5 Alternative Reasons to Stop Looking at Porn

Many of us know the major side effects of pornography, and they're the most significant. 

And that's motivating when we read it. 

We get motivated to stop when we're confronted with just how damaging it is. But what are some alternative motivators that can help you stop using pornography? Are there reasons that go beyond the obvious?

In my experience there have been quite a few of what I call "alternative reasons" to stop using pornography. 

They're things that are not totally obvious and that I wouldn't have thought of initially.

I'll share them with you here and hopefully they'll help motivate you as well.

1. Porn is like watching sports and playing video games. They all do nothing for you.

I saw the Denver Broncos win two super bowls when I was 11 and 12 years old. From that point on, I was a Broncos fan and watched a ton of their games. Fast forward to Super Bowl 50 in 2015, and I watch the Broncos defeat the Carolina Panthers for their first championship since 1998.

But after all that football watching, what happened?

I shut off the TV, my friends went home, my wife went to bed, and I...brushed my teeth.

There was no ring for me, no incentives paid to me, no champaign. I had given this team a massive amount of time and in the end I benefitted absolutely zero.

Now, there's nothing wrong with watching football.

But it has this in common with porn:

It does not benefit you in any way, shape, or form. It doesn't improve you physically, emotionally, or monetarily.

It's ultimately a waste of time. 

Particularly as we get into adulthood, extra time is not a luxury we often have. Our time is valuable, so I would argue that giving it over to sports and playing video games is a waste - and that giving it to pornography is an even more severe waste.

2. It's gross

One of my favorite Andrew Tate quotes of all time.

"Quit jerking off all the time. It's f**king embarrassing." 

Harsh - but not bad advice.

I think one of the simplest reasons a lot of people (often men) get into porn use is because we simply become weak willed. We don't see the value in disciplining our minds and delaying gratification.

Tate believes those things are more valuable, and I agree. 

Plus, the more you look at porn, the less disciplined you become, and you need more and more instant gratification. This ultimately makes you a very weak-willed person.

Tate's way of saying it is a bit simplistic. But he's still correct. It's gross and it shows by weakening you as time goes by.

3. Being able to resist temptation is more attractive

This is particularly relevant when you're talking about women being attracted to men. Dudes who chase girls - or even chase a girl - and don't show the ability to be reserved and in control, will seem less attractive.

Porn is the ultimate form of not being able to resist temptation.

And while most girls won't see you sitting at your computer or phone and looking at porn, it'll show when you're around women.

It's hard to respect.

The guy who gets the girl is rarely the one who looks like he can't control himself.

4. The internet never forgets

Unless you're really vigilant about covering your tech trails, your internet footprint never goes away, and I mean never. 

Even with filters and blockers, your internet service provider will always have your IP address logged with a record of the websites you've visited. Using a VPN can protect you to an extent, but it's really difficult to cover all of your tracks. 

Here are a few of the entities that will have your digital footprint if and when you visit a porn site:

• Your internet service provider
• Your employer (if accessed in the workplace)
• The browser company (Firefox, Chrome, etc.)
• The porn site you visit
• Certain advertisers on the porn site you visit

In other words, privacy gets thrown out the window on every porn site you can imagine. It seems anonymous and harmless, but the internet never forgets.

Can't I just use incognito mode?

Incognito mode doesn't save basics like browser history or cache, but it does absolutely nothing to protect your data or private information. Again, it's your IP address that gives you away, and the only way you can mask that is with a VPN and several other pieces of software.

To be clear, there are other good reasons to use a VPN but it doesn't guarantee your anonymity online. 

5. You lose sleep

Porn and broad daylight don't mix very well. 

It's kind of like drinking alcohol. If you're doing it in the morning or afternoon, it's an even bigger problem.

So for privacy and to avoid the embarrassment that Andrew Tate was talking about, people usually do it at night. Since porn is often described as a "rabbit hole" and your brain is churning out so much dopamine, time can easily fly by during porn use.

The obvious outcome is that we can loose a lot of sleep, sometimes without even realizing it.

Conclusion

For years, people were unable to see the practical and physical problems with porn. The church has addressed some of these - and certainly the spiritual components - but it's only in the last couple of decades that we're seeing some of the far-reaching practical, psychological, and emotional problems come to the surface.

So we think any motivation - any reason - you can find that will help you quit is worth taking note of.

What other alternative reasons to quit porn can you think of?

Let us know in the comments section.

We can try and help if you have questions there as well.

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