Ermmmm, it's a BIT awkward to even post in this thread, but masturbation is proven to do more good for you than bad.
The people that say it is "bad" for you, are those raging assholes that work with the church(notice I say CHURCH, not cinagogue..or however it's spelled). It's literally the work of the CHURCH that leads people to believe that masturbation is bad.
Lets talk about the myths.
Blindness: No...this probably started because you usually start around your teen years...and guess what? Your eyesight also starts screwing up around your teen years(OMG!), so you may have to get glasses, you may not.
Acne: Same thing as blindness..you start getting this in your teen years too.
Infection: It depends on...how you're...stimulating your you know what. General male and female masturbation will not cause more infection, in fact if this were true..this would be an upside. Unless you have some sort of parasite or staphe infection in your room, then your immune system will only get stronger...as I said...IF it were true.
Hairy hands: Well....no. This is just stupid. My palms arent hairy but my hands are. Probably because I dont shave my hands...hmmm...
STD'S!: What does STD stand for? You arent having sex with anyone...not even yourself. Even if most people say having sex with yourself is basically masturbation...it isnt. Unless you're a male with a large spanker and a female counterpart(what the hell kind of plastic surgery did you get!?) then this is IMPOSSIBLE.
Hairloss, fatigue..etc: Hey guess what? As you get older your body cant take as much as it could. Even when you're a teenager your body is only getting weaker by the second. If you actually believed this..you're a victim of a scam.
Not that many people masturbate: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMFG OMFFFFFFFG *take a breath* I cant get over this one. No matter who you ask, and no matter their answer, EVERYONE has done it, or does it. Anyone who says they havent(even your priest) is LYING. It's LITERALLY both physically and psychologically IMPOSSIBLE to control this urge. Not even hobbies can save you from masturbation. It's the human sex drive that has driven our species into prosperous life for the past thousands of years. GET THE HELL OVER IT, YOU ARENT SPECIAL. Well...some people are special..
The previous statement pertains to people over the age of 14.
Now for the things that are being debated.
Masturbation releases endorphins, lowers stress, helps with sex later on, it's personal..and it is healthy and normal for anyone..even children of the age of 3.
The ONLY bad thing about it, is the psychological effect it can have on a small minority of people. Some people practice it abnormally, and some people feel ashamed of doing it.
On the other hand if you DONT do it...you CAN go insane, your stress levels will rise, you're more prone to heart attacks, etc etc.
In short..masturbation is good for you as long as you try to keep it to yourself, or a partner that agrees with you.
I know I made a long post about this, but it pisses me off that the church tries to say it's a bad thing. If god made us this way, why the hell wouldnt he want us to masturbate, have sex, lie, cheat, steal, and be sons of a bitches. OH...RIght....because the people that started the religion never actually thought the world would change THAT much...jesus. Ooo..hey...Jesus..
:evil:
Edit: Just wanted to add..Evilkitten is right. Mostly in MALES, if they dont masturbate, you are more prone to prostate problems. It's a health risk that I would rather not take..why not just take the pleasurable moment and be done with it every two days...or two minutes..whatever floats your boat.
In females the problem is more complicated. Females dont HAVE to masturbate because you wont get cancer, but you're still prone to psychological problems. However, once you have hormones and adrenaline raging through you, you wont really care.