It's really common amongst male teens and young adults; so if you fall into that category- don't feel so weird. As a kid i had the same issue and finding a companion certainly helped but i realized that as long as it didn't interfere with my life (school, work, spending habits, eat and sleep) it wasn't a big deal.

I've had similar issues and I'm worried about the long term effects.

I think addiction can be a strong word. I personally don't believe that pornography is bad, as long as it's in moderation. Like Kelean said, as long as it doesn't interfere with your school, work, or public life in general, you should be fine. And, a lot of people say that porn destroys your imagination. If anything, watching porn and reading erotica has expanded my imagination and allowed me the articulation to start writing my own stories. Masturbation is just as normal and healthy as sex. As long as you do so in moderation.

Mine started at around the same time my depression and most of my mental health issues started showing up after a traumatic experience where one of my trauma responses was being hypersexual (still struggle with it off and on 8ish years later), a 13-14 yr old in an extremely conservative religious environment doesn't have much room for hypersexuality without turning to that kinda stuff...I still read erotica all the time but I feel like that's better than watching porn but that's mainly bc I watched so much of it all the time that it stopped working for me...I think a little here and there is not necessarily a bad thing but when you can say you are addicted to it it then becomes an issue, I'm using erotica novels to kinda transition out of and away from feeling like I need it, of course actually hooking up with someone helps so much more but that's not always available lol

My husband has struggled with this and used covenant eyes, which is a Christian company but is good also just as a practical service. You choose a good friend/romantic partner/whoever and it sends them weekly reports with screenshots of things it flags as pornography. It can be kind of sensitive (like flagging it if you shop for swimsuits) but I think it's mostly been helpful