NoFap

NoFap
Web address www.reddit.com/r/NoFap/
www.nofap.com
Slogan Get a new grip on life.
Type of site
Private
Registration Optional (required to post)
Launched June 21, 2011
Current status Active

NoFap is an online community that serves as a support group for those who wish to avoid the use of pornography, masturbation, and/or sexual intercourse.[1][2] The subreddit currently has over 170,000 members.[3]

Founding

NoFap was founded in June 2011 by Alexander Rhodes after a thread on Reddit about a study[4] that found that men who don’t masturbate for seven days experience a 45.7% increase in testosterone levels hit the front page of a popular forum on Reddit.[5][6]

After this, Rhodes created NoFap as a "subreddit" forum community on Reddit.[5] At first, NoFap ran weekly and monthly challenges for a small group of people on the forum, and then the NoFap administrators created a badge system, and now forum members set their own challenges based upon their own personal goals.[5]

NoFap.com

Users on NoFap's subreddit more than tripled in number in two years, leading Rhodes to build an off-Reddit forum at NoFap.com and began other plans to better serve the website's fast-growing factions in Brazil, Germany, and China.[7] NoFap.com is a forum-style website where individuals who have committed to abstain from pornography and masturbation for a period of time can talk about their experiences and engage in challenges to help them recover. NoFap.com is the sister website of the Reddit-hosted NoFap community.[8]

Membership

Demographics

The membership of NoFap ranges from atheists, like founder Rhodes, to fundamentalist Christians.[5][9][10] Women are also a part of NoFap.[9] The users of the website call themselves "Fapstronauts".[6] Some porn addicts seek out NoFap for help,[6] while others join the website for the challenge or to improve their interpersonal relationships.[6]

Beneficial effects

After abstaining from porn and masturbation for a period of time, some of NoFap's users claim, among others, "dramatic increases in social confidence, energy levels, concentration levels, mental acuity, motivation, self-esteem, emotional stability, happiness, sexual prowess, and attractiveness to the opposite sex".[5][11] Some NoFap users say their brains were warped by porn, at the expense of real relationships.[12]

Reception and criticism

Some journalists have criticized NoFap, participating in it and then criticizing it.[13][14][15] According to a Elizabeth Brown, neuroscientists have questioned some of the claims made by people on NoFap.[16] One psychologist, David J. Ley, wrote: "I’m not in opposition to them, but I do think their ideas are simplistic, naïve and promote a sad, reductionistic and distorted view of male sexuality and masculinity."[17]

Behavior scientists have used statistics gathered from NoFap to study addiction.[18] Robert Weiss of the Huffington Post sees NoFap as part of a tech backlash.[19]

See also

References

  1. Cowell, Tom (17 September 2013). "No fapping, please, it's making us ill". The Telegraph (London, England: Telegraph Media Group). Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  2. McMahon, Tamsin (20 January 2014). "Will quitting porn improve your life?: A growing 'NoFap' movement of young men are saying no to porn and masturbation". Maclean's (Toronto, Canada: Rogers Media). Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  3. Walton-Lange, Lucy. "Ten Facts You Never Knew About Porn Addiction". Female First. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  4. Jiang M, Xin J, Zou Q, Shen JW (2003). "A research on the relationship between ejaculation and serum testosterone level in men". J. Zhejiang Univ. Sci. 4 (2): 236–240. doi:10.1631/jzus.2003.0236. PMID 12659241.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Jalsevac, John. "130,000+ Reddit users flock to forum founded by atheist to quit pornography, masturbation". Life Site. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Love, Dylan. "Inside NoFap, The Reddit Community For People Who Want To Be 'Masters Of Their Domain'". Business Insider: Australia. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  7. Eck, Ian. "The Men Who Would Not Wank". SanFrancisco Magazine. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  8. Israelsen-Hartley, Sara. "Adolescent addiction: When pornography strikes early". Deseret News. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  9. 1 2 Blair, Leonardo. "Christians Find Help for Porn, Masturbation Addiction Through 'NoFap' Community Started on Reddit by 24-Y-O Web Developer". HuffPost. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  10. McMurry, Evan. "9 hilarious ways the religious right tried to eradicate masturbation". salon.com. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  11. Jackson, Ryan. "15 Benefits of Quitting Pornography". The Former Fat Kid. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  12. Weisman, Carrie. "Has Porn Overwhelmed Our Brains? The "NoFap" Movement Thinks So". AlterNet. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  13. Singal, Jesse. "Why We’re Scared of Masturbation". NY Mag. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  14. Barker, John. "The failure of a 'noFap' reboot for porn addicts and why abstaining from PMO is not enough to recover". Sexual Reboot. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  15. Brink, Rebecca. "True Story: I Tried No-Fap And It Sucked (For Me)". The Frisky. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  16. Brown, Elizabeth. "Neuroscientists Challenge Myths About Men and Porn". Reason.com. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  17. Ley, David. "The NoFap Phenomenon". Psychology Today. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  18. Anderson, Kirsten. "GQ Magazine tells men: Quit watching porn before it ruins your sex life". Life Site. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  19. Weiss, Robert. "Is 'No Fap' Movement Start of Tech Backlash?". Huff Post. Retrieved 27 June 2015.

External links

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