Problem Fappers Make an Infographic

CYBERSPACE—A group of Reddit users who identify as a community of self-diagnosed porn addicts have banded together under a no-fap flag that now has its own infographic, the quick and easy was to combine information into a consumable feature that is also digital friendly. Whether the info is verified and accurate is another story—the point of infographics is to impart efficiently. The no-fap infographic is called “Taking a Whack at Porn: Profiling the Voyage of 73,000+ Fapstronauts” and comes courtesy of an offshoot group called ProjectKnow.com, which states its position regarding porn and addiction right up front: “By its very design, online pornography is meant to be highly titillating to visitors. It's easy to understand why internet porn poses a significant risk of addiction: it induces a state of hyper-stimulation, provides constant novelty, is highly accessible, costs nothing, and can be used in the privacy of one's home. Online porn is so stimulating, it can make existing sexual relationships seem inadequate in comparison, and the quality of porn addicts' relationships—and lives—may suffer as a result.” Needless to say, the Reddit community and ProjectKnow.com are less interested in the “may” aspect of damage caused by porn than the “has” aspect, as in, “A community support group on Reddit.com, known as NoFap, has begun to push back against their own addictions by voluntarily abstaining from porn use. These participants recognize that porn use has become a problem in their lives and, together, they're making an effort to regain a sense of normalcy and control over their addictions. Here, we'll explore the demographics of these users, the consequences porn addiction has had for them, and their experiences with giving up porn.” The infographic is an encapsulation of the collective experience of that group, containing claims such as the assertions that nearly half of the 70,000+ no-fap Reddit community has never had sex; 90 percent are straight men; and the percentages of weekly porn use before committing to no-fapping vary: 59 percent claimed 4-5 hours of porn use a week and 24 percent claimed 1-3 hours. Both the infographic and Project Know take online porn addiction as a verified fact of life, of course, but in taking it as established each references the same questionable sources, including yourbrainonporn.com, convenanteeyes.com and the Daily Mail. In other words, the supposed data represents the same circle jerk of self-referencing sources that ultimately lead to factual dead ends. But that is not to suggest that real people are not experiencing real problems with how they interact with pornography, but it’s interesting to note to what extent these groups feel compelled to market themselves to the world, as if what they really need is attention. It makes one wonder whether what all of these apparently overstimulated flappers need is a good hug. Check out the No-Fap infographic here.