Teenagers have gotten life advice from their elders since the dawn of civilization. However, you don’t expect to see this happening in the comments sections of online porn videos. Pornhub user “Chad-Thundercock,” who is in his 20s, was surprised to see a comment from a 13-year-old bragging about having Pornhub Premium account in the comments section of “ANAL TIGHT LATINO TEEN.” But when he stumbled upon it, he felt like he had no choice but to warn the self-reported 13-year-old about porn addiction.

The comment was quickly screenshot by another porn connoisseur and uploaded to Reddit’s r/PornhubComments community. The screenshot skyrocketed in popularity on the website, gaining upvotes site-wide outside of the original subreddit it was posted in, eventually garnering over 43,000 points. Seemingly overnight, Pornhub user Chad-Thundercock became a bit of a 15-minute Reddit celebrity. More importantly, the screenshot raised awareness about porn addiction – and the reality of how many children and underage teens use porn sites – to many thousands of people.

Chad-Thundercock, quite surprised by the popularity of his comment, used his Reddit account to make comments on the threads in both r/PornhubComments and r/NoFap. In response to criticism about him being a self-described recovering porn addict but still using a porn site, Chad-Thundercock said that he’s “a hypocrite who gives unsolicited advice” and that “seeing so many people read my advice, that I’m not even following myself, is a real wake-up call for me. I’m going to try my best to quit porn again.” Indeed, Chad-Thundercock is not alone, as many porn addicts repeatedly return to problem porn use despite their intentions not to. Indeed, one of the criteria for porn addiction is numerous unsuccessful efforts to significantly reduce porn use, despite adverse consequences.

We reached out to Chad-Thundercock to ask him some questions for this article.

NoFap’s interview with Pornhub user Chad-Thundercock

NoFap: How long have you struggled with porn overuse?

Chad: I discovered internet porn in sixth or seventh grade after a friend at school told me about it. I had just started masturbating at the time, but I wasn’t having much “success,” so to speak, until I started watching porn. I don’t know how to quantify when my porn use became problematic, but I know I started recognizing it as a problem when I was about 14 or 15. Since then, I’ve gone through periods where I take the issue seriously and periods where I ignore it, although it’s never been too far from my mind.

NoFap: Why do you think that you fit the criteria for having “porn addiction”? How bad did it get?

Chad: I haven’t gone longer than two weeks without watching porn since middle school, despite the fact that I want to stop. I think anyone can agree that that signifies a problem. I would say it’s a fair estimate that I’ve masturbated about once a day for the past 6 or 7 years. I’ve masturbated in the shower while my family was waiting on me, I’ve done it on camping trips, I even did it in the bathroom once at my old job, and all of it involved porn. At some point the regular stuff isn’t enough for you and you start searching for new fetishes. There was a period of a couple years where I was really into anal porn, to the point that I wouldn’t even watch regular sex because I couldn’t get off to it. If you can name a kink, I’ve probably had it. It got to the extent that, a few years ago, I saw a video where the couple seemed like they loved each other, and that became a kink for me! Seeing loving couples was so foreign that I actually found it new and exciting.

NoFap: How did porn impact your sex life and relationships?

Chad: I started dating a girl who I had been infatuated with for quite a while. It was the first time being in a relationship for both of us, so we took things slow. It wasn’t until a few months into the relationship, on prom night, that we french-kissed and felt each other up for the first time. A few weeks after that, we started trying out hand stuff. We tried it probably a dozen times and I didn’t ever manage to get more than halfway erect. The whole time I knew it was because of my porn use and daily masturbation, but I felt like I couldn’t stop. I was so sexually frustrated from failing to orgasm with her that I would go home and finish myself off. Things started getting very tense between us but we kept trying anyway. There was one night, about a week after I had given her oral for the first time, that I was trying to convince her to do the same for me. She kept delaying it while we did our usual cuddling and feeling. I think she was having real confidence issues from convincing herself that I didn’t find her attractive. Finally, after probably a few hours, I laid down in my bed thinking I was about to get my first blowjob. I was still barely erect, of course, but that wasn’t the issue this time. She suddenly told me that it was late and she needed to go home before her mom got worried. I was so angry. I felt like there was this cloud of sexual frustration in my head, like I was just this animal that wanted to mate. I went silent and just laid there, which really hurt her feelings. A few days later we broke up. It wasn’t because of the sex problems, but I know that it was a factor in our failing relationship. Since then, I’ve been afraid of having to open up to another partner about my problem. Occasionally I’ll have nightmares where a girl will try to have sex with me and I’ll turn her down, or I’ll get in bed with her and then be unable to get it up.

[NoFap Note: Numerous anecdotal reports and case studies have linked porn addiction to erectile function issues for some addicts. It’s best to visit a doctor for a diagnosis to rule out any physical problems. Obviously, not all erectile dysfunction is caused by porn addiction – but could be medically-related or performance anxiety.]

NoFap: Why did you choose the Chad-Thundercock username? We’re aware that it is a meme, but did you personally identify with it at all? You mentioned struggling with PIED, is having a “thundercock,” so to speak, something that you’re aspiring to reach through quitting porn?

Chad: It’s because of the meme. I figured if I was going to be watching porn, it would be fun to make a bit out of it. The idea was to post comments in the character of Chad, acting like I know the people in the video and making jokes like that. I don’t identify with the Chad character, and it’s not really an aspiration for me either. Part of the Chad archetype is being a guy who has a really easy time getting with hot girls, but that isn’t something I care about. I just want a deep emotional connection with the right one, when I find her. Of course, I’d love to have a “thundercock” in the right scenario! But not for just anyone.

[NoFap Note: The Chad-Thundercock meme, like many memes, appears to be used by the general Internet public, but is also used by hateful incel, MGTOW, and similar communities. Obviously, Pornhub user Chad-Thundercock appears to be in the former category.]

NoFap: Were you surprised to stumble across a 13-year-old commenting on the video?

Chad: I was surprised by the comment, but not by the fact that a 13-year-old would watch such a video. I watched videos like that when I was 13, so it isn’t far-fetched to recognize that plenty of other young teenagers would be doing the same. Granted, I was at least smart enough to not admit I was a minor, which is why I thought the comment was interesting.

NoFap: What inspired you to respond to the 13-year-old’s comment?

Chad: Well, I would be a liar if I didn’t admit it was post-nut clarity. When I saw that comment I immediately thought of myself and how I wish I could tell a younger me to stay away from porn. I know there’s a slim chance he’ll even read my reply, yet alone listen to it, but I had no choice but to try.

NoFap: What do you think that the solution is here, to address the growing number of underage Internet porn users?

Chad: I’m not really sure that age verification would help. There would always be a way around it, and a million other websites that wouldn’t properly restrict access. Plus, I believe in the right to privacy, especially on the internet, which limits what harm-reduction measures can be taken online. I also believe in sexual freedom, which is to say that I am against abstinence-based sex ed as well as the social stigma on sexuality. In my opinion, the best way to minimize damage is to create a culture among teenagers that frowns upon viewing pornography. I think both parents and schools should do their best to offer education on the harms of porn, and to encourage those who want sexual release but are not in a relationship to try masturbation without the use of pornography. There are still problems with this, such as death-grip, but I think it would be significantly less harmful than the psychological effects of viewing porn at a young age.

NoFap: You mentioned that the popularity of your post was unexpected and led you to think about your own current porn habits. What are your goals now?

Chad: The screenshot of my comment has over 50,000 upvotes across multiple subreddits. I know when you just read that number, you’re like “yeah, that’s a lot” but it is seriously a lot of people. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to say that over a hundred thousand people have read the advice I wrote at 3 am to some random teenager on the internet. Most of the replies are just jokes, or people defending porn-use, but there were still hundreds of people voicing their support. There were women saying they have this issue with their partners, men saying they share my struggle, and teenagers saying they feel trapped by the same thing. There were some people calling me a hero and others saying they hadn’t yet realized that this was a problem for them. It’s mind-blowing for me to see that kind of a response. Obviously, then, if so many people can get some inspiration out of me, why can’t I listen to myself? I know the problem, and I know the solution, I just have to put it into action instead of telling others what to do. I suppose my main goal is to cure my PIED and have a healthy, sexually-active relationship with a woman I love.

NoFap: How long have you been trying to quit porn?

Chad: I’ve been trying to quit porn on-and-off for at least 4 years. That would have been around the time I found NoFap as well. I didn’t really take it seriously until a few years ago when I realized I had PIED and needed to do something about it, but I’ve still only had minimal success since then.

NoFap: Anything else that you would like to mention?

Chad: I’d say you should take my advice with a grain of salt, because, while I may be an expert on masturbating, I’m certainly not one on how to stop. The only thing I can say for certain is that your fight is valid and it does not make you a lesser person.

Kids and underage teens shouldn’t be using Internet porn.

Hopefully, the 13-year-old listened to Chad-Thundercock’s advice. After the 13-year-old’s Pornhub comment got some attention online, Pornhub appears to have banned the account. However, that will do little to prevent the 13-year-old from continuing to use their website (you don’t need an account to view porn on Pornhub) and if the 13-year-old wants to sign up for a new account with a free trial of Pornhub Premium, all they’ll probably need is another email address.

Childhood porn use is linked to an array of negative effects – and many are being set up for decades of porn addiction. Keeping kids off of porn websites isn’t “anti-porn” – it’s common sense. What should Pornhub and other porn providers do to prevent underage visitors from viewing porn? Of course, parents have a responsibility to check up on their children’s online behavior, but it seems like many porn sites aren’t taking any initiative to keep kids off of their platforms. Many porn sites used to have (ineffective) “18+” click-through pages that have now been depreciated. What should be done? Age verification? Better sex education that includes information about porn overuse? Encouraging parents to warn their kids about porn and to install filtering software? Let us know your thoughts by tweeting @NoFap or commenting below.