🪷 Wellbeing
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12 déc. 2024
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5 min read
Addiction to adult content is no small issue. It’s a real plague, affecting not just more people but younger ones as well. On average, 1 in 5 searches on mobile devices is linked to adult content. If you thought you were alone, here’s some reassurance; if you thought it wasn’t a big deal, well, it might just make you rethink.
Today, we’re sharing more insights on “what’s the issue with adult content” and, more importantly, giving you concrete tips to help you manage—or even eliminate—it from your life!
What’s the problem with adult content?
Adult content, or pornography, can have far more devastating effects than we realize. These effects are often delayed, meaning the gap between when you consume such content and when the consequences appear can span months or even years. That’s what makes this addiction harder to tackle than others. Here are some of the key effects:
Impacts on productivity and mental health
Watching adult content is like spending your whole day scrolling TikTok, endlessly consuming videos: it’s exhausting for your brain. Prolonged mental fatigue can take a significant toll on your productivity and efficiency, both in hobbies and work.
Consuming adult content trains your brain to expect effortless, nearly instant pleasure. Overindulging floods your brain with disproportionate amounts of dopamine. The result? A complete lack of motivation for anything else.
“I am destroying myself and I can’t do anything about it. No matter what promises I make to myself, and no matter how hard I try not to watch it, I always go back to it.” — Reddit User
Impacts on mental health
Adult content creates significant dopamine spikes in the brain, which can disrupt your reward system over time. The outcome? You lose interest in everything else, especially simple, everyday activities, as they fail to deliver the same dopamine hit.
Additionally, tolerance develops. The more you consume, the more dopamine your brain demands, leading you to seek even more content—or more extreme content. This escalation has severe implications for mental health.
Impacts on social and family life
Consuming adult content exposes not just you but potentially others to indecent practices. Reports suggest some partners may try to “recreate” scenarios or acts of aggression seen in such content.
Studies indicate that 88% of scenes in porn films contain physical aggression, while 49% include verbal aggression. The younger the audience, the greater the impact on their view of sexuality, potentially distorting their perspective even before their first experiences.
How can you get rid of adult content?
To remove this content from your life, here are several strategies you can try. Depending on your consumption habits and level of dependency, you might not need to apply all of them. Pick what works for you.
#1 — Block adult content
You can block all adult sites you frequently visit by using the Jomo app, available on Mac, iPhone, and iPad. It’s simple: activate the “Adult Content” blocking rule, set the desired time, and you’re done.
Unlike some tools, like parental controls, Jomo offers greater granularity in blocking. You can go for a full-on detox and block all adult content in your environment. But if you're more about cutting back, you can adjust the settings to allow yourself, for example, once a day. You're the one in control—you know yourself best, including your limits.
#2 — Block keywords and associated searches (Mac only)
To take things further and avoid temptation, you can block keywords associated with adult content. This includes specific body parts, practices, or terms related to particular sites.
With Jomo, you can enable keyword blocking on Mac:
Create a Session (Rules > New Rule > Recurring Session).
Set your Session to “Always-On.”
Tap “Apps & Websites,” then “Keywords.”
Add all keywords you tend to search for when looking for adult content.
Hit “Save” at the bottom of the screen to activate your blocking rule.
The great thing about Jomo is that it blocks adult content and keywords across Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Arc, Opera, and more. It’s a way for adults to protect themselves without needing parental controls.
#3 — Find pleasure elsewhere
If watching adult content is your way of relaxing, de-stressing after a tough day, or coping with frustration, know that there are other activities that can bring you similar benefits. Physical exercise, for instance, might seem tough at first, but over time, it helps your body manage frustrations and impulses better.
The key is to avoid activities that generate excessive dopamine—especially “bad” dopamine, which results from passive activities requiring little effort on your part.
Blocking adult content isn’t just about protecting yourself; it’s also a way to resist supporting harmful industries. In the US alone, the pornography industry generated nearly $1.15 billion in 2023, matching the revenue of the NCAA.
By starting with keyword blocking, you’re doing yourself a favor—and contributing to protecting others on a broader scale.
