In my own personal religion, masturbation is not the ideal because it's too easy, an evasion of making the effort to connect with someone else.
But sometimes it's just impossible...to connect with another person. And so you are left to either "self gratification" or "self abuse" depending on how you look at it...
But I think it's better not to give up and keep trying to "not be alone"...it is not good that the man should be alone...
Please understand that I'm really not talking about actual masturbation...I think it depends on your age...when the hormones first hit the urges are just overwhelming...and you usually don't have a chance to have sex that often...and those who say it's bad...they mean well, those urges are supposed to drive you to find a mate and accomplish things in your life, and thereby to learn, not sit in the bathroom with Playboy...but they probably don't remember how it was when they were young...now I wish I had those urges lol...
Same urgency now but not satisfied the same way...now the "urge" is to UNDERSTAND...not find a mate...
For a young person, again "my religion"...it's not bad if you don't overdo it, if you aren't isolated by it... But I'm speaking from a female perspective.