A growing number of individuals using online forums are attempting to abstain from pornography (colloquially termed “rebooting”) due to self-perceived pornography-related problems. The present qualitative study explored phenomenological experiences of abstinence among members of an online “rebooting” forum. A total of 104 abstinence journals by male forum members were systematically analyzed using thematic analysis. A total of four themes (with a total of nine subthemes) emerged from the data: (1) abstinence is the solution to pornography-related problems, (2) sometimes abstinence seems impossible, (3) abstinence is achievable with the right resources, and (4) abstinence is rewarding if persisted with. Members’ primary reasons for initiating “rebooting” involved desiring to overcome a perceived addiction to pornography and/or alleviate perceived negative consequences attributed to pornography use, especially sexual difficulties. Successfully achieving and maintaining abstinence was typically experienced to be very challenging due to habitual behavior patterns and/or cravings triggered by a multiplicity of cues for pornography use, but a combination of internal (e.g., cognitive-behavioral strategies) and external (e.g., social support) resources made abstinence attainable for many members. A range of benefits attributed to abstinence by members suggest that abstaining from pornography could potentially be a beneficial intervention for problematic pornography use, although future prospective studies are needed to rule out possible third variable explanations for these perceived effects and to rigorously evaluate abstinence as an intervention. The present findings shed light on what the “rebooting” experience is like from members’ own perspectives and provide insights into abstinence as an approach for addressing problematic pornography use.

由于与色情有关的自觉问题，越来越多的使用在线论坛的人试图戒除色情（俗称“重启”）。本定性研究探讨了在线“重启”论坛成员中禁欲的现象学经验。使用主题分析系统分析了总共104种男性论坛成员的禁欲杂志。数据中总共出现了四个主题（总共有9个子主题）：( 1）禁欲是解决与色情相关的问题的解决方案；（2）禁欲有时似乎是不可能的；（3）使用适当的资源可以实现禁欲； （4）如果坚持下去，节制是有益的。成员发起“重启”的主要原因是希望克服人们对色情制品的沉迷，和/或减轻由于使用色情制品，特别是性困难而引起的负面影响。由于习惯性行为模式和/或渴望通过色情使用的多种线索触发，但内部（例如认知行为策略）和外部（例如社交）的组合触发，成功实现和维持禁欲通常是非常具有挑战性的支持）使许多成员可以节制的资源。成员因禁欲而带来的一系列好处表明，戒除色情内容可能会成为有问题的色情内容使用的有益干预措施，尽管有必要进行未来的前瞻性研究，以排除可能对这些感知影响的第三变量解释，并严格评估禁欲作为一种干预措施。本调查结果阐明了从成员自己的角度来看“重新启动”体验的感受，并提供了禁欲的见解，以此作为解决有问题的色情使用的方法。