Is searching for women to date online considered a relapse? (22 year old male)

Counting a reset is all about self integrity. You know what was motivating you, and only you can tell if what you were doing was searching for porn.

There's nothing to be ashamed in resetting. You don't lose your progress, you learned new information that can help you stay safe in the future.

I'm not personally sure whether or not online dating is helpful or harmful, hopefully someone else can help you there.

 

I guess it's quite close to Psubs or browsing instagram models for example but as long as you aren't fapping it doesn't seem too bad. If you end up dating then I would say that is more than enough to offset any effects on the reboot since it's all about rewiring away from porn to real relationships. So in my view the benefits outweigh the negatives as long as you use it responsibly and with a goal of dating real girls. If it makes you want to look at porn then might be a good idea to stay away until you've recovered a bit more.

 

I agree with TransverseWaves. Sometimes I make an action such as clicking on an attractive looking girls's pic on social media, start to slide in to that 'cruising' mode, recognise it and stop. Usually repeating to myself 'it's the same as porn, you're just appeasing the easy dopamine addiction'. That's not a relapse, it's the healing process. It also helps recognise objectification.

 

Unintentionally seeing provocative photos isn't a relapse; however, intentionally searching for them is considered peeking, and peeking is going to lead to a full-blown relapse at some point.

 

That's path which sets you to relapse when you are disappointed if you are not getting the woman.