MSI Press Blog

A just-discovered but out-there-for-a-while book review of   Porn and the Pandemic  by Joshua Shea. "I certainly learned a lot (like porn on Youtube!). The short book format makes a quick read, and I would definitely recommend it." Read the full book review from Mental Health @ Home  HERE . Book description: Porn and the Pandemic examines the early months of the exponential growth of Internet pornography during the time of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. Author Joshua Shea, himself a former pornography addict, traces how segments of the population flocked to only pornography and tells the stories of those whose lives were impacted, including his own. Shea interviews former pornography addicts who succumbed to temptation during quarantine, often after years of sobriety, along with those who managed to "stay on the wagon" learning why addicts either failed or succeeded while stuck at home. Along with an analysis of online porn industry marketing techniques and measu...

excerpt --  Francesca Palazzolo, Researcher, Sydney The Coronavirus pandemic has changed the world we live in. Since city-after-city in country-after-country began to introduce strict social-distancing laws, including stay-at-home directives, most of us have been stuck at home whether we like it or not. One concern attached to this global pandemic is Internet pornography use. Already, prior to the pandemic, the prevalence of Internet porn use was incredibly high. Pornhub, one of the most famous tube sites boasted 42 billion hits in 2019 alone, up from 33.5 billion in 2018. And, in a stroke of publicity genius on March 24, 2020, Pornhub announced it would make its premium offering free for 30 days to help “flatten the curve” of the virus spread. Following this announcement, usage spiked across the world with Italy’s use increasing 61% after the announcement. However, prior to this broadcast, traffic was up anyhow, according to early research on the impact of the COVID-19 pa...

  Excerpt from Porn and the Pandemic  by Joshua Shea My introduction to the world of journalism came as a high school senior in August 1993 when I was hired in the sports department of the Sun Journal in Lewiston, Maine.  With the exception of short breaks here and there, I have exclusively made my living as either a journalist or editor since then. I was never the journalist who dreamed of being dropped into a war zone or into the thick of a presidential race. I saw no reason to go to Fenway Park to cover a Boston Red Sox game. It seemed just as easy to watch the game on television and get the same quotes every other writer did in the post-game news conference. And while armed stand-offs may be exciting to read about or watch in a two-minute news clip, I’ve been to them in real life. It’s mostly sitting behind your car waiting for something exciting to happen. Spoiler: It never does. I found my niche in research. I went to my share of five-alarm fires, and there certainl...

This week's blog post is the next in the series of book back stories and is the story behind Porn and the Pandemic by Joshua Shea. From the publisher -  This is one story whose back story I know. In 2020, as shutdowns began occurring one after the other, I put out a call to MSI Press authors, who had expertise in a wide variety of topics that could provide good advice to people navigating the pandemic on an everyday basis, asking for "small books" that provided just this sort of advice. Twelve authors answered the call, including Joshua Shea, co-author of He's a Porn Addict...Now What? Joshua wanted to reflect on the impact of the pandemic on porn addiction. He researched, observed, and interviewed. The result was quite fascinating and produced the subtitle, "How Three Months in 2020 Changed Everything." Clearly, porn addiction was up, and Joshua's book found a receptive audience. Hopefully, many were helped by it. Paperback copies of this book can be p...

  Porn and the Pandemic. Get it HERE ! Porn and the Pandemic examines the early months of the exponential growth of Internet pornography during the time of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. Author Joshua Shea, himself a former pornography addict, traces how segments of the population flocked to only pornography and tells the stories of those whose lives were impacted, including his own. Shea interviews former pornography addicts who succumbed to temptation during quarantine, often after years of sobriety, along with those who managed to "stay on the wagon" learning why addicts either failed or succeeded while stuck at home. Along with an analysis of online porn industry marketing techniques and measurements of their success during this unique time, Shea examines how the industry reacted to a sudden need for more content, recruiting young adults who found their jobs suddenly gone, into making stay-at-home pornography. Several "cam models" both veteran and rookie, talk...

  The following excerpt comes from Porn and the Pandemic (Joshua Shea). Preface A few words about this project: This book was researched and written between May 5, 2020, and May 21, 2020 during the COVID-19 “Coronavirus” pandemic. Any events of note regarding the pandemic that took place after May 21, 2020, are not reflected in this book. All statistics within the book were accurate at the time of writing and/or publication unless otherwise noted. The challenge with statistics is getting them from an independently audited source. Potential conflicts, where obvious, are noted. Although all of the original quotations or personal profiles were compiled during the research phase of this book, names were changed when requested by participants and some details condensed. All of the participants’ validity has been independently verified. While told in the first person, with several references to my former pornography addiction, the aim of this book is to capture a snapshot of bot...

Released this week: https://msipress.com/book_titles/porn-and-the-pandemic-an-unseen-long-term-effect-of-covid-19/ Porn and the Pandemic: How Three Months in 2020 Changed Everything by Joshua Shea, author of https://msipress.com/book_titles/hes-a-porn-addict-now-what-an-expert-and-a-former-addict-answer-your-questions/ He's a Porn Addict...Now What? Read more posts by and about Joshua Shea and his works HERE .

  Introduction This book is a unique collaboration between a mental health professional, Tony Overbay, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Joshua Shea, a former journalist who spent more than two decades struggling with pornography addiction. Usually, the expert sitting in the chair and the person on the couch getting the help don’t work together on a project outside of the therapist’s office, but we think this is a natural match. (And for those wondering, Josh was never Tony’s client—they met on a podcast.) Tony spends dozens of hours every week working with couples who are at various stages of the therapy process. Many of these couples have struggled with pornography issues. Although you’re probably feeling alone in the world right now, you are not. Tony has dealt with women, men and couples who are going through exactly what you are experiencing. Josh was a pillar of his community when his world came crashing down. A magazine publisher and city councilor, his life...

Yesterday, with the release of Julie Gentile's book, How to Stay Calm in Chaos , we reached release #10 of the books in our pandemic series--experts among our authors who have turned their expertise into providing advice, help, and encouragement with dealing with the fallout of various sorts of trying to cope with and manage life successfully during a pandemic. These books encompass a wide range of topics, all of them very pertinent to what is happening all around us. Which ones could help you? The  Pandemic and Hope , written by former priest and long-term, respected psychologist, Dr. Dennis Ortman. Read more HERE . Tips, Tools, and Anecdoates to Help during a Pandemic , written by San Diego social worker, Joanna Charnas. Read more HERE . God Speaks into Darkness , written by church leader, J Bennett Easterling. Read more HERE . Diary of an RVer during Quarantine, written by RV expert (judge of the RV Oopsies awards), Karry MacDonald. Read more HERE . Old and On Hold , written by ...

  From the co-author, Joshua Shea -- I never planned on writing a book like this when I was a kid. I knew I was going to be a writer, although I was shooting for screenwriter or at least staff writer at Saturday Night Live. But there it was, my first book, under my name, published by a real company. “He’s a Porn Addict… Now What?” wasn’t the humorous, heartfelt fictional tale I thought would make my name in the world. It was both a memoir and self-help book geared toward the partners of pornography addicts, co-written by Tony Overbay, a licensed marriage and family therapist who was one of the first people to invite me onto his podcast to speak about my former addiction and journey into recovery.   For most people suffering with the disease, it’s a secretive, shameful place and you feel utterly alone. And like any other addiction, the people around the addict get sick, too. My first book, a self-published memoir about the depths of my addictive journey, introduced me to the co...