Last year I began researching /r/NoFap because I was looking for a balanced opinion about Porn to write my MA dissertation about. What I ended up discovering is that this is a special community. The way we operate here seems very different, in a profound way, than the manner in which most online communities are organised and run (especially on reddit).
Taking on the No/Fap challenge at the beginning of April last year was a life changing decision – it’s bloody challenging and seems utterly impossible without all of you. I just turned 30, some of the benefits I experienced are improved concentration, I used to have unexplained mood swings which I no longer get and I realise I had some ED because it is completely gone (I used to think I just wasn’t really in the mood). Best thing IMO is that I am now constantly keen on having sex with my partner 😛
So to thank you who are struggling today and the rest of you who are interested to know a bit about the history of this sub I am sharing my work The Click Trap.
Points in the writing that may be of specific interest:
• Notes on the differences between the way we (here on NoFap) think about pornography and traditional modes of critically assessing it p.17
• Historical account of how groups for Internet Porn addicts began forming online (expanding on Gary Wilson’s YBOP) p.27
• History of this subreddit p.28
• Analysis of what kind of discussions we’re having (based on 24 hrs sample) on p.36 including a note about why this sub seems quite unique when compared to the rest of reddit (last paragraph on p.38)
P.S. massive thanks to everyone who helped and if any of you have any comments please do contact me!
LINK – Porn Free for over a year now. Recently got a distinction for a thesis I wrote about this community.
by gilad-v
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