A new study has shown that guys who participate in online anti-masturbation groups are more likely to feel depressed and suicidal.
Such “NoFap” groups invite men to become “fapstronauts” by abstaining from whacking off for a set period of time (like “No Nut November”). Fapstronauts believe that abstaining can help “reboot” a person’s sexual energy and end addiction to sexually explicit images while improving a person’s relationships, desirability, sexual performance, concentration, confidence, and low energy levels.
However, new research published in the journal Sexualities found that involvement in NoFap groups can actually increase a guy’s negative self-feelings.
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“Qualitative studies have consistently suggested that ‘Reboots’ paradoxically cause more distress,” researchers wrote. So researchers wanted to see if a quantitative study could help illustrate this distress in numbers.
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Using online ads, researchers recruited 417 men who had heard of NoFap and “reboot” groups. Researchers then asked these men to complete an assessment measuring their adult content viewing habits, anxiety, belief in conspiracy theories, depressive symptoms, erectile functioning, narcissism, openness to casual sex, and religiosity, PsyPost reported.
Of the 416 men, 257 had tried abstaining in order to “reboot” themselves. Researchers asked these 257 men if they had ever “relapsed” (that is, if they ever spanked off after pledging not to). They also asked these men how they emotionally responded to their most recent relapse.
Surprisingly, 28.9% reported feeling suicidal. This isn’t entirely surprising, considering that many fapstronauts say that relapse is evidence of poor willpower or a deep “addiction” to explicit adult content.
Researchers found that men who reported higher levels of engagement in NoFap forums also reported higher levels of anxiety, depression, and erectile difficulties. Men with higher levels of anxiety and erectile difficulties were more likely to believe that “NoFap” communities had personally helped them, the study found.
Researchers said they don’t know if NoFap communities inspire these feelings in followers, or if men with these pre-existing feelings are just more likely to seek out NoFap forums. Researchers said they’re conducting a longer-term study which seems to confirm that NoFap forums can worsen men’s negative feelings over time.
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Even more concerning, many of the men involved in these online NoFap forums said they had seen hateful posts in them. About 74% reported seeing misogynist posts, 49.1% saw pro-bullying posts, nearly 43% saw anti-LGBTQ+ posts, and 32% saw antisemitic content. Shockingly, 23.5% saw posts encouraging people to self-harm or kill themselves, and 21.1% saw content encouraging people to hurt others.
“If you or someone you know is concerned about their pornography viewing, abstinence, and Reboot communities are not good options for support,” study author Nicole Prause told PsyPost. “Rather, focusing on depression or anxiety that usually underlie such concerns is likely to be more helpful.”
abfab
Has The Onion now joined forces with Q?
Man About Town
That is exactly what I was just thinking. This is the height of absurdity!
Chrisk
I’ve followed a few no fap channels on youtube. They dress it up with abstaining will make you more attractive to the ladies, make
more money, and a bunch of other Bullshit. The ages are mostly guys in the their teens and twenties.
RIGay
Online masturbation group? Really, you can’t handle basic, human functions without an app?
Here’s a fact – whether you ignore it or take matters into your own hands (pun or no pun intended), your body will perform the necessary services. Might as well enjoy it!
storm45701
Sounds like further propaganda from the “sex is bad” crowd, who revolt at any sense of pleasure from the act of coitus or, in this case, self-enjoyment. Guys in their teens and twenties should be partaking in masturbation, when it’s at its height, and not abstaining from a natural act. Sexual repression is a deeply American trait which we should well do away with.
NateOcean
Getting men to stop masturbating?
Good! That just means more for the rest of us!
Kangol2
According to Men’s Health (July 29, 2021), “Men Should Ejaculate at Least 21 Times a Month To Slash Their Prostate Cancer Risk”:
“According to researchers at Harvard University men should ejaculate at least 21 times a month in order to mitigate their prostate cancer risk.
For the study, which was published in the journal European Urology, 31,925 men provided their average monthly ejaculation frequencies. From that, the researchers found that men who ejaculate more frequently also slash their chances of developing prostate cancer by a third.
“We evaluated whether ejaculation frequency throughout adulthood is related to prostate cancer risk in a large US-based study,” wrote the study’s authors.
“We found that men reporting higher compared to the lower ejaculatory frequency in adulthood were less likely to be subsequently diagnosed with prostate cancer.”
No fap, no way, bate away, guys!
https: // www. menshealth. com /uk/ health/sexual-health /a37167845 / men-should-ejaculate-at-least-21-times-a-month-to-slash-their-prostate-cancer-risk /
goinstrong0515
I’ve read info on several anti-masturbation, and recently watched an online video debate between those who masturbate and those who consider it sinful.
A bit about me: I am a Caucasian male who lives in the Pacific Northwest. I am married, and I masturbate fairly frequently. My penchant for masturbation has no adverse effect on my marriage.
I began auto-eroticism in my adolescence (age 11), and that was 62 years ago. I find masturbation to be an enhancement of my overall life. I often masturbate alone. I sometimes share masturbation with my wife, who masturbates along with me.
I also have connected with a small group of guys who enjoy masturbating as pairs, threes, all the way up to ten at a time. We discuss our pleasures as we pursue pleasure. We also share stories of masturbation activities of the past, and desired self-pleasure fantasies & plans.
As with anything else in life, I do not judge. Those who find pleasure & satisfaction in masturbation – by all means, continue. For those who find it uninteresting or disgusting or whatever – don’t. It’s a matter of choice.
Yes, I use audiovideo stimulation when alone, as well as with a playmate(s). It’s a good thing for me.
BTW: the old saying still mostly stays true – there are two kinds of liars: those who say they never masturbated, and those who say they quit.
Wank away, my friends!