Gooning often includes pornography, or even multi-screen porn setups referred to as "goon caves." It can also involve the use of drugs to enhance the experience, including marijuana and "poppers." Gooning overlaps with "bating" and the "bator" community, masturbation enthusiasts, some of whom have chosen masturbation as their key source of sexual pleasure.
The origins of the term gooning are not known, but it first appeared in the Urban Dictionary in 2005.
Because gooning can take up so much time, there is concern about addiction in the gooning community.