He need not be concerned about his questions or actions
Dear Beth:
I have a few questions that I'm too embarrassed to ask others. What is the average number of times a teenage guy masturbates in a year? I never started to masturbate until I was 15, and I'm going to be 17 in five months. I usually masturbate at least once a day and sometimes more than once. Is it normal to do daily? What is the average number of times a teen does this in a year ? A m I worrying too much about what I've done?
PLEASE LET ME KNOW
You're totally normal! It is completely OK to masturbate one time or even more than that a day. I'm not sure how accurate surveys are but most say 98 percent of men masturbate at some time in their lives and teens masturbate the most -- daily and sometimes two to three times a day. But like all aspects of human behavior, everyone is different, including the number of times they masturbate.
I'm sad you're suffering these concerns alone and hope you're not feeling pressured to stop. If you can't talk with your father or mother, talk to an understanding adult or consider bringing it up to a friend .
Masturbation like you describe will not harm you. Masturbation can be a problem if you feel obsessed by it -- you have to do it and it is keeping you from developing a social life or is interfering with your commitments such as school work, jobs, household duties, etc. If you're not doing some of these things because you want to masturbate all the time then I suggest you make yourself wait until bedtime. Otherwise, don't worry, and stop counting.
Doctors and public health professionals agree that masturbation, when conducted in private, is completely normal and healthy.
Masturbation is also the best way to get to know your body's sexual responses.
``Changing Bodies, Changing Lives: A Book for Teens on Sex and Relationships," edited by Ruth Bell (Random House, 1998) has good, easy-to-understand information about this.
Beth can be reached at askbeth@globe.com.
Send letters to Ask Beth, The Boston Globe, PO Box 55819, Boston MA 02205-5819. Questions can be answered only through this column. Ask Beth is a registered trademark of Globe Newspaper Co.
