4 Non-Porn Sites to Avoid When Trying to Quit

In today’s world we won’t be able to avoid using the internet.  From paying bills to checking on loved ones, we all use the web for a myriad of reasons on a daily basis.  This doesn’t make quitting porn any easier.

And getting around the obvious pornographic material is - in a sense - an easy aspect, because it's obvious.

But what about the non-porn sites that hang us up?

Knowing non-porn sites to avoid can help in your fight to quit porn for good. I'll cover a few of the big ones.

1. Instagram

We recommend you avoid Instagram at all costs.

Instagram is one of the world’s largest social media platforms with more than 1 billion accounts worldwide. In its far-reaching popularity, Instagram is especially geared towards younger users. 

Explicit Pornographic Content

Among the common posts about a good meal at a restaurant, a night out with friends at the movies, or cute pet pics, there are countless images of what I'd call near-pornographic material with external links that lead to other platforms with more.

Porn bots are another well-documented issue on the platform.

Models and Influencers

The second, and perhaps bigger issue is what has been dubbed Instagram models/influencers.

This material is not technically porn and is permitted on the platform, but it has essentially the same effect. These people - mostly women - make a living off Instagram by posting modeling pics, often gathering millions of followers.

Again, this can be even more difficult to deal with because it gives you the idea that, "I'm not technically looking at porn."

To avoid an ethical dilemma with yourself, it's better to avoid Instagram in its entirety.

Comparison to Facebook

In my experience with Facebook over the last eight years, I have stumbled upon pornographic content on a handful of occasions, mostly in the form of photos.  Just last month a Facebook Watch live video rolled into my feed from PornHub, one of the world’s biggest online sources of porn.  I quickly reported it and it was gone with no recurrences in the following days.  This is the first porn video I’ve been exposed to in 8 years on Facebook.  

As a comparison, Instagram is unwittingly delivering porn links to its users 24/7.  Imagine being a teen these days with such unfettered access to this stuff?  We already know how difficult this fight is as adults.

Simply put, Instagram should be avoided during this journey to freedom from porn. The access is too prevalent, the relapse possibility is too high, and while the reward of properly used social media can be gratifying to keep up with friends and family, the dangers far outweigh the benefits.

2. Reddit

Reddit is a massive curation website, with a very distinct culture.

Their site is made up of what they call subreddits, that are basically forum/curation pages for a single, particular topic. There's a subreddit for just about anything you can think of.

While there is a ton of dedicated sections of pornography, there are a lot of other corners of Reddit that are not considered explicit, but are still dangerous grounds for someone with a pornography addiction. Violent imagery and general smut is common and it's hard to avoid if you're regularly using Reddit's platform.

We'd recommend avoiding it. There's little reason you would need a site like Reddit anyway. It can definitely be a time wasting site, even if you're not looking at anything objectionable.

3. Flickr

Flickr is an image hosting site designed primarily for professional photographers.

One of the main problems with Flickr is that it's particularly good at being hard for filters and accountability software to detect, primarily because photos and URLs on that site typically just get numbered instead of named. 

Covenant Eyes has gotten better in this area, because they have AI that can analyze images.

But it's still tricky and there is pornographic material on Flickr if you don't use the safe search option.

Again, I'd recommend staying away since it's not really a need.

4. YouTube (at least temporarily)

YouTube does a lot of good for a lot of people.

It has made information so readily available in our day, that there are less and less things we need to learn a new skill or trait. 

You do not have to go to college to learn to be a computer programmer.

That said:

When you're trying to quit using porn, the distraction of YouTube can often be a precursor to pornography use. Plus, you will find a lot of content designed to entice, particularly around YouTube Shorts and the fitness industry.

I'd recommend either limiting your YouTube use, or setting it aside until you have a better handle on being able to quit.

Do filters work on these sites?

Some filters do help with sites like this, but it’s hit or miss depending on what software you’re using. In general, filters and blockers have a very difficult time with images. They’re good with keywords, but the keywords don’t always match up with the content.

Sites that are heavily populated by user-submitted content are always going to be more difficult for blockers and filters.

So sure, a filter helps, but it’s not as effective when the site is viewed as more benign and “harmless” in its most basic form.

Which one is the least risky?

Of the sites I listed, YouTube is probably the most borderline option and one that people have trouble doing without. As I mentioned, there’s a ton of good that YouTube does in regards to getting people good information.

But like most things about the internet, it’s a double-sided sword cutting both ways.

If you drop YouTube, I think it’s fine to do so temporarily until you get your addiction under control.

Conclusion

Breaking a pornography addiction involves a reframing of your approach to using the internet as a whole.

It's not just a matter of white knuckling and trying to avoid known porn sites.

There are a lot of sites you're going to have to avoid that you never even thought of. So be prepared to make significant changes in these areas. It might mean avoiding these sites, or others depending on how you browse and the sites that are posing problems.

If you have questions or thoughts, leave them in the comments section below.

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