Fast Facts - Fight the New Drug

(Sniewski, Farvid, & Carter, 2018)

Research has found that therapy is an effective way to treat problematic pornography consumption.

Citations

Sniewski, L., Farvid, P., & Carter, P. (2018). The assessment and treatment of adult heterosexual men with self-perceived problematic pornography use: A review. Addictive behaviors, 77, 217–224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2017.10.010

Fast Fact #14

(Martellozzo, Monaghan, Adler, Davidson, Leyva, & Horvath, 2016)

Over half of 11 to 16-year-old boys (53%) and over a third of 11 to 16-year-old girls (39%) reported believing that pornography was a realistic depiction of sex, according to a 2016 report.

Citations

Martellozzo, E., Monaghan, A., Adler, J.R., Davidson, J., Leyva, R., & Horvath, M.A.H. (2016). 'I wasn’t sure it was normal to watch it'. A quantitative and qualitative examination of the impact of online pornography on the values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of children and young people. London: Middlesex University. NSPCC. Retrieved from https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/media/1187/mdx-nspcc-occ-pornography-report.pdf

How Porn Can Distort Consumers’ Understanding Of Healthy Sex

Fast Fact #56

(International Labour Organization, 2017)

Of the approximately 24.9 million trafficking victims globally, an estimated 4.8 million—about 19%—are trafficked for sex, and more than 1 in 5 sex trafficking victims—an estimated 21%—are children, according to the International Labour Office.

Citations

International Labour Organization. (2017). Global estimates of modern slavery: Forced labour and forced marriage. Geneva: Retrieved from https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@dgreports/@dcomm/documents/publication/wcms_575479.pdf

How Porn Can Fuel Sex Trafficking

Fast Fact #69

(Wright & Tokunaga, 2016; Seabrook, Ward, & Giaccardi, 2019)

Studies show that people who consume porn frequently are more likely to support sexual violence.

Citations

Wright, P. J., & Tokunaga, R. S. (2016). Men's Objectifying Media Consumption, Objectification of Women, and Attitudes Supportive of Violence Against Women. Archives of sexual behavior, 45(4), 955–964. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-015-0644-8
Seabrook, R. C., Ward, L. M., & Giaccardi, S. (2019). Less than human? Media use, objectification of women, and men’s acceptance of sexual aggression. Psychology of Violence, 9(5), 536–545. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000198

How Porn Can Promote Sexual Violence

Fast Fact #79

(Sun, Wright, & Steffen, 2017)

Research suggests that porn can influence women to be more submissive in sexual encounters.

Citations

Sun, C. F., Wright, P., & Steffen, N. (2017). German Heterosexual Women’s Pornography Consumption and Sexual Behavior. Sexualization, Media, & Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/2374623817698113

Fast Fact #45

(Walker, Makin, & Morczek, 2016)

Research shows that “teen” is one of the most consistently popular porn themes, and that this theme is 1) becoming increasingly popular, and 2) includes the portrayal of underage characters.

Citations

Walker, A., Makin, D. A., & Morczek, A. L. (2016). Finding Lolita: A comparative analysis of interest in youth-oriented pornography. Sexuality & Culture: An Interdisciplinary Quarterly, 20(3), 657–683. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-016-9355-0

Fast Fact #96

(Perry, 2017)

One study that kept track of couples over time found that consuming porn was the second strongest predictor that a relationship would suffer.

Citations

Perry S. L. (2017). Does Viewing Pornography Reduce Marital Quality Over Time? Evidence from Longitudinal Data. Archives of sexual behavior, 46(2), 549–559. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-016-0770-y

How Porn Can Negatively Impact Love And Intimacy

Fast Fact #53

(Hald, Malamuth, & Lange, 2013; Seabrook, Ward, & Giaccardi, 2019)

Research indicates that porn can fuel sexist attitudes in porn consumers.

Citations

Hald, G. M., Malamuth, N. N., & Lange, T. (2013). Pornography and sexist attitudes among heterosexuals. Journal of Communication, 63(4), 638-660. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/jcom.12037
Seabrook, R. C., Ward, L. M., & Giaccardi, S. (2019). Less than human? Media use, objectification of women, and men’s acceptance of sexual aggression. Psychology of Violence, 9(5), 536–545. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000198

How Porn Can Promote Sexual Violence

Fast Fact #92

(Perry, 2018; Perry & Davis, 2017; Perry & Schleifer, 2018)

Research consistently shows that porn consumers are twice as likely to later experience a divorce or breakup —even after controlling for marital happiness, sexual satisfaction, and other relevant factors.

Citations

Perry, S. L. (2018). Pornography use and marital separation: Evidence from two-wave panel data. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 47(6), 1869-1880. doi:10.1007/s10508-017-1080-8
Perry, S. L., & Davis, J. T. (2017). Are pornography users more likely to experience a romantic breakup? Evidence from longitudinal data. Sexuality & Culture, 21(4), 1157-1176. doi:10.1007/s12119-017-9444-8
Perry, S. L., & Schleifer, C. (2018). Till porn do us part? A longitudinal examination of pornography use and divorce. 55(3), 284-296. doi:10.1080/00224499.2017.1317709

How Porn Can Negatively Impact Love And Intimacy

Fast Fact #34

(Butler, Pereyra, Draper, Leonhardt, & Skinner, 2018)

Porn consumption is linked to increased loneliness.

Citations

Butler, M. H., Pereyra, S. A., Draper, T. W., Leonhardt, N. D., & Skinner, K. B. (2018). Pornography Use and Loneliness: A Bidirectional Recursive Model and Pilot Investigation. Journal of sex & marital therapy, 44(2), 127–137. https://doi.org/10.1080/0092623X.2017.1321601

How Porn Can Impact Mental Health and Fuel Loneliness

Fast Fact #33

(Malcolm & Naufal, 2016)

According to a 2016 study, people who view porn regularly are less likely to get married than those who do not. Researchers suggest this may be because consumers see porn as a substitute for sexual gratification in a relationship.

Citations

Malcolm, M., & Naufal, G. (2016). Are pornography and marriage substitutes for young men? Eastern Economic Journal, 42(3), 317-334. doi:10.1057/eej.2015.7

Fast Fact #38

(Martellozzo, Monaghan, Adler, Davidson, Leyva, & Horvath, 2016)

A UK survey found that 44% of males aged 11–16 who consumed pornography reported that online pornography gave them ideas about the type of sex they wanted to try.

Citations

Martellozzo, E., Monaghan, A., Adler, J.R., Davidson, J., Leyva, R., & Horvath, M.A.H. (2016). 'I wasn’t sure it was normal to watch it'. A quantitative and qualitative examination of the impact of online pornography on the values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of children and young people. London: Middlesex University. NSPCC. Retrieved from https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/media/1187/mdx-nspcc-occ-pornography-report.pdf

How Porn Can Distort Consumers’ Understanding Of Healthy Sex

Fast Fact #66

(Bőthe, Tóth-Király, Bella, Potenza, Demetrovics, & Orosz, 2021)

According to a 2021 study, only 5.94% of porn-consuming respondents said that they watched porn because of a "lack of sexual satisfaction." In other words, the vast majority of porn consumers are watching porn for reasons other than their partner not being "enough."

Citations

Bőthe, B., Tóth-Király, I., Bella, N., Potenza, M. N., Demetrovics, Z., & Orosz, G. (2021). Why do people watch pornography? The motivational basis of pornography use. Psychology of addictive behaviors: Journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors, 35(2), 172–186. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000603

How Porn Can Hurt A Consumer’s Partner

Fast Fact #28

(Ezzell, Johnson, Bridges, & Sun, 2020)

Increased pornography consumption is linked to men’s enjoyment of degrading, uncommon, or aggressive sexual behaviors.

Citations

Ezzell, M. B., Johnson, J. A., Bridges, A. J., & Sun, C. F. (2020). I (dis)like it like that: Gender, pornography, and liking sex. J.Sex Marital Ther., 46(5), 460-473. doi:10.1080/0092623X.2020.1758860

How Porn Can Harm Consumers’ Sex Lives

Fast Fact #37

(Wright, Tokunaga, Kraus, & Klann, 2017; Perry, 2020)

Studies consistently show that porn is linked to lower relationship satisfaction and lower relationship quality.

Citations

Wright, P. J., Tokunaga, R. S., Kraus, A., & Klann, E. (2017). Pornography consumption and satisfaction: A meta-analysis. Human Communication Research, 43(3), 315-343. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/hcre.12108
Perry S. L. (2020). Pornography and Relationship Quality: Establishing the Dominant Pattern by Examining Pornography Use and 31 Measures of Relationship Quality in 30 National Surveys. Archives of sexual behavior, 49(4), 1199–1213. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-019-01616-7

How Porn Can Negatively Impact Love And Intimacy

Fast Fact #39

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