So I guess what I mean is visual de-sensitization, as opposed to physical. For me, it's been six months since I've had sex, and I've noticed that for a few of the pics I used to masturbate to, aren't enough anymore. I've definitely heard my fair share of arguments for and against porn and it gets a bit confusing. I'll say another thing - this whole idea of feeling more confident if you don't fap, I simply don't buy... or at least it doesn't work for me.

Of course there's the argument that it's not possible to become desensitised to it, in the same way one can't become desensitised to music or food. And even if one does become desensitised, you could argue that one could always go a couple of weeks without masturbation or watching porn, and then you'd once again be very sensitive to anything remotely aestethically appealing. But I'm concerned that mightn't be true.

Anyway at least there's the touch and warmth of physical contact that goes with sex - and that, one can't have become desensitised to it from watching porn.

Some people may even laugh at the idea of even fapping to images when porn is easily available. But pictures work quite well if you've a good imagination - and I figure you're not going to become mentally numb to sex by merely looking at a few pictures. It's all a first world problem I know, but share any thoughts you have.

there's never a proper reason (at any given point in time) to not fap

How long did you go without fapping?
You do feel an increase in confidence, but that's mostly a result of higher sex drive. If you know the only way you're having sex is with a woman, then you'll be more inclined to go talk to one. And you'll likely be more present in the moment and enthusiastic about it than you would knowing that if it doesn't work out you can just go home and rub one out.
Doesn't happen overnight though. Best I got to was 87 days. Started feeling different after 3-4 weeks.
You can and do get desensitised to both food and music. There's a reason you don't constantly listen to the same song every day, or to songs you used to like when you were younger.
Same goes for food. Try eating the same type of pizza every day for one week. Or, if you're into bodybuilding you should already hate the mere fucking thought of chicken breast alone, nevermind actually eating it.

However the main problem with it is porn is how unrealistic it is. The standards are absurd, the lighting is always perfect, the makeup is always there, and every angle is meant to be as flattering as possible. That's the point of it in the first place.
And yes you can give it up for a certain amount of time and potentially recalibrate yourself, but do you think people do that?
They don't. They watch it habitually. And so they get used to it. And when they do, their desire, and consequently performance in real life sex, with real women, will be severely undercut.

That may be true, but the mental aspect of sex is far stronger than the physical one. And the first is the one porn will fuck up for you.
On a neurological scale, the negative impact of porn has to do with dopamine/endorphin release. These are so called "happy hormones", or the brain's reward system. A drug addict's brain for example, after extended use, will have rewired it's response to the substance of addiction. Or in other words, it becomes desensitised. The levels of happy hormones it will release from normal releasing activities (think intense workout for example) will be decreased in general, and the levels released from using the substance of addiction also decrease, yet not as much. Which is why you will see people upping their doses more and more.

The dose equivalent for porn would be diversity. You are literally a mouse click away from being exposed to more naked women than say your grandfather would have been in hundreds if not thousands of lifetimes. And like I said, 90% of them are perfect angles, perfect lighting, perfect makeup and perfect editing.

So yeah, pics may not be on the same level as video, but it's not much of a difference either.
And no, porn is not as bad as meth, but then again meth users aren't doing it since they were 11.
Think of it like this.
One guy feels horny, so he faps. He's no longer horny. And he does it again, and again, day after day.
Second guy is horny. He has no partner. However he promised himself he's not fapping anymore. What does he do? He invests the same sex drive towards finding one, since that's the only option. So he either goes out, attends a party or swipes on tinder.

Now picture 4 months down the line. The first guy is most likely still jerking off to pixels. The second will either have had multiple short term partners, or has long term partners. And even if he doesn't, his new lifestyle will inevitably lead to it.
So that's a pretty good reason.

stop jerking off. You'll thank yourself. It's not hard. Just do something else to occupy your time until the urge passes.

I mean, once I "reboot" aren't I allowed to watch it occasionally?

If you quit smoking will you still smoke occasionally? And if you do - how long until it becomes daily?

I smoke maybe one or two cigs every three or four months. Seriously I find it silly to suggest you can't develop some willpower to do something in moderation just because it's an enemy of new age self improvement...stuff.

I'll give you a reason not to.... your dick will be bigger and harder once you stop squeezing the shit out of it.

A girls pussy doesn't squeeze nearly as hard as you are squeezing yourself with your hand.

Last time I had a long dry spell like that, I made a deal with myself that I could jerk off one time for every time I approached a girl in real life. Do this and you start working towards actually getting laid. It also gives you an immediate sense of reward when you approach a girl, even if the approach doesn't go well.