a masturbator wrote:
Yes, I think you brought up an interesting point: the ability to actually get porn is much easier now. It was a struggle to find, transport, and hide all of it back in the day. I remember the vague sense of unease when I was smuggling my newly acquired porn before I could drive myself, usually hidden inside something within my backpack. While it was very unlikely that anyone would access my pack or ask to see what was inside, I was always aware that the chances were non-zero. It was a risk to get and use porn back in my day. Once I was into porn, I knew that most people my age would love this even if they wouldn’t say it, just like I did and wouldn’t say. When the Internet became as easy to get as water five years later, I figured there must be way more of us now. With the Internet, all that potential risk is no longer a consideration. Even the casually curious can take a peek for the first time, at any, practically risk free no matter their standing, upbringing, nationality, gender, age, etc. That ease of access has changed the game.
I have been noticing a shift in the demographics of masturbators over the years. One, there are way more of us–by a lot. Two, women are far more represented than at any time I have been aware of before–multiples more women now than when I started paying attention. Not only are total numbers up, but it is also far more representative of our entire species as a whole too. It was rare that anyone would have called themselves a masturbation junkie or porn addict twenty years ago–least of all women. It was a mark of shame but that is undergoing some sort of alteration.
This latest generation all had access I only dreamed of, and that is shaping some into porn addicts who are also aware they are porn addicts as this process occurs–and they love it. They are also aware that their generation is unique in this way (they see more of each other than others on modern social media) and that following generations will have it even easier than they did. Because some, a growing number it seems, are keen to remove stigmas around it and are evolving rather robust, closed social networks focused around their love of the lifestyle. To them it is a choice, one they are making early: porn is better than sex. Even if they are sexually active, they are aware that masturbation is where the true heights of pleasure are contained. Once you know you know.
It is fascinating to watch them seek out older generations of masturbation experts and pornography historians to up their addiction game and edging techniques. These groups are not difficult to find. They often find each other on major domains like Reddit then take the conversation to Discord (or similar) where group interaction is a better experience. They are situational and constant turnover is the norm. Even though numbers are most often minimal in these breakaway groups, the interaction level is higher than more established channels for such things. Content then, if we can call it that, is of higher quality and more meaningful for the interacting user. It is porn; it is self porn; it is addicting to many and reinforces all their addictions just like solo edging. So now, even the frequently shared fantasy many older generations of masturbators had of a meetup with the like minded (possible but meaningfully difficult in practice) is now only minutes away–live and “in person” with another addict like one’s self, or many at once.
In effect then, what was done only ever in secret a single generation or two before without any realistic hope of sharing it with anyone else, is now seeing a trend towards placing it out in the open. Where open indicates open access to a shared space (like the Internet in general). Before, you needed to know someone well to find your way into that space in the real world, or go to crowd spaces like XXX theatres and their like. Now, total anonymity at any time, if that’s how you want it, and the relationship (if any) can form out of that. Much like people meet through an after-work sports league and find others with similar passions, this sort of free association is now happening among edging fans and porn addicts globally. Primarily among the most recently porn-raised, edging-addicted, generations. Why? Access. The pathway to that world is somewhat convoluted for those new to technology or this sort of application of it, still. Those worlds always existed–this forum is such a space–but I think this coming moment will be different. As the barriers to it become less difficult more will take it up I think. Just as a result of the sheer rise in numbers alone, if anything else.
The numbers are up. I don’t have the data in front of me, but if memory serves, from the time I was born to now the number of porn addicts has roughly tripled. In tech terms, rate of adoption, or the pace at which people first use a new technology, or use it in a novel way, after which it gets adopted by demographics or entire civilizations. This curve often first shows up in two main groups first. The first general group is the hardcore early-adopters, which can include anyone of any age–often flying the nerd or geek label. The second, after the EA group tests it and champions it, is primarily younger generations who tend to be curious and familiar with evolving current technologies and their use cases. So this trend makes sense of technology curves and the availability of a product for a demographic that is becoming numerous enough to pass an inflection point. To sum up, both the technology to share the addiction and the material that is the addiction plus the number of people with the desire for that are growing and evolving.
I can’t make a specific or general prediction off of any of that except that I think the trend will continue. What this will mean, I do not know. A subtle sexual revolution perhaps? Perhaps not quite that far. But at this point, the term gooning is understood by a growing number of people in the under-35 category. I have seen the usage of the term on mainstream Twitch and YouTube channels with millions of subscribers–not as the subject of the video or the channel, just a casual reference to it. That is, perhaps, a sign that consciousness is growing–conscious awareness that many do it. A consciousness that a lot of others recognizes, if not always reflecting, now exists. There will be no putting that term back inside Pandora’s Box. To me, that is a kind of wow moment.
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