There are people who watch porn within reason and you may be one of them.
The question as to whether or not someone is an addict must come up when the person chooses porn over real intimacy, uses it as a coping skill, keeps it secretive, lies about it, and begins to lust after people they see out and about.
Only you can honestly answer any of those questions. You also should know that porn is very addictive. Here is a great website that can shed more light on the subject.
www.yourbrainonporn.com

any ohter people have any input?

Porn is a progressive disease. It starts out slow, with what is called "soft core" porn. Then it leads to more and more. Eventually it will lead to acting out the scenes. Porn leads to nowhere. It desensitizes the mind. I say those things from experience. You may or may not be an addict. By continuing to view porn, you will be.

One last thought...If I use crack or heroin only on the weekends am I an addict? The answer...yes.

Here is another great website about the use of porn. I hope you are open to learning more about how it can hurt you and relationships in the future. There are other ways of destressing that are far healthier.

http://fightthenewdrug.org/#sthash.ziDoRM9r.dpbs

I personally believe that consuming pornography is supporting an industry that exploits and objectified people.

Hi Blh123,

Thank you for asking this question and sharing a little bit about yourself.

Before I go on, I would like to say that I have never viewed porn but my partner did. I knew he watched porn when I first met him, as the school we went to liked to make out that it was a "normal" thing to do and if I (or any other girl/guy) for that matter said otherwise, we were losers and "that's what every guy does. Get over it." Or if a female viewed it, she was classified as "awesome" or "unique"....

Anyway, I (in my childish mind) had no other choice but to accept that my partner watched porn. I was brainwashed to think it was a normal thing to do, as long as you arn't over the top with it.

Years and 3 children later, my partner continued to view it behind my back. (I thought he had grown up and stopped watching the crap) I soon started to see a difference in my partner. He became snappy, stayed up all night playing "games". Our sex life was non-existant and he had no time for me or his children, only his laptop or phone.

Cut the long story short, he was at the start into watching girls maturbating themselves, then it grew to hypnosis, femdom and then homosexual videos. Dating websites, live sex sites, live strip sites, sex buddy sites and he even made secret email accounts behind my back. See how that grew to something worse within a short space of time? I'd say...6 years and my partner was viewing homosexual videos and it wasnt your average homosexual video...these were pretty messed up. I begged him four times to stop, I even packed my bags to leave with the kids....that didn't stop him. He just became more sneaky about it.

I am not sure if you're single or not, and if you're in a relationship for example... you decided to watch porn one night while your woman is in bed or if she was elsewhere. Instead of watching porn, you could have been having healthy sex with your partner. Not just that, you're also neglecting your partner when she/he could/would want sex that night.

Another thing I'd like to add, when you're viewing a video of men/women. You're getting aroused over another, developing feelings/thoughts to someone that isn't your partner.

You're viewing porn twice a week you say? That IS more than just occasional. Let's put it this way, you're taking time out to view these videos instead of going out and meeting some hot chick, or going out with friends. Instead, you're sitting on your couch watching porn.

Now, you say that you find it relaxing and enjoyable. I would like to state that you learn what porn actually does to your brain. You're getting a false feeling, when actually.... porn is creating STRESS hormones in your body.

Then from that, you develop paranoia...depression etc etc

It doesnt just damage your brain, it damages your you-know-what too.

You also develop unrealistic expectations of women and men. How they act in bed, what their bodies should look like. You become...particular about certain things.

Now, after you view a few videos. You're finished, etc etc. Do you feel a little gross?? Even just a little? Like for example, before you finished and you were watching and searching for these videos. You couldnt wait to find one that turns you on. You find one. You do your job...

Do you continue to look at other videos? At other women? Or do you shut off the porn site striaght away and why?

Have you ever watched a video, got the job done. Looked back at it again in your normal state of mind and shake your head in wonder "Why the hell did that turn me on?" or "That is kind of...nasty." But you cant help but feel how that turns you on the next time your horny? If that is the case, YOU DO have a problem and you NEED to stop NOW.

Anyway, I know you may feel that porn is harmless to you but twice, once a month is even a lot. It is already having an impact on your mind.

Put yourself at a challenge. Why don't you cut the porn out for... 8 months. See if you can go that long without a single video or picture... but you wont because you feel you're not addicted. Why should you when you're not addicted right?? Not just that, you're bored.

How long have you been watching porn? At what age?

When you say we, do you mean we as a society (all people on Earth) or we the forum members? Keep in mind that you're on a forum meant to support addicts and the partners of addicts. Given the population, I'm pretty sure most of the forum members wish porn never existed due to the extent of the damage it has caused them.

If you want my opinion, I would say that, in theory, pornography is like most other vices, it's fine in moderation, but this is much more of a theoretical discussion than a practical one.* Realistically speaking, I would encourage you to try to kick the habit as soon as possible. The problem is how the consumption of porn now might affect your future. When I was single I watched porn on a daily basis. Although I have no regrets for the period of time when I was single watching porn, now that I have a girlfriend, I have to face the fact that I developed a habit that can potentially damage my relationship with her. If I had cut back my usage when I was younger, or never watched the stuff, my porn habit would have been easier to give up, or nonexistent altogether. So the sooner you address the issue, the better.

*I spent way too much time thinking about how to define moderation when it's really not the focus of the discussion. We could spend countless hours debating over what constitutes "moderation" and if it even exists, but in the end, you're still better off avoiding pornography because it has the potential to adversely affect your life in ways you can't recognize immediately (e.g. future relationships).