Over 100 quick stats and findings from an ever-growing body of research that details the effects of porn for individuals, relationships, and society.
Studies show that frequent porn consumers are more likely to carry out sexual violence in real life.
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.
Longitudinal, qualitative research has found that young people's narratives surrounding anal sex often encourage coercion, pain, and other risky behaviors, and that they often attribute these narratives to pornography, as it can normalize sexual behaviors and attitudes.
Research suggests that frequent porn consumers are more likely to express an intent to rape.
A 2017 poll found that the more porn a man consumes, the more likely he is to be dissatisfied with his penis size. And the same goes for women with male partners— the more porn they consume, the less satisfied they are with their partner’s penis size.
Reports show that those who sexually abuse children often show their victims porn to groom them or normalize sexual abuse.
A 2018 study found that an estimated 1 in 3 young Australians reported being repeatedly exposed to violent depictions of sex in porn within the last year of their lives.
Research shows that mainstream porn featuring people of color often promotes racism by focusing on degrading stereotypes.
Increased pornography consumption is linked to men’s enjoyment of degrading, uncommon, or aggressive sexual behaviors.
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.
Qualitative research reveals that young women often feel pressured to play out the “scripts” their male partners had learned from porn —they feel badgered into having sex in uncomfortable positions, faking sexual responses, and consenting to unpleasant or painful acts.
One study shows that approximately 45% of teens who consumed porn did so in part to learn about sex.
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