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watch less porn

Hi there! We’re stoked you’re here.

Porn’s everywhere and it’s super easy to find yourself watching more than you want to. If porn’s taking up heaps of your headspace and you want to cut down – you’re in the right place. It’s awesome you’re thinking about it and keen to change things up 👍 Kia Kaha.

Tips & Tools

Looking for quick tips? Here’s what you need.
IS IT JUST ME?
Nope 😊 – lots of young people that watch porn struggle to cut down! In a recent NZ study, 42% of regular porn viewers wanted to watch less but found it hard not to(27).
So, if you’re feeling like you want to cut down on porn, but can’t, you’re not alone! Here’s the d-low on why this might be happening…
Porn’s buzz
When we’re watching porn and turned on, it feels good (duh) so it’s normal to want to go back for more, especially when we feel low.
If we use porn to help with negative feelings, it can also tell our bodies that porn helps, and can end up creating a pattern where using porn becomes a comfort or way to de-stress. So, it makes sense if you find yourself struggling to stop watching porn 😕 — it can happen without even realising.
What’s Success?

Changing up porn habits is a process. Success is about taking one step at a time – like choosing to go for a run or call a mate when you feel stressed and want to jump into some porn.

It’s about putting one foot in front of the other, taking it day by day, and being brave.

“It’s hard to admit you have a porn problem or to even say that it’s involved in your life… Admitting is the first step, so I think finding a way to be able to talk about it normally or subtly is a goal worth achieving.”
Anon youth, TLP Survey 2020

Porn, your brain and your sex life
It’s not new that sex and watching porn can cause our brains to fire out hormones causing a ‘rush’.

For some young people, they want to keep going back for the ‘rush’ – but can then struggle to stop. For others, with time, the rush can take longer and longer to happen, so they start needing more porn or more extreme types of porn to get turned on.

This can also impact real life sex, because some young people’s brains are so used to being turned on with porn, it can become harder (lol) to get turned on in real-life sex. 

The flow what’s happening?

Scientists talk about ‘flow’ – when you’re so into what you’re doing, you lose track of time and nothing else matters… like when you game or surf and just wanna go on forever. This can happen while watching porn – especially when the flow ends in a great rush.

When we’re in the flow, our brains are in the perfect zone for learning and developing new habits. This makes it super easy for us to develop patterns around our porn usage or sexual desires and expectations, without even realising it.

“It’s hard to admit you have a porn problem or to even say that it’s involved in your life… Admitting is the first step, so I think finding a way to be able to talk about it normally or subtly is a goal worth achieving.”
Anon youth, TLP Survey 2020

Culture, faith and shame
People from cultures or faiths where porn is a no-no can often experience more shame and guilt about their porn use than other young people, regardless of how much porn they watch.
They may also be less likely to talk or reach out to people for help because of the shame surrounding porn. If this is you, it’s hard to go it alone — so find someone safe who can support you — like an older sibling, cousin or school counsellor.
Porn can make us feel good ‘in the moment’ – but can get tricky when it’s overused to de-stress and/or ends up creating patterns without us even realizing, that are hard to break.

Tips & tools

<< Click a tool tip or go back 👍🏽 >>

Self-help T.A.B.S. tool

Here’s some questions and our self help tool to get you going…

Self-help online tools

Here’s some great online tools that can help while you work this one out…

<< swipe for next tip or go back 👍🏽 >>

Self Help T.A.B.S. Tool

Here’s some questions and our self help tool to get you going…
KNOW THE SIGNS

If you’re worried about your porn habits – try asking yourself…

How long can I go without porn?
How would I feel if I can’t access porn anymore?
When I’m not watching porn, am I thinking about it a lot?
Can I masturbate without porn?

If you’re worried, check out the PPCS tool or head over to our NEED HELP section for more support. If you don’t think it’s a big problem, but just want to keep tabs on it, keep reading…

T – Talk

Feeling ashamed, guilty or bad about yourself when you’re struggling with porn is really normal. It can be worse if you think your whānau would be upset, or if porn is a no-go in your culture, community or faith.

These are crappy feelings to live with – so talking with a mate or adult you trust can really help. It feels risky, but it’s so worth it. If you want to talk to an adult, but think they’ll freak out, CLICK HERE or contact the pros at Safe to Talk.

A – Access

It sounds simple but ditching your phone or laptop at night and leaving it out of your room can help heaps with keeping your usage down. You could also get a filter on your device here that’ll make it harder to get onto porn sites.

It’s like putting a fence up. Sure, you can get past it, but it’ll make you stop and think.

B - Brain

Lots of things can ‘trigger’ your habits. Think about why, when, and how you use porn. Does it help you cope with stress? Boredom? Or do you watch it when you’re scrolling Insta just before bed?

Make a mental note of why and when you’re watching and then try and change it up. Go for a run, grab some food, do 20 push-ups, read a book, or even just call a mate instead and see what happens.

S - Success

Changing your porn habit is a process. It’d be nice if you could wake up and never think about porn again, but that isn’t success.

Success is about taking one step at a time – like choosing to go for a run or call a mate when you feel stressed and want to jump into some porn. It’s about putting one foot in front of the other, taking it day by day, and being brave.

There are some other tools to help you HERE to change things up for the best. Kia Kaha, you’ve got this.

Need more help? Checkout TALK/TEXT or talk to the pros.

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Self-help online tools

Here’s some great online tools that can help while you work this one out…
Problematic Porn Consumption Scale (PPCS)

PPCS is a quick self-check quiz you can do online, to check out how much porn may be affecting your relationships or day-to-day life. It’s not a strict rule but can be a useful tool.

Fortify

Fortify is one of the most popular apps used for compulsive porn use and offers daily tracking functions, discussion forums, journaling and mindfulness activities. It has a platform designed for teens with age-appropriate activities and language.

Age: Teens and adults programmes
Cost: Free or Monthly Plan ($10 USD monthly or $60 per year)  

Apple
Google Play

Brainbuddy

Brainbuddy is a slightly more simple and older app focused on rewiring the brain through mindfulness exercises, games, meditation, lifestyle changes and understanding triggers. It offers progress tracking, online support forums, and filtering options. It has a strong addiction focus and offers support for people who believe they have a masturbation addiction. Some of the language used has an anti-porn focus, which may not be helpful for some users.  

Ages 12+
Cost: 7-day free trial, $15 per month, cancel anytime.

Apple
Google Play

The Naked Truth

Naked Truth provide 8 week ‘recovery programmes,’ they offer an online support group programme, a video led learning course, partner support, and specific support groups for those from a faith background.  

Age: 18+
Cost: Free

https://www.nakedtruthrecovery.com/what
​https://www.nakedtruthrecovery.com/the-first-step

REMOJO

REMOJO is a new youth-friendly app for male-identifying young people that offers filters, audio learning tracks, porn literacy info, daily tracking, online forums, and device management. ReMojo has an anti-porn focus, which may not be appropriate/helpful for some users.  

Age: 18+
Cost: Plans from $3-5 monthly, free trial available and cancel anytime.

https://www.remojo.com/
https://www.remojo.com/courses/your-brain-on-porn

SafeSurfer

SafeSurfer is a NZ based app you can use to block porn on your phone, tablet, or Wi-Fi. It runs silently in the background and blocks content on all major browsers.

Apple
Google Play