I’m often asked, “I masturbate to online porn multiple times per day. Am I addicted?” The answer is NO, and this is standard sexuality for a lot of people. Sex is a multipurpose tool, and it’s absolutely OK to cum as often as you want and to watch porn while doing so. There’s no such thing as online porn addiction.

Suspicion of anyone who has a lot of sex is so intense that most of us immediately see it as a problem. No one has an issue with a full day of watching football or hours binge-watching the Real Housewives, but do the same with masturbation or hooking up and it’s seen as a problem or addiction. It is healthy to spend time focusing on pleasure.

Not all of our time needs to be productive!

In actuality, masturbation isn’t time wasted. Sex is one of the best ways to cope with difficult emotions and stress, and to entertain yourself (or your friends). If it’s healthy to read a book, do yoga or play basketball with your buddies, it’s also the same for sex.

There is no correct number of times to orgasm per day, but the more you do, the stronger your prostate, vaginal muscle tone and sexual psychology will be. Masturbation plays an important physical function, and it’s as valuable for health as lifting weights, getting enough sleep and proper hydration.

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To be sexually healthy you must first unlearn all that you’ve been taught in your life about sex, especially the bullshit stigma of masturbation and online porn addiction. The positive benefits of porn use are vast but are too often overlooked because a lot of men have been shamed for their enjoyment of porn.

Men are led to believe that it is bad for their psychological and physical health, especially their erections. You cannot become addicted to porn or masturbation, nor can it cause erectile dysfunction. These myths have been debunked by all the major sexual health and sex therapy organizations.

Masturbation and porn also help save relationships, because it gives the higher sex drive partner another sexual outlet that still honors monogamy. Porn use is not cheating. Porn is actually relationally supportive, as it helps partners with incongruent sex drives or sexual interests find ways to get all their needs met.

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Of all the many positive uses for masturbation and porn, one of the most powerful is how it can normalize diverse bodies and sexual interests. But be aware of the types of porn you are watching, and make sure it leads to higher self-esteem and higher body-esteem. This is the same theory as surrounding yourself with media that reflects back who and how you want to be.

Watch porn that shows diverse bodies, a wide variety of sexual behaviors and also different sizes of penises. Body and penis shame exists for many men, and seeing their body type causing arousal and being eroticized is so beneficial for your sexual and psychological health.

Have a question about “online porn addiction” or another sexuality topic?