diets compared to non-users.

Do you believe you have an online pornography addiction? Take the free Cyber Pornography Addiction Test (CYPAT) and have the results to speak with your therapist.

4. The Gender Gap is More Complicated Than You Think

One stereotype the data confirms is men are the primary consumer of pornography.

But that’s where the simplicity ends.

Digging into the web-tracking data revealed crucial nuances, showing female engagement is “more substantial than previously estimated” and challenging the idea of pornography as an exclusively male domain. This was especially clear when looking at cross-country variations.

In Spain, for example, women constitute nearly 30% of pornography users.

The study hypothesizes this may be linked to the country’s significant progress in gender equality, such as being the first nation to create a Ministry of Equality in 2004 and the third to legalize same-sex marriage in 2005, suggesting cultural shifts can directly influence female consumption patterns.

The study also produced fascinating data on same-sex content.

It found that 16.5% of male users watched gay pornography. A figure significantly higher than the 5-10% of men who typically identify as gay or bisexual in surveys.

This complexity extends to lesbian content, which the study found was consumed by a higher percentage of male users (15.4%) than female users (9.4%), further challenging simple assumptions about consumption, gender, and sexual orientation.

Conclusion

The objective, behavioral data from this study makes one thing clear: the reality of pornography consumption is far more complex, habitual, and ideologically diverse than common stereotypes suggest.

It is a widespread digital behavior that cuts across demographics in ways we are only just beginning to understand.

As objective data continues to pull back the curtain on our private digital lives, what other deeply held assumptions about human behavior will be the next to fall?

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Are you a Licensed Professional Counselor seeking engaging, unique Continuing Education courses? Dr. Weeks offers accredited courses on her practice website on the effects of Pornography Abstinence and other unique topics!

Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.

Are you looking for more reputable, data-backed information on sexual addiction? The Mitigation Aide Research Archive is an excellent source for executive summaries of research studies.

The post Who REALLY Watches Porn? 4 Surprising Truths first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.

The Hidden Dialogue Between Our Minds and Our Habits

The scale of online pornography consumption is immense. In 2023, two of the largest pornography websites, Xvideos and XNXX, had more total visits than TikTok, one of the world’s most popular social media platforms. But beyond the sheer numbers, what is the internal experience of this habit? What is the relationship between porn use and how we think about our lives, our feelings, and ourselves? 

New research reveals a surprisingly complex, two-way relationship between what scientists call problematic pornography use (PPU) and “rumination,” or the act of overthinking.

This groundbreaking study shows not only that the behavior can influence our thought patterns, but also that our specific style of thinking can, in turn, either escalate the problem or potentially help us escape it.

Crucially, this connection works very differently for men and women.

First, a Quick Primer: What Are “Problematic Use” and “Rumination”? 

Before diving into the findings, let’s clarify the two key concepts. We’re not judging habits, but trying to understanding specific psychological patterns. 

What is Problematic Pornography Use (PPU)?

PPU is not defined by how often someone watches pornography. Instead, it is characterized by a loss of control.

The official definition describes it as “poorly controlled, excessive, and/or compulsive engagement in pornography use, accompanied by significant distress and impairments in life,” such as losing a job or damaging relationships.

What is Rumination?  

Simply put, rumination is the act of continuously focusing on one’s own negative thoughts and feelings.

However, not all rumination is the same.

Researchers have found that it comes in two distinct flavors: Brooding and Reflection.

Understanding this difference is essential to making sense of the study’s findings. 

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As professionals, our time is valuable. Dr. Weeks created the Mitigation Aide Research Archive because there isn’t enough focused, data-backed research available in easily digestible formats.

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Takeaway 1: Problematic Porn Use Fuels Overthinking But Differently for Men and Women 

The study, which followed 2,786 adults over one year, initially found that higher levels of PPU predicted more ruminative thinking (both brooding and reflection) a year later for everyone. This supports the “stress-reactive model,” suggesting the stress, guilt, or life problems from PPU can trigger more repetitive thinking. 

However, the researchers dug deeper and uncovered a crucial distinction.

For men, the link was robust: the problematic nature of their use, the loss of control and distress, was a strong predictor of increased rumination down the line, regardless of how frequently they viewed porn. 

For women, the story was different.

When researchers statistically controlled for the sheer frequency of pornography use, the link between PPU and later rumination weakened or disappeared entirely.

This suggests that for women, it may be the high frequency of viewing itself, rather than the “problematic” aspect, that is more closely tied to an increase in later overthinking. 

Takeaway 2: For Women, Brooding Can Create a Vicious Cycle 

When researchers looked at how thinking patterns affected behavior over time, a key gender difference emerged. For women, a specific type of rumination, brooding, was linked to an increase in problematic use down the line. The study found that higher levels of brooding at the start were associated with higher levels of PPU one year later.

Brooding is generally regarded as a more maladaptive form of rumination, which is defined as:

Adopting a passive and introspective demeanor that evaluates current circumstances against an unrealized, idealized standard, accompanied by a sense of regret and dissatisfaction. 

This passive, self-critical style is captured in the very questions researchers used to measure it. Such as:

• “Why do I always react this way?”
• “Why can’t I handle things better?“

According to the cognitive-behavioral model, this style of thinking can exacerbate negative emotions like anxiety and stress. Women may then engage in the problematic behavior to cope with these painful feelings. Thus, creating a dangerous feedback loop where the thinking pattern fuels the habit that causes the distress.

Takeaway 3: For Men, Reflective Thinking May Act as a Protective Shield

The most counter-intuitive finding came from the data on men. For them, a different type of rumination—reflection—appeared to be a protective factor. 

The study revealed that higher levels of reflective thinking at the start were associated with lower levels of PPU a year later. Reflection is seen as a more adaptive and constructive form of thinking. Its scientific definition is: 

Reflection, a purposeful and active cognitive process, involves accepting and understanding distress and feelings to engage in effective coping mechanisms. 

Do you believe your sexual behaviors are compulsive or harmful to you or others? Then you should take the CSBD-19 free, validated self-assessment tool.

Why would this type of overthinking be helpful in relation to Porn Use?

The researchers hypothesize that because men report higher rates of PPU and its negative consequences, they may become more motivated to fix the problem. This motivation could trigger a more problem-solving style of thought.

As the researchers suggest, “men may be motivated to disrupt this pattern and regain control over their problematic behavior… Such a response could potentially be associated with engaging in a more problem-solving-focused type of rumination (i.e., reflective rumination), resulting in reduced PPU.” 

Conclusion: It’s Not That You Think, But How You Think

The relationship between porn use and our thought patterns is not simple. This research shows that it is a complex, bidirectional cycle that differs significantly by gender. For both men and women, pornography use can be linked to more negative, repetitive thinking. 

But the reverse is where the crucial distinction lies.

For women, a passive, self-critical “brooding” can trap them in a cycle, making the problem worse.

For men, an active, problem-solving “reflection” may be a key to breaking free.

The ultimate takeaway is that when it comes to the link between our thoughts and our habits, it may not be that you think, but how you think that truly matters. 

This leaves us with a powerful, forward-looking question: If the way we reflect on our behaviors can either trap us in a cycle or help us break free, what does that mean for our ability to consciously change our habits?

Are you a professional looking to stay up-to-date with the latest information on, sex addiction, trauma, and mental health news and research? Or maybe you’re looking for continuing education courses? Then you should stay up-to-date with all of Dr. Jen’s work through her practice’s newsletter!

Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Then you should consult with a professional.

Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.

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Are you a Licensed Professional Counselor seeking engaging, unique Continuing Education courses? Dr. Weeks offers accredited courses on her practice website on the effects of Pornography Abstinence and other unique topics!

The post Overthinking and Porn Use: How Gender Shapes a Vicious Cycle first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.

Most often, when we talk about online communities for abstinence from pornography and masturbation, such as No Fap, we are talking about men.

Online forums purporting abstinence, particularly Reddit, are a predominantly male space. So, where do the women go? 

While we know men more often report problematic sexual behavior than women, women do still struggle with PSB issues. Where is their safe space? A recent study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior recently addressed this question.

A No Fap Study in the Archives of Sexual Behavior

The authors analyzed the posts from a women-only online forum called Porn Free Women. 

Porn Free Women was developed because most pornography abstinence online spaces are dominated by men and many women did not feel comfortable or accepted participating in them.

Do you believe you have an online pornography addiction? Take the free Cyber Pornography Addiction Test (CYPAT) and have the results to speak with your therapist.

Therapeutic, Empowerment and Heteronormative

The analysis of the discussions revealed 16 predominant topics that fell within three themes: 

• Therapeutic
• Empowerment
• Heteronormative

Half of the discussions fit the therapeutic theme. Pornography abstinence was discussed as overcoming adversity through healing and transformation. Here pornography was seen as addictive.  

Over a quarter of the posts fit into the heteronormative theme. The discussions involved romantic relationships, identity anxiety and ideas of being a “real” woman. 

The empowerment theme emphasized female empowerment and agency in building a supportive community to promote well-being.  

Many of the women in the forum identified with the philosophy of pornography addiction. 

Unlike men, many of these women use their own past sexual victimization to rationalize their entry into pornography addiction.  

This study was interesting because it is one of the very few studies that look at a women’s perspective on desired abstinence from pornography. In a field dominated by heteronormative male voices, it is refreshing to see science finally take an interest in the female voices in the arena.  

Reference

Zhang, X & Silva, D.E. (2024).  “I feel like a fraud who acts like a feminist”: The discussion themes and sexual scripts in the Porn Free Women online forum.  Archives of Sexual Behavior.  Doi.org/10.1007/s10508-024-02858-w 

Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Consult with a professional.

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Are you a Licensed Professional Counselor seeking engaging, unique Continuing Education courses? Dr. Weeks offers accredited courses on her practice website on the effects of Pornography Abstinence and other unique topics!

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Take the Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) Questionnaire

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Diving into the Pornhub 2023 year in review and some other, related topics like Netflix’s documentary “on”Moneyshot” about Pornhub.

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We love the statistics and the data here and I dive deep into it, with a caveat, that it’s not necessarily 100% perfect.

Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Consult with a professional.

Are you a professional looking to stay up-to-date with the latest information on, sex addiction, trauma, and mental health news and research? Or maybe you’re looking for continuing education courses?

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Do you believe you have an online pornography addiction? Then take this free Cyber Pornography Addiction Test (CYPAT) and have the results to speak with your therapist.

The post Pornhub 2023: Year in Review first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.

The phones rang off the hook during lock downs and our caseloads for Compulsive Sexual Behavior increased. Was it real or did it just feel super busy? Was everyone looking at pornography then?

Those of us who work in the field treating Problematic Sexual Behavior (PSB) will anecdotally tell you that during COVID and its associated lock down, PSB was on the rise.

Science is now, four years after the lock downs began, backing up our anecdotal claims.

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Do you believe your sexual behaviors are compulsive or harmful to you or others? Then you should take the CSBD-19 free, validated self-assessment tool.

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The Study on Compulsive Sexual Behavior During COVID Lock Downs

In a study published last year, Gleason and colleagues surveyed over 1000 people. They asked if the respondents pornography use and masturbation changed due to COVID. 

Additionally, they also assessed for Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder (CSBD) to see if that had any affect on masturbation and pornography use.

Takeaways From the Study on Compulsive Sexual Behavior

First, myself and my fellow therapists, were not making things up! 

Among this sample, masturbation frequency and pornography use increased during the COVID 19 lockdown. Those who screened positive for CSBD had a larger increase in masturbation frequency. 

Similarly, those who screened positive for CSBD had a larger increase in pornography use than those who did not screen positive for CSBD.

Are you a professional looking to stay up-to-date with the latest information on, sex addiction, trauma, and mental health news and research? Or maybe you’re looking for continuing education courses?

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But, why?

As this was not an experimental study, no assertions regarding the cause of the increase can be made. However, we can hypothesize. 

For example, many people with CSBD use some sort of sexual behavior as a coping mechanism for negative affect (boredom, loneliness, depression, anxiety, etc.) or stress. As this time in life was incredibly stressful for most people, this increase in pornography use and masturbation could have been a means for people to manage those feelings. 

While masturbation and pornography use increased for most people in this survey, it seems as though those with CSBD were most influenced by COVID.

Reference:  Gleason, N., Conro, K., Banik, S., & Coleman, E. (2023).  Compulsive Sexual Behavior and Changes in Solitary Sexual Behaviors During the COVID-19 Pandemic.  Archives of Sexual Behavior, 52, 2287-2293.

Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.

Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Then you should consult with a professional.

Are you looking for more reputable data-backed information on sexual addiction? The Mitigation Aide Research Archive is an excellent source for executive summaries of research studies.

The post Did Compulsive Sexual Behavior get Worse During COVID? first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.

In today’s culture, a lot of people have a lot of opinions or feelings about pornography. Depending on your beliefs, pornography can be the devil, a wonderful thing or something in between. But what are your thoughts on the money shot?

What can’t be disputed is the fact that the content of today’s pornography is has changed. The advent of Point-of-View (POV) videos changed the landscape of pornography. While we are long on opinions about pornography, we are rather short on scientific data.

Enter “As long as it is not in the face.” 

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A Study on the Money Shot

In 2023, Eran Shor published a study in the Journal Sexes that described his research specifically looking at the preferences of pornography viewers for how male ejaculation is filmed. This might seem an odd thing to research, but it’s not. 

Many feminist theorists have stated that the prevalence of men ejaculating on women (the “money shot”) and particularly in their faces is indicative of misogyny or support of the aggression towards and degradation of women.

Dr. Shor’s research is one of the first of its kind to assess this topic with actual viewers of pornography. 

He recruited over 300 people from across the world and interviewed them about their male ejaculation preferences in pornography. 

His sample included men, women and several non-binary individuals who identified as straight, gay, bi-sexual, and queer.   

The Evolution of the Money Shot

Before we dig into the results, let’s talk about today’s pornography. 

Many feminist theorists are upset about the trend of showing male ejaculation on the faces of women. This upset is not without cause. 

One study found that anywhere from 28% to 43% of the videos that were analyzed included the man ejaculating on the woman’s face. 

Another study found that 45% of the videos they sampled included one or more men ejaculating on a woman’s face.   

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Background on the Study

Some demographics about the participants in this study: 

• Women watched pornography on average 6.6 times per month and men 14.3 times per month. 
• The average age when they began to watch pornography was 13.4 for women and 12.3 for men. This is why we need pornography education for young people! 
• About half of the participants were from North America but participants came from South and Central America, Europe, the Middle East, South and East Asia, and Africa.   

The two main interview questions were

1. How important was it for the person to see male ejaculation in a pornography video
2. Where would they prefer to see the men ejaculate (where on/in the body)

Where do viewers prefer the money shot happen?

In total, 26.6% of the participants did not care about male ejaculation and 37.8% preferred to see a man ejaculate in a woman’s vagina. 

Only 9% of the total sample preferred to see male ejaculation on the woman’s face and 8.2% preferred to see it in a woman’s mouth. 

When it came to seeing male ejaculation at all, 58.9% of men and 37.7% of women told the interviewers that seeing male ejaculation was not important to them. 

Those who did feel that seeing male ejaculation was important in pornography were more often heterosexual and the sentiment was prevalent among those participants from the Middle East.

Do you believe you have an online pornography addiction? Take the free Cyber Pornography Addiction Test (CYPAT) and have the results to speak with your therapist.

Drumroll please…

There was a strong preference among participants to see ejaculation in the woman’s vagina. 

The authors stated that “for some, primarily among male interviewees, the portrayal of vaginal ejaculations was favored because these indicated that the woman was willing to accept the male semen, implying that she was more engaged and involved in the sexual act and there was some reciprocity and mutual respect.” 

Most viewers of pornography do NOT want to see a man ejaculate on a woman’s face. In fact, many viewers of pornography do not care about seeing men orgasm, contrary to much of the content of available pornography.

Furthermore, it challenges the hypothesis that there is a cultural fetishization of the “money shot” in popular pornography. This data does not appear to support the theories of many feminist scholars about facial ejaculation.   

The second interesting finding of this study is that there appears to be a disconnect between what the pornography industry is producing commercially and what people (or at least these 300 people) want to see.  There is a focus on male ejaculation in pornography and a focus on that ejaculation to be on a woman’s body.   

As with any research study, the results are the beliefs of its’ participants. Though the sample was rather diverse, it may not represent the beliefs of all viewers of pornography.   

Reference

Shor, E. (2023).  “As Long as It’s Not on the Face.”:  Pornography Viewers Discuss Male Ejaculation Perceptions and Preferences.  Sexes, 4, 587-600. https://www.mdpi.com/2411-5118/4/4/38

Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.

Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Then you should consult with a professional.

Are you looking for more reputable data-backed information on sexual addiction? The Mitigation Aide Research Archive is an excellent source for executive summaries of research studies.

The post Money Shot: Not on the Face first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.

Last Monday, I received screenshots of a game my client was playing, but it wasn’t a traditional game. He indulged in the ever-expanding genre of pornographic video games.

Some of you who read my blog regularly may know, a person on federal supervised release for an internet crime of a sexual nature must have monitoring software on their devices.

The software blocks you from sites based on probation regulations and takes screenshots of what they’re doing. When one of my clients looks at questionable things, their probation officer will contact me and send me screenshots of the content.

I’m Not Going to Moralize About Pornographic Video Games

Nor will I discuss whether or not this is an appropriate expression of sexuality for people whom partnered sex is not an option. This is just a, “Hey it’s out there if you didn’t know about it,” post.

Adult video gaming is legal and the people playing them are making a conscious choice to do so.

So why does it matter? In my work, it matters for a few reasons.

Do you believe you have an online pornography addiction? Take the free Cyber Pornography Addiction Test (CYPAT) and have the results to speak with your therapist.

Pornographic Video Games and

Adolescents

We all know that most kids today game. It is super common and can be as much of a lifestyle as a hobby to kill some time. Games have come a long way from the Frogger of my youth.

Adult video games can be problematic for youth the same as pornography.

Physical and emotional development of teens does not happen along the same trajectory. Bodies might find these games exciting, but minds don’t always know how to process what goes on.

In most pornographic video games, as in pornography, there is not a discussion of consent, boundaries, or anything else. And the themes or topics are similar to pornography.

I braved a google search and adult video games are promoting themes like anal sex with your stepsister and sex with your stepmom the same as live pornography is.

Not the best themes for a growing mind to be masturbating to.

Do you believe your sexual behaviors are compulsive or harmful to you or others? Then you should take the CSBD-19 free, validated self-assessment tool.

Individuals with Problematic Sexual Behavior (PSB)

Pornographic video games can fall into a grey area for those with pornography addictions or PSB.

They are not pornography, as many will define it in terms of live humans, but it still falls into the category of sex acts or simulated sex acts.

Using adult video games may be a gray area that a person struggling with pornography addiction can use as a means to act out while thinking they are not violating their bottom-line behaviors.

Individuals on Supervised Release

Playing these games could be a violation of the stipulations of supervision for individuals on probation, parole, or federal supervised release for crimes of a sexual nature.

Many of these probation stipulations prohibit viewing pornography. I’ve found most probation/parole officers consider adult video games to be pornography.

Playing pornographic video games and not disclosing it could cause problems with supervision and result in a freedom-losing violation.

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See the latest research on criminality related to social media:

• Social Anxiety and Loneliness in Online Solicitation Offenders

See more articles related to social media

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What’s the Lesson About Pornographic Video Games?

For me, it was to be more specific. My client had permission to play video games. We had worked on that, and it was approved by treatment and probation. Clearly, I needed to be more specific about what types of video games were okay to play.

I needed to have more conversations about exactly what was okay to do and what was not.

Again, not here to have a philosophical discussion about adult sex games. I want to help our guys stay compliant with their conditions.

What’s the Lesson for Non-Supervised Folks?

Particularly if you are a parent of a gaming adolescent, you need to know what games your child is playing.

Be involved in their lives. Ask about their gaming. Ask if they have seen or played these games. Talk about it.

If your child is a gamer and young, learn how to block those sites or games from their gaming device.

Ultimately, the lesson is to be aware.

Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Consult with a professional.

Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.

Are you looking for more reputable data-backed information on sexual addiction? The Mitigation Aide Research Archive is an excellent source for executive summaries of research studies.

The post Pornographic Video Games and Sexuality first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.

Who uses OnlyFans? Sex workers, like many others, were negatively impacted when the pandemic shutdowns occurred. Because OnlyFans allowed them to create a socially distant income stream, the site exploded in popularity.

This post contains affiliate links. The author or blog owner may earn a commission if you make a purchase using these links.

The subscription based site marketed for all types of content quickly became a hotbed for sexual and explicit content and bespoke pornography.

At present, the site has more than 100 million users and has paid over $3 billion to the content creators. OnlyFans had a 75% increase in new users between March and April of 2020. In other words, the pandemic shutdown directly corresponds to the rise of OnlyFans.

Are you a Licensed Professional Counselor in need of continuing education? Learn more about Sex Addiction, Erotic Conflict, and Moral Incongruence from Dr. Weeks and Sexual Addiction Treatment Services, an NBCC ACEP™ approved provider!

Sexual Addiction Treatment Services has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7250. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Sexual Addiction Treatment Services is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

Who uses OnlyFans: A Hundred Million Users

Researchers saw OnlyFans as a new avenue to research human sexuality. And, specifically, to study the sexual attitudes of people who use OnlyFans vs those who do not.

Dr. Stacey Litman and colleagues did just that and recently published a study with their findings.

The study included 718 adults who completed an online survey. The average age of participants was 29 years old and about equal numbers of male and female. Some were college students and some were individuals who found the survey on the MTurk site.

Participants were predominantly white.

In addition to their demographics, the participants also completed the Brief Sexual Attitudes Scale. The scale looks at attitudes about sex related to permissiveness, birth control, communion (communication and connection) and instrumentality (the purpose or function of sex).

Do you believe you have an online pornography addiction? Then take this free Cyber Pornography Addiction Test (CYPAT) and have the results to speak with your therapist.

What did the study find?

OnlyFans users were mostly married (89.5%), white (68.9%) men (63.1%) who identified as either heterosexual (59%) or bisexual/pansexual (37.8%).

The researchers then compared the Brief Sexual Attitudes Survey results between OnlyFans users and non-users.

No significant differences between the two groups was found. Meaning, OnlyFans users shared sexual attitudes with non-users.

This is one of the first known studies about OnlyFans users, therefore the results are preliminary.

However, based on this sample, OnlyFans use versus non-use cannot be explained by sexual attitudes. In other words, people who use OnlyFans are not more permissive in their ideas about sex than people who don’t use the site.

Because of the traffic that the site receives, we know that something is driving people to go there. That motivating factor is yet to be determined.

Reference: Litam, S. D. A., Speciale, M. & Balkin, R.S. (2022). Sexual Attitudes and Characteristics of OnlyFans Users. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 51, 3093-3103

Are you a professional looking to stay up-to-date with the latest information on, sex addiction, trauma, and mental health news and research? Or maybe you’re looking for continuing education courses? Then you should stay up-to-date with all of Dr. Jen’s work through her practice’s newsletter!

Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Then you should consult with a professional.

Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.

For an in-depth guide on talking to your adolescents about cybersex and pornography, check out Dr. Jen’s book. Amazon | BookBaby

The post Who Uses OnlyFans Anyway? first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.

Welcome to the next installment of our series Blocking Porn: Browsers. This is just a small piece of advice for content blocking for the top 4 most popular¹ browsers and some privacy-oriented alternative browsers.

This post contains affiliate links. The author or blog owner may earn a commission if you make a purchase using these links.

As always, it’s important to have a conversation about WHY content is being blocked whether it’s for your friend, your partner, or your child. Installing this software without the user’s consent isn’t just malicious, it’s illegal in some jurisdictions.

Technology can’t replace healthy communication in a relationship, it’s merely a tool to help better our lives.

Chrome

Google’s Chrome browser owns almost two-thirds of the market and has great customization options. It is available across all common desktop and mobile platforms.

There are also a few drawbacks, including Google’s constant spying on everything you’re doing, but that’s a whole different discussion.

Extensions

The easiest way to block porn in Chrome is by using extensions. Google Chrome Extension Store

These are the top two recommended blockers:

• BlockSite
• Smart Internet Porn Filter from vRate

If you sign into your browser, your extensions will sync across your desktop devices. Meaning on PC, Mac, and ChromeBook all of your extensions SHOULD work. Chrome on iOS (iPhone/iPad) doesn’t support extensions and on Android support can be spotty. We’ll cover other options for blocking pornography on mobile devices in later installments in the series.

Alternate Search Engines

You aren’t required to use Google for search, even if you use Google’s Chrome browser. If you’ve set up Bing to be your safe search engine of choice, changing the default search engine is fairly straightforward. Instructions from Google.

Are you a professional looking to stay up-to-date with the latest information on, sex addiction, trauma, and mental health news and research? Or maybe you’re looking for continuing education courses?

Stay up-to-date with all of Dr. Jen’s work through her practice’s newsletter!

Safari

Safari is the default browser on Apple devices, including Mac, iPhone, and iPad. It’s not available for PC, Linux, Android, or Chromebooks.

Just like with Chrome, and the next two browsers, Safari has the ability to add extensions to add functionality, including restricting access to certain types of sites. Safari DOES support syncing extensions, bookmarks, and other settings across all supported devices.

Extensions

The top recommended extension for Safari to block pornography is Porn Blocker Plus – for Safari, available in the App Store.

Alternatively, the top extension from Google’s Chrome has been ported to Safari’s extension eco system: BlockSite.

Edge

Microsoft’s Edge browser is available on all major desktop and mobile platforms and is built on the Chromium framework. This is the same framework that underpins Google’s own Chrome browser. As such, it has excellent support for extensions, because they don’t need to be completely re-written from Chrome.

Extensions

Edge’s extensions store, which is very similar to Chrome due to their sharing the same framework, is available here. Chrome’s top content blocking extension is available on Edge as well, BlockSite.

Do you believe you have an online pornography addiction? Take the free Cyber Pornography Addiction Test (CYPAT) and have the results to speak with your therapist.

Firefox

Firefox is a unique browser, built by the Mozilla foundation. It’s a privacy-focused browser and the developers are very transparent in their operations. And it’s available for all major desktop and mobile platforms, and just like all the others has its own extension store.

Extensions

BlockSite is here again. Mozilla also recommends Impulse Blocker by raicem.

Special Note

In an effort to prevent browser extensions from peering over your shoulder, Firefox does not allow them access in Private browser windows by default.

To ensure your extensions are enabled in in-private windows:

1. Go to the Add-ons Manager
2. Click on the 3 dots of the extension you want to enable
3. Click manage
4. In details, select Allow for “Run in Private Windows”

Do you believe your sexual behaviors are compulsive or harmful to you or others? Then you should take the CSBD-19 free, validated self-assessment tool.

Alternative Browsers

Brave

Brave, developed by Brave Software, Inc., is a privacy oriented, chromium based browser. It will block ads and trackers by default. Brave uses the Chrome web store for extensions. They also offer their own search engine, as the default option.

Iron

Developed by German company SRWare, the Iron browser is built on the Chromium framework with privacy and security in mind. It’s available for Windows, MacOS, Linux, and Android but is missing from iOS. While content filtering is not built into Iron, extensions are available.

Opera

Another Chromium-based browser solution with a unique user interface, Opera offers a wide variety of extensions, called addons in Opera, and themes to choose from. It’s available for Windows, MacOS, Linux, ChromeOS, Android, and iOS.

Other Tips

• To avoid the temptation of circumventing controls, uninstall all other browsers from the device.
• Make sure to check the settings of any installed extensions and ensure they’re enabled for private/incognito windows.
• Be careful of extensions that don’t have a lot of reviews or downloads; the extension stores aren’t well moderated.
• To function properly, extensions MUST access all of your browsing data, be sure to check the privacy policies of all extensions to see what they do with your data.

Anecdote: While writing this article I installed a Chrome filtering extension and got hit with pop-ups that tried to redirect me to install additional, known-malicious extensions. It was blocked by my network’s filtering system so it didn’t affect me, but take heed of my warning to check reviews and download numbers before allowing extensions I didn’t mention here access to all of your browsing data.

Wrap Up

The most popular extension, by far, is BlockSite. The free version will block pornography, paid subscriptions will add additional features and may help to improve your productivity. It also offers additional installation options on desktop and mobile devices that can do more than just filter browser content. I’ll cover this more later in the series.

Whatever option you choose, it’s important to remember that this is only one piece of a much larger plan, and part of that plan is being honest and having frank discussions about the ramifications of pornography addiction in your life and the lives of those you love.

For an in-depth guide on talking to your adolescents about cybersex and pornography, check out Dr. Jen’s book. Amazon | BookBaby

Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Then you should consult with a professional.

Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.

The post Blocking Porn: Browsers – How to Decide? first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.

Content blockers can impact the digital lives that kids lead.

They live on their phones: Discord, Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube, BeReal, and TikTok; incidentally the latter has surpassed YouTube for total viewing hours per month. 

And, as parents, you know the promise of good content on the internet, but there’s a lot of content out there that is not meant for children.

This post contains affiliate links. The author or blog owner may earn a commission if you make a purchase using these links.

The Accidental Problem

It is not uncommon for children to be exposed to online pornography as young as 8 years old. This early exposure is often accidental. 

If you put a content blocker on your child’s device, it is best to talk to them about it and why you are doing it.

Do you believe you have an online pornography addiction? Take the free Cyber Pornography Addiction Test (CYPAT) and have the results to speak with your therapist.

Since most parents don’t talk to their kids about online pornography, kids don’t usually feel comfortable coming to mom or dad with what they saw online. 

Newer research suggests that this early online pornography exposure is correlated with future problematic sexual behavior.

What Content Blockers do parents use?

Many choose to enable parental controls on phones or in apps directly to try to limit the type of content their children can either accidentally or intentionally access. 

Many apps now have internal parental controls as do most phones and tablets. In addition, there are entire marketplaces full of services and apps that you can purchase to block content on your device. These apps range from locking things down nearly completely to simply alerting someone that a certain type of content has been accessed. 

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If you’re unfamiliar with sextortion, check out Dr. Jen’s article How to Protect Your Child from Sextortion.

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Beyond Technology

If you plan to put a content blocker on your child’s device, it is best to talk to them about it and why you are doing it. These conversations and limitations need to be had and reassessed as your child ages; some of the guards can be lowered in an age-appropriate manner. 

These conversations are more important than any technology, because you have no control over what your child is watching on their friend’s tablet or phone. Maybe they can’t access pornography on their phone but their friends might be able to, and kids frequently share what they see.

This post contains affiliate links. The author or blog owner may earn a commission if you make a purchase using these links.

For an in-depth guide on talking to your adolescents about cybersex and pornography, check out Dr. Jen’s book. Amazon | BookBaby

Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Then you should consult with a professional.

Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.

Are you a professional looking to stay up-to-date with the latest information on, sex addiction, trauma, and mental health news and research? Or maybe you’re looking for continuing education courses?

Stay up-to-date with all of Dr. Jen’s work through her practice’s newsletter!

The post Content Blockers on my Children’s Devices? first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.