In a sign of how tastes are changing in online erotica, Clips4Sale has crowned “gooning” its fetish of the year, representing a sharp shift from last year’s choice of chastity and part of an ongoing evolution for niche interests on the platform.
What gooning is and why it’s booming online today
Gooning is drawn-out edging while consuming pornographic material, usually as a way of killing immense amounts of free time and energy until one enters a sort of trance-like “goon state.” It’s not your same old casual masturbation; it is the kind where arousal becomes immersive, ritualized, and focused on sensation over speed or destination. Sex educators frequently describe edging as a method of building arousal; gooning takes that concept further, into a dedicated practice and community.
The phrase has gone from fringe message boards to mainstream jargon. Gooning-related search inquiries, as tracked in Google’s public web search interest data, have seen a significant uptick since 2023 and breakout growth in the last year. Some in the industry say the increase reflects a broader trend of “slow content” online, as users seek longer and more immersive experiences, even when it comes to adult entertainment.
Inside the platform’s pick and how creators responded
Clips4Sale’s annual recognition usually includes a mix of sales performance, creator output, and search behavior on its platform. Company representatives say gooning is a custom‑fit concept for the tech-saturated times: creators are outputting lengthy, deeply immersive clips and viewers have reciprocated with endurance viewing. The choice of theme comes after the previous cycle that featured a focus on chastity and giantess in years past, indicating a bit of thematic pendulum swing from control and denial themes to unbridled, immersive pleasure.
Creators have played with formats: long looping scenes for zoning out, ASMR-like audio to retain focus, and instruction-led content designed to organize marathon sessions. Those approaches were in line with a surge in demand, as well as the deluge of new studios targeting the niche, the company said.
Search and sales signals beyond the buzz
Although specific platform-related numbers were not provided, Clips4Sale reported higher-than-average growth for gooning-tagged content and an expanding roster of repeat customers. That case is supported by wider trends: Google Trends were on the rise across several years, and adult creators who post videos through a subscription platform have reported consistent demand for long-form, rhythmically themed scenes.
The company also provided a snapshot of the broader fetish landscape. Giantess (the incumbent honoree) continued to hold the number 1 spot as the most-searched category on its marketplace this year in the United States. Rounding out the top five were wrestling, tickling, vore, and ballbusting — evidence that fantasy inflation, physical play, and shock-value or curiosity-driven practices continue to coexist with more meditative ones like gooning.
Policy setting and social context around adult content
The gooning boom comes as the adult industry is under increasing regulatory scrutiny. A couple of U.S. states have passed age-verification laws that require government ID checks, and politicians in Europe, including in the UK and France, are adopting or pressing platforms to verify users and block minors from entering. Trade groups like the Free Speech Coalition say such measures raise privacy and speech concerns.
Counterintuitively, limitations often create demand for a niche. As trawling the shallows becomes less appealing, superfans head for deeper waters of niche content with more extensive yield. Gooning’s privileging of ritual, duration, and sensory immersion fits that profile — turning an otherwise passive mania into a disciplined quest (community honor and creator revenue can be reliably won) that creators sing triumphant songs about.
Expert views on harm reduction and mindful consumption
Sex therapists say edging can intensify orgasms and yield more arousal control. The same professionals have recommended basic harm-reduction measures: set limits on the time spent viewing, remain attuned to physical comfort and level of excitement, and consider whether use of porn is contributing positively or negatively to functioning and relationships in daily life. Studies that have been distilled and aggregated by groups such as the Kinsey Institute have for many years illustrated a great deal of variability in sexual behavior, with satisfaction more tied to intentionality and consent than to any one act.
As gooning takes center stage, the point isn’t the shock but rather the mechanics of attention in a digitized world. For creators, it’s a signal to create content that holds attention without using the same trick twice. For platforms, it’s a message that community-led rituals have the ability to define entire marketplaces. And for audiences, the trend strikes a chord about one basic truth: in an age of ceaseless distraction, even pleasure is being remastered as an immersive, time-devouring activity.
