And I was not alone.Īccording to a recent study, more than 70 per cent of men ages 18 to 34 visit porn sites in a typical month. I didn’t realize how much watching porn manipulated my mind, warping my sexuality, numbing my feelings, and impacting my relationships with women. I even tried to quit a few times and then rationalized my eventual return to the addiction. I thought I could quit porn whenever I felt like it. It seemed so pervasive and culturally accepted that having an actual conversation about it was a total non-starter. “Yeah, everybody watches porn,” I remember hearing. And, like most addictions, it was a behavior that I was ashamed to talk about or even admit was a problem. I didn’t know it then, but porn had become an addiction. I thought I’d outgrow my porn habit over time. Fascinated by this world of unleashed sexual expression and fantasy, I couldn’t get enough of it.Īs I grew up and began exploring my own sexuality, I discovered just how different watching pixels on a screen was compared to the intimacy of making love with another human being. I remember when I first discovered internet porn – I was 17 years old. Here I was, a man who is striving to be an ally to women, perpetuating a culture of violence.