Pornhub and Icebergs
Well, the numbers are apparently out. Pornhub – the largest internet pornography site in existence – has released their 2018 “year in review” outlining their web traffic and other metrics. The numbers are staggering.
In 2018 Pornhub claims they had 33.5 billion visits to their website. That’s Billion with a “B.” To help you wrap your mind around this number, that is an average of 92 million site visits per day! The 2018 traffic count averages to about four visits for every single person on planet earth! And there is no shortage of content – if you watched all of the videos uploaded in 2018 it would take you 115 years!
As a counsellor who specializes in helping people struggling with pornography I see 33.5 billion times someone needed to self-medicate or numb out from their reality for some reason. 33.5 billion times someone chose to connect with a screen instead their spouse, attaching to digital images while detaching from their intimate relationship.
People struggle with pornography for many different reasons. Part of the work I do is helping people discover what is driving the behaviour – what is underneath? If you have taken any type of psychology class you have encountered the “iceberg” metaphor at some point. It goes like this: the behaviour we see is the part of the iceberg visible above the water. However, the majority of the iceberg actually lies beneath the surface – not visible without some exploration. Continuing with this metaphor, you might say I go diving with people to explore the unseen parts of their icebergs and I am honoured to join with clients as we explore what lies beneath the surface.
In my training with the American Association for Sex Addiction Therapy, we identify six broad types of sex/porn addicts. We use this framework to guide our clinical work to help people meet their goals. Over the next several weeks I will write about each of them. If you want to receive this content directly to your email, please sign up for my newsletter on my homepage here.