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Idea to combat porn addiction (is there a market?)

Khalid

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I've been slated and borderline ridiculed by people around me and on reddit for this idea I've been pitching. Maybe I'm naive, but I see how many people out there complain about their struggles with porn addiction, I see various videos on TikTok and think pieces on Twitter about how serious of an issue and how common of an issue it is. It seems like there isn't a solution readily available which means its lunch (a problem waiting to be solved). Some people don't have the discipline to be able to go 'cold turkey' and simply find themselves relapsing. So I've been asking around and pitching the idea of possibly developing a permanent website blocker to combat against porn addiction as well as productivity problems. Its ironic because there is software out there that does this but I only found out about it through extensive research. Software such as 'focusme' or 'cold turkey' were made but they can be developed on (anyone every heard of these software platforms btw?) Would appreciate feedback.
 
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Chet Shen

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I've been slated and borderline ridiculed by people around me and on reddit for this idea I've been pitching. Maybe I'm naive, but I see how many people out there complain about their struggles with porn addiction, I see various videos on TikTok and think pieces on Twitter about how serious of an issue and how common of an issue it is. It seems like there isn't a solution readily available which means its lunch (a problem waiting to be solved). Some people don't have the discipline to be able to go 'cold turkey' and simply find themselves relapsing. So I've been asking around and pitching the idea of possibly developing a permanent website blocker to combat against porn addiction as well as productivity problems. Its ironic because there is software out there that does this but I only found out about it through extensive research. Software such as 'focusme' or 'cold turkey' were made but they can be developed on (anyone every heard of these software platforms btw?) Would appreciate feedback.
I'm not sure if building an app to block porn sites and porn blocker will be enough to stop porn addiction. Perhaps you can suggest a routine for the customers like cold showers and meditation, etc?
 

heavy_industry

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This is the equivalent of trying to combat alcoholism by locking up the bottle in a safe. The addict will always find a way to get their substance.

Addiction, of any kind, is a psychiatric disorder and it's being treated by the mental health / counseling industry. So the better approach would be to build and app or website that covers the psychology behind the issue and helps people solve their problems, rather than trying to block access to their addiction.
 
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Khalid

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This is the equivalent of trying to combat alcoholism by locking up the bottle in a safe. The addict will always find a way to get their substance.

Addiction, of any kind, is a psychiatric disorder and it's being treated by the mental health / counseling industry. So the better approach would be to build and app or website that covers the psychology behind the issue and helps people solve their problems, rather than trying to block access to their addiction.
Wow really appreciate the feedback. This is gold. Thank you!
 

Khalid

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I'm not sure if building an app to block porn sites and porn blocker will be enough to stop porn addiction. Perhaps you can suggest a routine for the customers like cold showers and meditation, etc?
Thank you for the suggestion.
 

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The easiest way to quit porn is to get busy - busy doing stuff. If you are busy or in a rush you will never think about watching porn because there are things that must be done "to survive". Only lazy and "comfortable" people watch porn. They value theirs time exceptionally poor.

You can't just block porn by apps or extensions because if the person is really naughty he will simple just uninstall it - the willpower could be helpful here but if you already have it you won't need any types of apps. Watching porn is a definition of a loser nowadays - but nobody wants to be a loser. If you can hurt the feelings of an intelligent man I am sure you will help him.

Some time ago I spoke with one of my old classmate - he was addicted to porn. I told him "Do you think that the people who runs pornsites watches porn? Of course not, but they earn money from losers likes you" - he changed a lot and I am sure I helped him way more than just a porn blocker.

The funny things is you don't even need to help them by talking about the input of watching porn that it's having on them. MJ gives meaning to life of others - more freedom, bigger joy of life etc. I am sure he is helping others too so he is one of yours competitors. He is making people life busy so even when they did watch porn, now they are so busy (or happy after selling bussines) that they don't want any of that type of BS. So, theirs problems isn't a porn but the lack of meaning in theirs life. Heal the cause not the effect.

Hurt them or give them a meaning in life and you will help them.
 
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Khalid

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The easiest way to quit porn is to get busy - busy doing stuff. If you are busy or in a rush you will never think about watching porn because there are things that must be done "to survive". Only lazy and "comfortable" people watch porn. They value theirs time exceptionally poor.

You can't just block porn by apps or extensions because if the person is really naughty he will simple just uninstall it - the willpower could be helpful here but if you already have it you won't need any types of apps. Watching porn is a definition of a loser nowadays - but nobody wants to be a loser. If you can hurt the feelings of an intelligent man I am sure you will help him.

Some time ago I spoke with one of my old classmate - he was addicted to porn. I told him "Do you think that the people who runs pornsites watches porn? Of course not, but they earn money from losers likes you" - he changed a lot and I am sure I helped him way more than just a porn blocker.

The funny things is you don't even need to help them by talking about the input of watching porn that it's having on them. MJ gives meaning to life of others - more freedom, bigger joy of life etc. I am sure he is helping others too so he is one of yours competitors. He is making people life busy so even when they did watch porn, now they are so busy (or happy after selling bussines) that they don't want any of that type of BS. So, theirs problems isn't a porn but the lack of meaning in theirs life. Heal the cause not the effect.

Hurt them or give them a meaning in life and you will help them.
Wow this is sound advice. Thank you!
 

Matt Lee

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You'd be surprised by the length someone would go to get a dopamine hit from pornography, especially if they're bored or lonely.

Your solution could work, but these people must be serious about quitting pornography. They must have something going on in their life, a business they're building, a body, a relationship, etc. What the person has going on in life must be more exciting than playing with his hands in the dark.

Instead of offering a one-dimensional solution, you could make it a 3,4,5+ dimensional solution.

1) the blocker
2) the education and priming(pornography ruins your life, kills your motivation, sedate you, make you feel good despite your life is utterly shit, waste your time)
3) the game plan(a blueprint or system that will allow them to get serious with quitting pornography, ideally showing them the world that is built from abstaining from pornography)
4)gamify the ad blocker. Have checkpoints, rewards, and a carrot for people that are susceptible to external rewards.
5)Have a way for them to reflect on their experience every day, how much time they've saved, how much energy they have, and how much better they're feeling about themselves

The whole idea is to make the person think more about what he's doing. To prime pornography with something close to the Devil itself.

If you think about how messed up it is to play with your hands BEFORE you play with them, you will be inclined not to. It's like getting people to focus on how bad a cigarette taste before smoking. They wouldn't want to smoke.
 

Deezes

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I would recommend reading about the EasyPeasy method, it will really influence the way you see this addiction and give you ways to combat it
 
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K1 Lambo

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I've been slated and borderline ridiculed by people around me and on reddit for this idea I've been pitching. Maybe I'm naive, but I see how many people out there complain about their struggles with porn addiction, I see various videos on TikTok and think pieces on Twitter about how serious of an issue and how common of an issue it is. It seems like there isn't a solution readily available which means its lunch (a problem waiting to be solved). Some people don't have the discipline to be able to go 'cold turkey' and simply find themselves relapsing. So I've been asking around and pitching the idea of possibly developing a permanent website blocker to combat against porn addiction as well as productivity problems. Its ironic because there is software out there that does this but I only found out about it through extensive research. Software such as 'focusme' or 'cold turkey' were made but they can be developed on (anyone every heard of these software platforms btw?) Would appreciate feedback.
Honestly, porn addiction is just a symptom underneath the real cause that most men(young men specifically) have today which is the inability to get girls or a girlfriend. Most men today are fat, lazy, boring, have no game etc. They lack the traits that will attract a beautiful girl/girls to them. It's a very, very common thing today. And this market is only going to grow. Which is why porn, OnlyFans, and these big cam sites exist today because guys lack intimate connections with women that actually CARE about them.

Because life for the average man today is horrible. You're 45 years old with a $50k salary, living somewhere in Wyoming with kids that don't respect you, your wife's a 6(she was a 7 when she was taking care of her self) AND most men want or desire hot women around them.

I remember when I was 16 and had my first big crush in high school(can remember her so well, her name was Natalie, she was a 8.5 out of 10, dark hair, thick a$$ and so on). We used to take the same bus to school, and one day I was just like F*ck it and I'm going to introduce myself to her and bam, we had a small conversation for 3 minutes. It was horrible yes since I didn't have any confidence or game at that time, but at least I did it. She was not the only girl I approached at my school.

This is not to brag, but the point is: Most young guys/men today have never experienced any of that. When they like a girl in school or at work, what they do is: They avoid making eye contact with her at school or don't have the guts approach her in person. And instead, they try their best to find her Insta or Snapchat and build some connection there which is just wrong since you can't build any attraction through text. Plus, a beautiful girl who's an 8 and above has a lot of guys who message them daily so you'll stand out a lot more if you take your shot in person.

So most men never get to experience what it's actually like to talk to a legitimately beautiful female in person. What they do instead is, go on OnlyFans and pay a 10/10 Ukrainian chick a monthly subscription for $50 SO hopefully they might get a chance to meet her! Not in a million years... A girl like that is never going to date a simp who pays for her Mercedes-Benz S class.

Going back to your original point, porn has always existed. Even if you go back hundreds/thousands of years, you'll see paintings of naked women and so on. Men have a much higher sex drive than women, which is why they desire sex a lot more than women. Women on the other hand, read porn(learned that from Jordan Peterson) which is quite interesting how the two genders are wired differently. Men on the other hand, are a lot more visual. It's a humongous market. Watching porn, masturbating or sex is not the problem. Men and women will always do it.

From my experience, nofap is just an excuse for the lazy man to not get his shit together. I've never seen a man who's very successful with women talk about nofap. Never ever.

If you're a man with a lot of testosterone in your body it's just going to be a distraction. And this comes from someone who did it back at the beginning of 2020. I actually tried NoFap for 28-29 days back in March 2020 and that didn't help at all besides just thinking about sex 24/7. It was crazy. I couldn't even concentrate but it was a cool experiment since lockdowns were big back then.

This answer is a little bit all over the place, but this market is only going to grow since it's harder and harder for the average dude to get a hot, loving woman since young women today get exposed to the 1% or 0.1% lifestyle constantly on IG.
 

ygtrhos

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Honestly, porn addiction is just a symptom underneath the real cause that most men(young men specifically) have today which is the inability to get girls or a girlfriend. Most men today are fat, lazy, boring, have no game etc. They lack the traits that will attract a beautiful girl/girls to them. It's a very, very common thing today. And this market is only going to grow. Which is why porn, OnlyFans, and these big cam sites exist today because guys lack intimate connections with women that actually CARE about them.

Because life for the average man today is horrible. You're 45 years old with a $50k salary, living somewhere in Wyoming with kids that don't respect you, your wife's a 6(she was a 7 when she was taking care of her self) AND most men want or desire hot women around them.

I remember when I was 16 and had my first big crush in high school(can remember her so well, her name was Natalie, she was a 8.5 out of 10, dark hair, thick a$$ and so on). We used to take the same bus to school, and one day I was just like F*ck it and I'm going to introduce myself to her and bam, we had a small conversation for 3 minutes. It was horrible yes since I didn't have any confidence or game at that time, but at least I did it. She was not the only girl I approached at my school.

This is not to brag, but the point is: Most young guys/men today have never experienced any of that. When they like a girl in school or at work, what they do is: They avoid making eye contact with her at school or don't have the guts approach her in person. And instead, they try their best to find her Insta or Snapchat and build some connection there which is just wrong since you can't build any attraction through text. Plus, a beautiful girl who's an 8 and above has a lot of guys who message them daily so you'll stand out a lot more if you take your shot in person.

So most men never get to experience what it's actually like to talk to a legitimately beautiful female in person. What they do instead is, go on OnlyFans and pay a 10/10 Ukrainian chick a monthly subscription for $50 SO hopefully they might get a chance to meet her! Not in a million years... A girl like that is never going to date a simp who pays for her Mercedes-Benz S class.

Going back to your original point, porn has always existed. Even if you go back hundreds/thousands of years, you'll see paintings of naked women and so on. Men have a much higher sex drive than women, which is why they desire sex a lot more than women. Women on the other hand, read porn(learned that from Jordan Peterson) which is quite interesting how the two genders are wired differently. Men on the other hand, are a lot more visual. It's a humongous market. Watching porn, masturbating or sex is not the problem. Men and women will always do it.

From my experience, nofap is just an excuse for the lazy man to not get his shit together. I've never seen a man who's very successful with women talk about nofap. Never ever.

If you're a man with a lot of testosterone in your body it's just going to be a distraction. And this comes from someone who did it back at the beginning of 2020. I actually tried NoFap for 28-29 days back in March 2020 and that didn't help at all besides just thinking about sex 24/7. It was crazy. I couldn't even concentrate but it was a cool experiment since lockdowns were big back then.

This answer is a little bit all over the place, but this market is only going to grow since it's harder and harder for the average dude to get a hot, loving woman since young women today get exposed to the 1% or 0.1% lifestyle constantly on IG.

Not willing to offend you my friend but I can't hold myself back: Please grow a goddamn beard, before giving advice about masculinity to random people and repeating PUA / redpill stuff around.

Just like productocracy creates monetary wealth, treating yourself as the product creates connection as well:

Product (take care of what you wear / eat, do sports, wear accessories, grow beard, look good)
+ marketing (be sociable and/or use online dating as a sales funnel for yourself, use ads, i.e. tinder boosts)
+ sales (be a decent, kind person who people would like to actually enjoy spending time with + convey sexuality)

= getting laid

Porn stops itself when you actually connect people sexually.

I wish I knew this 10 years (and a lot of stupid PUA content) ago.
 

tomzestatlu

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Not willing to offend you my friend but I can't hold myself back: Please grow a goddamn beard, before giving advice about masculinity to random people and repeating PUA / redpill stuff around.

Just like productocracy creates monetary wealth, treating yourself as the product creates connection as well:

Product (take care of what you wear / eat, do sports, wear accessories, grow beard, look good)
+ marketing (be sociable and/or use online dating as a sales funnel for yourself, use ads, i.e. tinder boosts)
+ sales (be a decent, kind person who people would like to actually enjoy spending time with + convey sexuality)

= getting laid

Porn stops itself when you actually connect people sexually.


I wish I knew this 10 years (and a lot of stupid PUA content) ago.
I would disagree with statement "Porn stops itself when you actually connect people sexually".

Even though a men have sexual partners (wife, girlfriend), they often prefer watching porn over having real-life sex. Why? The answer is is dopamine. You could say that having sex is much better than just watching porn. But from your brain chemistry POV, it´s more joyfull to watch porn with different girl every day than to have sex with the same woman again and again. And that´s something that ruin main relationships for sure.
On the other hand, if you have got easy access to many women, you can be also addicted to sex and it feels and work almost the same like being addicted to porn.

If we speak about men who don´t have access to real sex, you are right that it only takes to get your life together and invest in yourself. But the problem with porn is that it takes away your desire and willpower to change anything.
It´s the same with heroin addicts. Even the biggest junkies know that it´s not right to get high on daily basis and it that it hurts them. But it´s easier for them to take the shot into the vein and the same it´s easier for for porn addict to just watch another video. They both get relieve from their pain.

I see weak men as incredibly growing market in the future. Much bigger than now.

If you walk down the street you see many and many men, who are simply out of the sexual market. And I´m not talking about few weirdos who can´t get laid, but dozens of percents of entire male population. There are too many men, who just gave up on life. They seek escape in alcohol and work some basic manual labor. And people don´t see them. The are totally invisible to women. I think that number of such men will grow as there´s bigger and bigger divide between haves and have nots.

And then there´s a group of young men, who are damaged by the life with technology. They are physically degenerated (no muscles, bad posture, low testosterone) and they don´t know how to interact with other people in real life. And with the growing integration of technologies to everyday life and in earlier stages of life, there will be more and more people like this.
I have been member of local PUA facebook group (I´m not interested in PUA, but I like observing social dynamics). If you say PUA, you imagine handsome man, who knows how to talk to girls, how to dress etc. But these are the guys who sell the product. The members of the group are really weird.
I have noticed one thing - The most of them approach girls like girls are the computers. They simply try to find and learn the best algorythm how to talk and behave with women. And if it doesn´t work (it usually doesn´t), they are bitter and think that there´s something wrong with women. I don´t have to be an expert, but just based on looking on their profile picture, I can be sure that there´s not chance they´re getting laid.
Simply, I think that they might be considered autistic on some scale. And is it because they were born as autistic? In my opinion, no. I think that life behing the computer made their brain evolve like that.

And that´s why I think this market will be much BIGGER.

I like the idea of the author of this topic. I think that young men today need much more guidance than ever before. I´m not sure how to do it. I mean drugs are illegal and still it doesn´t stop their users from abusing it. There are many help facilities and organizations, but the rate of success is extremely low.
You can never heal from addiciton, you can only restrain it.

From the bussines perspective, it´s definitely easier to find a way hot to monetize their weakness than to try to help. And if you wan´t to help, holistic approach is the only way (as some guys sketched above).
 
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I've been slated and borderline ridiculed by people around me and on reddit for this idea I've been pitching. Maybe I'm naive, but I see how many people out there complain about their struggles with porn addiction, I see various videos on TikTok and think pieces on Twitter about how serious of an issue and how common of an issue it is. It seems like there isn't a solution readily available which means its lunch (a problem waiting to be solved). Some people don't have the discipline to be able to go 'cold turkey' and simply find themselves relapsing. So I've been asking around and pitching the idea of possibly developing a permanent website blocker to combat against porn addiction as well as productivity problems. Its ironic because there is software out there that does this but I only found out about it through extensive research. Software such as 'focusme' or 'cold turkey' were made but they can be developed on (anyone every heard of these software platforms btw?) Would appreciate feedback.
I quit porn like 3 years ago cold turkey and I also use cold turkey. See what I did there? Try this idea who knows. But why does it always have to be an app? Young people are so narrow minded these days! (Back in my days....) Why not coordinate something like group therapy sessions with small subscription fees where people talk about their addiction?
 

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@Khalid

Porn addiction does not exist, however, compulsive use of pornography is real and, as with most compulsive behaviors, is often a sign of untreated depression.

personally, I think the idea of calling porn "addictive" is more harmful than good, but that's just me.

BUT, since you're asking from a BUSINESS perspective... I would say look at what no brain on porn or whatever his name is has done . . . personally, I think his content is total pseudoscience, and his techniques for “helping” guys are morally ambiguous at best, but he made a buck or two off of it iirc

or, you can look at what rashida jones did, and make a documentary (plus a spinoff series) that demonizes porn and laugh your way to the bank . . . just a couple places to start

personally these are too immoral for me.

best,
 

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@Khalid

Porn addiction does not exist, however, compulsive use of pornography is real and, as with most compulsive behaviors, is often a sign of untreated depression.

personally, I think the idea of calling porn "addictive" is more harmful than good, but that's just me.

BUT, since you're asking from a BUSINESS perspective... I would say look at what no brain on porn or whatever his name is has done . . . personally, I think his content is total pseudoscience, and his techniques for “helping” guys are morally ambiguous at best, but he made a buck or two off of it iirc

or, you can look at what rashida jones did, and make a documentary (plus a spinoff series) that demonizes porn and laugh your way to the bank . . . just a couple places to start

personally these are too immoral for me.

best,
Porn is not immoral , but it is addictive, like so many other habits that create a dopamine hit. These can include caffeine, mindless scrolling on insta and Tik ToK, binge eating etc. Quiting porn and dialing down on fapping can really help you fix problems in your sexuality, the way you envision sex, and human interaction in general.
 
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simply_ravishing

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Porn is not immoral
agreed

but it is addictive
disagree

like so many other habits that create a dopamine hit
so, we have a definitional issue here.

addiction is where you’re physically or psychologically dependent on a thing; compulsion is where you really, really badly want to do a thing. . . easiest way to draw the distinction is urge vs. need; they’re different, even if they might look the same

These can include caffeine, mindless scrolling on insta and Tik ToK, binge eating etc.
these all fall under compulsive behaviors, not addictions

Quiting porn and dialing down on fapping can really help you fix problems in your sexuality, the way you envision sex, and human interaction in general.
proof? lol just saying, most folks who are watching porn are watching porn are watching to get aroused or because they're aroused, which is natural and fine... most folks who watch porn ARE fine as a matter of fact, just a loud minority demonize it

ps. porn is entertainment, not a how-to guide . . . we don't watch movies in other fields and view them as how-to's, or use them as guides for the areas of your life covered in the film... lol, i didn't watch castaway and befriend a F*ckin volleyball for christs sake XD

not tryin to go at ya too hard or anything, just trying to clear things up so people don't thinks they're wrong or bad for watching porn – it’s fine and natural.

best,
 

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The dopamine thing is a very simplistic explanation of what is really going on there. There is not only dopamine, but many neurotransmitters that do that job, and dopamine is not a drug.

I am also not an expert on neurobiochemistry, so let us leave things like "dopamine hit" etc. on the side. We just know jacks*** about the exact biochemical mechanisms behind this type of behavior.

@Khalid

Porn addiction does not exist, however, compulsive use of pornography is real and, as with most compulsive behaviors, is often a sign of untreated depression.

This.

And connection is the cure for compulsive / addictive behavior. (connection with your spouse / sex partners, or with your occupation, whatever)

Porn stops itself when you actually connect people sexually.

The key word here is "connect".

If you are getting what you want from your spouse / partner, a loving relationship, why would you want to go check porn? The need would eliminate itself.

The argument "because porn is much more stimulating" is a very superficial one. That way, we would all be heroine addicts because normal stimuli would have been much less stimulating than injecting heroine in our veins.
 

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I've been slated and borderline ridiculed by people around me and on reddit for this idea I've been pitching. Maybe I'm naive, but I see how many people out there complain about their struggles with porn addiction, I see various videos on TikTok and think pieces on Twitter about how serious of an issue and how common of an issue it is. It seems like there isn't a solution readily available which means its lunch (a problem waiting to be solved). Some people don't have the discipline to be able to go 'cold turkey' and simply find themselves relapsing. So I've been asking around and pitching the idea of possibly developing a permanent website blocker to combat against porn addiction as well as productivity problems. Its ironic because there is software out there that does this but I only found out about it through extensive research. Software such as 'focusme' or 'cold turkey' were made but they can be developed on (anyone every heard of these software platforms btw?) Would appreciate feedback.

I've used blockers like focusme to keep me off Facebook/Twitter/Youtube et.al, I'll list the pros and cons I personally found.

Pros:

It works, you set the blocker to give you a minimum time on the site and when you hit that time the site is blocked for the rest of the day.

The blocker does help with the addiction side, because you simply can't get the fix and unlike drugs there is no physical dependency, so you simply get on with something else.

Fairly easy to set up.

Cons:

Updates to the browser and/or Operating System can often screw the blocker up. (I uninstalled the last one after it started blocking random sites and wouldn't allow me to remove them or create a whitelist).

You generally can't (in my experience) set the time on the site to zero, the shortest is 1 minute. Whilst that is not much, it still opens your mind to the thing you're trying to avoid. (Though lately I got round this by opening the site and walking away from the computer for a minute.)

There were some times I legitimately needed to use the blocked sites, like for instance I might want to research a particular information or tutorial video on Youtube, or just stick some music on a loop whilst working. In both those circumstances I would have to disable the blocker and wait 24 hours.

Would they work for porn sites?

I don't see why not, however in their current guise, it would be pretty difficult to do, simply because you have to manually input the sites you don't want to go on. With social media it's easy, you just pop in the one, two, three or four sites you don't want to go to and boom, you're done.

However with porn, there is no one site, if you block Youporn there's XHamster, if you block that there's something else, and on and on and on and on. I'm sure even if an addict blocked their fifty favourite sites, a simple google search would enable them to find a new one.

So unless you can code a blocker that can perhaps target the meta data, that way you can just put up a bunch of keywords and the site will be blocked. However this could lead to the last con I listed above, whereby you end up blocking sites you need for your work.

Is there a market for such a tool?

Hell yeah, porn addiction is a thing and I'm sure it ranks higher among self-employed people who work from home. This means that many people will be looking for a solution, whether it's the blocker or not, is another question.
 
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