There’s been a whole lot of press and government resources in recent years spent fighting opioid addiction in the state, but a new study based on targeted Google searches found that, when it comes to addiction to porn, North Carolina has one of the biggest problems in the country.
Porn addiction is harder to track than opioid addiction because it doesn’t result in overdoses and EMS responses, but opponents of the practice say porn addiction can negatively affect lives in multiple ways.
The study has identified North Carolina as the sixth highest ranking state in the country where residents suffer from addiction the most, and –based on Google searches looked at by the study – a major part of that high ranking comes from high scores in porn addiction.
Currently, the most common search terms studied related to addiction in North Carolina are “alcoholics anonymous” and ‘alcoholics anonymous meetings near me’ but the fourth, sixth and tenth addiction-related terms in the state, respectively, are “porn addiction symptoms,” “porn addiction signs” and “porn addiction.”
The study defines addiction as “a compulsive urge for a substance, behavior or activity” and notes addiction can have “dire consequences for both the person with the addiction and those around them.”
The study was conducted by nicotine pouch retailer Snuzzer – which analyzed over 150 different search terms related to addiction – things like “how to quit smoking,” “gaming addiction,” “porn addiction” etc. in order to determine the forms of addiction affecting people the most and which states are having the most trouble with all forms of addiction. To account for state populations, the calculations conducted were weighed per 100,000 residents per month.
“Alcoholics Anonymous” is by far the most searched-for term in North Carolina at 36,800 average monthly searches, followed by “alcoholics anonymous meetings near me,” at an average of 4,817 monthly searches per 100,000 residents, suggesting many are hoping to join the fellowship of people looking to find sobriety.
The third most searched-for term in the state is “workaholic,” at 2,975 average monthly searches, which, while still high, is 92 percent less than that of “alcoholics anonymous.”
This indicates, according to the study, that the ability to limit how much time is spent on work is a problem in North Carolina; however, it hasn’t reached the same extreme levels that alcoholism has.
For North Carolina residents, the terms “porn addiction symptoms,” “porn addiction signs” and “porn addiction” are all also in the top ten, for the state.at 2,318, 1,644 and 1,165 average monthly searches per 100,000 people, respectively.
The ten most commonly searched terms related to addiction in the state are the following based on average monthly searches per 100,000 residents:
(1) Alcoholics Anonymous 36,800
(2) Alcoholics Anonymous meetings near me 4,817
(3) Workaholic 2,975
(4) Porn addiction symptoms 2,318
(5) AA meetings 1,700
(6) Porn addiction signs 1,644
(7) Withdrawal symptoms 1,625
(8) Topical steroid withdrawal 1,455
(9) Alcohol withdrawal 1,250
(10) Porn addiction 1,165
According to the findings, North Carolina is the sixth state in the country struggling the most with addiction overall – again, largely due to porn addiction. The state averaged 673 searches per 100,000 people, which is 27 percent higher than the national average of 529 searches per 100,000 residents.
Based on the search data, Florida was found to be the state with the most addictive personalities – 53 percent above the US average.
The Sunshine State is followed by Arizona, Texas, Massachusetts, Illinois and North Carolina. The other four states filling out the top 10 are Delaware, New York, California and Nevada.
At the other end of the scale, Mississippi is hunting online for help with addiction the least, with only 346 monthly searches per 100,000 residents – 35 percent below the national average. Giving that state the lowest number of searches about addiction.
Across the country ‘Alcoholics anonymous’ and ‘alcoholics anonymous meetings near me’ are the two most searched for terms on a national level, with 794,538 and 175,393 average monthly searches, respectively.
This suggests that alcoholism is a leading addiction that Americans are struggling with, and specifically, that people are hoping to find support from others experiencing the same problem.
Workaholics’ is the third most searched for term at 104,645 average monthly searches – suggesting that excessively working is also an issue at the national level.
The website Addictionhelp.com lists multiple dangers of porn addiction.
Experts say it can lead to isolation for some, since viewing porn can consume most of a person’s time and energy, “leaving little room for socializing and building meaningful relationships.”
Shame, guilt and depression are listed as other potential problems.
Porn can also lead to desensitization to real-world sex, the site notes, adding that it can damage relationships since it may result in sexual dissatisfaction with your real-world partner: “People addicted to porn may compare their real-life partners to those they see in porn and hold them to unrealistic expectations or standards. When their partner cannot meet these impossible expectations or feels uncomfortable with them, the person with an addiction may become sexually dissatisfied.”
New types of pornography distribution systems are now making the effect of porn even more intense. While decades ago, those who wanted to consume porn may have viewed it in a glossy adult magazine, now, in 2024, VR headsets like the Meta Quest 3 and the Apple Vision Pro can provide pornography in a highly realistic manner.
This year, the State of North Carolina began requiring proof of age to protect underage people from accessing adult sites online. Now, users need to email their photo ID or a headshot to prove they are old enough to view porn – though there are workarounds such as using a VPN or accessing sites in states and countries where North Carolina’s identification rules aren’t followed.
The website for the company conducting the study is https://snuzzer.com/
Guys like a wank.
What else is new..?
Try logging on to “Porn Hub”. See for yourself how NC thinks they’re better than adhering to the First Amendment. Pathetic.
Note how no one mentions the harm of porn. Could it be that there isn’t any?
Great click bait picture!
What’s her name so I can Google her!
Her name is AI. Get ready for more.
I can’t tell anything. Her picture looks all blurry.
If one wants to quit porn, there are some new, easier methods available besides 12-step programs. Most of them use cognitive behavior techniques. One of the best is from the book Power Over Pornography. It teaches you specific techniques to quit porn without needing willpower. I highly recommend it.
Whew ! I was sure chocolate addiction would have been on the list ! I think I’ll go ponder that over a fudge brownie….
Porn is better than the real thing any day or night. And sex dolls, male and female dolls, are better than the real thing too. I am in love with mine and I sleep with him every night. He gives me more pleasure than any real person could ever give me.
So, what is the problem?
An answer to all of the above – porn addiction destroys marriages and families, just as addiction to alcohol does. It creates huge problems in a marriage and leaves the spouse with horrible issues like lack of trust, anger, guilt, loneliness, isolation, resentment, bitterness, confusion, and questions for years, especially when the one viewing the porn doesn’t see anything wrong with the behavior, returns to the addiction, and minimizes the impact to their spouse. It’s devastating to their spouse who questions the relationship, feels they must hide the situation, has no one to talk to, and must decide what to do regarding the marriage alone.
Just like an alcohol addiction, being addicted to porn puts a barrier between two people that shouldn’t be there leading to a breakdown in their ability to communicate which eventually has a huge effect on the marriage. The person needs to deal with their addiction(s) so their life and relationships can be healthier, more mature, and balanced.
I’m sorry, but that’s just not necessarily true.
You may as well say that I’m “addicted to food” because I enjoy it and need it regularly.
It does no harm to me, or my family.
Well apparently we’re a bunch of drunk porn addicts in NC.
…OVERWEIGHT drunk porn addicts…
LOL
. . . with too much time on our hands …?
I would rather have a full sized sex male doll that a real sex partner anytime, he satisfied me every time, and I LOVE him. And he never tells me to not love him. I hold him in bed every night and all night long.