NoFap

NoFap
Type of site
 Private
Slogan(s) Get a new grip on life.
Website www.reddit.com/r/NoFap/
www.nofap.com
Registration Optional (required to post)
Launched June 21, 2011 (2011-06-21)
Current status Active

NoFap (fap: an internet slang term for male masturbation) is an online community that serves as a support group for those who wish to avoid the use of pornography, masturbation, and/or sexual intercourse.[1][2] The subreddit currently has over 200,000 members.[3]

Founding

NoFap was founded in June 2011 by Alexander Rhodes after a thread on Reddit about a study[4] that found that men who don’t masturbate for seven days experience a 45.7% increase in testosterone levels hit the front page of a popular forum on Reddit.[5][6]

After this, Rhodes created NoFap as a "subreddit" forum community on Reddit.[5] At first, NoFap ran weekly and monthly challenges for a small group of people on the forum, and then the NoFap administrators created a badge system, and now forum members set their own challenges based upon their own personal goals.[5]

NoFap.com

Users on NoFap's subreddit more than tripled in number in two years, leading Rhodes to build an off-Reddit forum at NoFap.com and began other plans to better serve the website's fast-growing factions in Brazil, Germany, and China.[7] NoFap.com is a forum-style website where individuals who have committed to abstain from pornography and masturbation for a period of time can talk about their experiences and engage in challenges to help them recover. NoFap.com is the sister website of the Reddit-hosted NoFap community.[8]

Membership

Demographics

The membership of NoFap ranges from atheists, like founder Rhodes, to fundamentalist Christians.[5][9][10] Women are also a part of NoFap.[9] The users of the website call themselves "Fapstronauts".[6] Some porn addicts seek out NoFap for help,[6] while others join the website for the challenge or to improve their interpersonal relationships.[6]

Beneficial effects

After abstaining from porn and masturbation for a period of time, some of NoFap's users claim, among others, "dramatic increases in social confidence, energy levels, concentration levels, mental acuity, motivation, self-esteem, emotional stability, happiness, sexual prowess, and attractiveness to the opposite sex".[5][11] Some NoFap users say their brains were warped by porn, at the expense of real relationships.[12]

Reception and criticism

Some journalists have criticized NoFap, participating in it and then criticizing it.[13][14][15] According to Elizabeth Brown, neuroscientists have questioned some of the claims made by people on NoFap.[16] One psychologist, David J. Ley, wrote: "I’m not in opposition to them, but I do think their ideas are simplistic, naïve and promote a sad, reductionistic and distorted view of male sexuality and masculinity".[17]

Behavior scientists have used statistics gathered from NoFap to study addiction.[18] Robert Weiss of The Huffington Post sees NoFap as part of a tech backlash.[19]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Cowell, Tom (17 September 2013). "No fapping, please, it's making us ill". The Telegraph. London, England: Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  2. ↑ McMahon, Tamsin (20 January 2014). "Will quitting porn improve your life?: A growing 'NoFap' movement of young men are saying no to porn and masturbation". Maclean's. Toronto, Canada: Rogers Media. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  3. ↑ Walton-Lange, Lucy. "Ten Facts You Never Knew About Porn Addiction". Female First. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  4. ↑ Jiang M, Xin J, Zou Q, Shen JW (2003). "A research on the relationship between ejaculation and serum testosterone level in men". J. Zhejiang Univ. Sci. 4 (2): 236–240. doi:10.1631/jzus.2003.0236. PMID 12659241.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Jalsevac, John. "130,000+ Reddit users flock to forum founded by atheist to quit pornography, masturbation". Life Site. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Love, Dylan. "Inside NoFap, The Reddit Community For People Who Want To Be 'Masters Of Their Domain'". Business Insider: Australia. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  7. ↑ Eck, Ian. "The Men Who Would Not Wank". SanFrancisco Magazine. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  8. ↑ Israelsen-Hartley, Sara. "Adolescent addiction: When pornography strikes early". Deseret News. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  9. 1 2 Blair, Leonardo. "Christians Find Help for Porn, Masturbation Addiction Through 'NoFap' Community Started on Reddit by 24-Y-O Web Developer". HuffPost. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  10. ↑ McMurry, Evan. "9 hilarious ways the religious right tried to eradicate masturbation". salon.com. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  11. ↑ Jackson, Ryan. "15 Benefits of Quitting Pornography". The Former Fat Kid. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  12. ↑ Weisman, Carrie. "Has Porn Overwhelmed Our Brains? The "NoFap" Movement Thinks So". AlterNet. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  13. ↑ Singal, Jesse. "Why We're Scared of Masturbation". NY Mag. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  14. ↑ Barker, John. "The failure of a 'noFap' reboot for porn addicts and why abstaining from PMO is not enough to recover". Sexual Reboot. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  15. ↑ Brink, Rebecca. "True Story: I Tried No-Fap And It Sucked (For Me)". The Frisky. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  16. ↑ Brown, Elizabeth. "Neuroscientists Challenge Myths About Men and Porn". Reason.com. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  17. ↑ Ley, David. "The NoFap Phenomenon". Psychology Today. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  18. ↑ Anderson, Kirsten. "GQ Magazine tells men: Quit watching porn before it ruins your sex life". Life Site. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  19. ↑ Weiss, Robert. "Is 'No Fap' Movement Start of Tech Backlash?". Huff Post. Retrieved 27 June 2015.

External links

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