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Internet porn filters are great - whether used for blocking intentional or unintentional attempts to view porn, they mostly are excellent at what they do. However, internet porn filters also have limits, and when your goal is to rid your life of porn, you don't want your main tool to have limits.
Internet porn filters are limited by several factors, with the most common (probably!) being a savvy user. A heavy porn user is going to experience times of intense cravings. During these times of cravings, a porn user that is using internet porn filters as their main tool for quitting will spend time trying to figure out ways around their filter - and with the magic of Google, or plain know-how, users generally can find ways to circumvent their internet porn filter. And that's very unfortunate for someone trying to quit when their brain is under normal control. It's also unfortunate for everyone else whose life is touched by this person - and it's just one more reason why everyone needs to be fully aware that while internet porn filters are useful tools, they shouldn't be the only line of defense.
Internet porn filters also have a penchant for getting in the way, making surfing the web a difficult task. Sometimes, they block content that doesn't really need to be blocked, and other times, they let content through that by all rights should have been blocked. This is extremely frustrating for someone using an internet porn filter, not to mention potentially embarrassing if they have a site blocked while working in a group setting. It's this frustration that limits the effectiveness of internet porn filters. I look at internet porn filters as being similar to telling a child that something is bad for them - perhaps even forbidding them to do or say something. This is a great step toward good parenting, but if you think that that alone will stop kids from doing whatever it is you don't want them to do, well, you're probably not a parent, yet!
Just because something has been made off limits to a child doesn't mean the child isn't going to partake.
Children love to test boundaries, and someone that is a heavy porn user isn't any different when their porn-seeking brain kicks in. A porn user might know that certain sites are off limits, but given the right circumstances, they will push those limits and test their filters to the max, often to the point of beating the filter and losing any ground they had previously gained toward quitting pornography. Now, just because internet porn filters have limits, that doesn't mean they aren't useful. The same as setting rules and boundaries for children serves a good purpose, so does using an internet porn filter. But, don't expect that to be your only line of defense.
Accountability software does what filters can't.
Accountability puts the user back in control of their browsing experience with a partner will hold them accountable for sites they visit. This is akin to the government setting laws for citizens to abide by, then making clear that there will be consequences for breaking those laws, and finally sending out police to enforce those laws. The citizens still have the freedom of choice, but they know there are people watching what they do, and there will be someone to which they have to answer if they chose to break the law.
If youre serious about quitting and you've been relying on internet porn filters to keep you clean, understand that you've not made a mistake, but understand that you simply can't rely on the filter alone. Accountability software will run in the background allowing you the freedom to browse, while still recording everything you do so that someone who loves you can hold you accountable. In this connection with another human being is where you'll find strength, honesty, and a desire to win. It's where you'll find the power to succeed.
