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Online ejaculation training programs promote non-evidence-based treatment of male sexual dysfunction

International Journal of Impotence Research (2023)Cite this article

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Abstract

Purposefully reducing the frequency of ejaculation, coined “semen retention”, and the similar practice of “NoFap”, have been popularized on social media. They are frequently accompanied by unsubstantiated claims of health benefits. Their increasing popularity has led to the emergence of online courses claiming to teach these techniques. The goal was to characterize the landscape of courses offering ejaculatory training. A systematic Google search was performed using terms related to ejaculation training to identify training programs. Information regarding instructor credentialing, type and duration of courses, costs, and claims of medical benefits were extracted. Eleven ejaculation training courses were identified with 10 instructors (two courses named the same coach). Costs varied from $5 to $147 per week or a $20 to $199 one-time payment. None of the course instructors claimed standardized credentials in the fields of medicine or mental health. Seven instructors (70%) solely cited their own personal experience as their qualifying credentials. Courses claimed to improve erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, porn addiction, sexual performance anxiety, testosterone levels, and/or depression. Ejaculation training programs are costly, readily available online, and provided by instructors with no medical background. Despite no scientific evidence, these courses claim to improve various aspects of men’s health and can be potentially damaging financially, physically, and mentally to participants.

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Data availability

The websites cited are also preserved in pdf form on the Open Science Framework at https://osf.io/t24rk/?view_only=05059071e74e452fa25af766894a664f. The URLs of the websites in Table 3 are not provided in the manuscript, but can be requested by a qualified statistician for the purposes of data verification, consistent with standards of the American Psychological Association, with a data sharing agreement.

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Acknowledgements

The author is indebted to the work of those who conceived of the problem, collected the data, and participated in drafting the manuscript. They have asked not to be named as authors or here, and they support the publication of these data.

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  1. University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Nicole Prause

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The author played a role in interpreting the results, revising the manuscript, and approved the final version of the manuscript. While not involved in the problem conception, initial manuscript draft, or website ratings, the author is responsible for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

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Correspondence to Nicole Prause.

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Competing interests

To meet the journal requirement to assess potential conflicts of interest from contributors, each of the researchers in the acknowledgements reported no conflict of interest and reported their employers and/or associations as accredited universities and medical and psychological practices in the USA. The author is a consultant for Vella Biosciences, Reckitt, and The Dissertation Coach, an instructor for Modern Sex Therapy Institutes, and provides continuing education to mental health clinicians concerning sexual functioning. The author was awarded damages from Andrew Stebbins, the legal counsel of NoFap LLC founder, during revisions of this manuscript for defamation per se and causing the dissemination of her current physical address in violation of her address privacy protections, due to stalking and violent threats, under California civil law 6208.1.

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Prause, N. Online ejaculation training programs promote non-evidence-based treatment of male sexual dysfunction. Int J Impot Res (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41443-023-00780-8

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