porn addictions aren't real

porn addiction, in the strict medical sense, isn't real. and confusing it with actual substance addictions makes it harder for people to get the right kind of support.

for most of the 20th century, addiction meant chemical dependence. alcohol, nicotine, opioids, etc. create physical changes in your body. stop using them and you experience withdrawal: shakes, seizures, blood pressure spikes, vomiting, and even death in extreme cases.

porn doesn't do that. you can't go into medical withdrawal from closing your browser.

in the late 20th century, researchers studying gambling noticed that compulsive gamblers had the same dopamine-driven anticipation spikes as drug addicts. this led to the concept of behavioral addiction: a compulsion that isn't fueled by an external chemical, but your brain's own reward system.

in 2013, the dsm-5 put gambling disorder alongside substance addictions, with gaming disorder listed for further study. in 2018, the icd-11 added compulsive sexual behavior disorder, which can include problematic porn use. but even here, they avoided the word addiction.

so, why is "porn addiction" such a popular term? not because of science.

religious and anti-porn groups jumped on the "addiction" framing to make their moral stance sound clinical. self-help industries label compulsions as addictions because it sells. people with cultural or religious shame regarding porn often self-diagnose as addicted even when their use is within a non-harmful range.

is compulsive pornography use real? yes, of course. it can absolutely harm relationships, self-image, and mental health. but it's not the same as substance dependence.

it's a habit loop. you feel stressed, bored, or lonely. you seek the quick dopamine hit porn provides. over time, it becomes a default coping mechanism. even when you want to stop, your brain craves the routine. 

if someone is compulsively watching porn, but we treat them like they're coming off heroin, we're wasting their time. substance withdrawal protocols won't fix a behavioral habit loop. they'll just make people feel broken when the "detox" doesn't work. calling it what it is makes it feel fixable instead of like a life sentence. and lumping porn use in with drug epidemics doesn't just blur science, it fuels moral panic and shuts down nuanced conversations about consent, ethics, and realistic use. 

the more we use the word addiction for things that are really just habits, the less the word means when describing actual life-threatening dependence.