ABSTRACT
The compulsive use of internet pornography is a new phenomenon. The sense of the individual in a vulnerable, powerless position is in keeping with much of the literature on compulsive users of internet pornography, which emphasizes a behavioural addiction to a potent, almost irresistible, sexual "drug". In psychoanalytic terms, use of internet pornography may be so compelling and addictive for some individuals because it allows the simultaneous enactment of manic defences, narcissistic difficulties in engagement, and regressive sexual fantasies. Online sexual activity potentially feeds manic defences and omnipotence. From a psychoanalytic point of view, those very qualities of the internet that bestow a potential for empowerment also bestow a potential for manic excitement. Much of the literature on internet usage and internet pornography is characterized by three phenomena: first, a sense of awe and excitement, second, novel research methodologies, and third, the use of new language and terminology. The internet invites surveys using self-report questionnaires by self-selected subjects.
