Over 100 quick stats and findings from an ever-growing body of research that details the effects of porn for individuals, relationships, and society.
A 2026 study found that across 11 countries, 1.2 million children reported having had their images manipulated into sexually explicit deepfakes through AI tools in the past year.
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.
Of the adolescents who had been exposed to porn, 28% were first exposed by accident, 19% were unexpectedly shown pornography by someone else, and only 19% searched for it intentionally, according to research by the NSPCC.
Researchers have found that representations of step-relationships in porn titles were actually less common than depictions of blood relationships, with the majority of incest-themed titles describing sexual activity between immediate family members.
According to a nationally representative survey of U.S. teens, 84.4% of 14 to 18-year-old males and 57% of 14 to 18-year-old females have viewed pornography.
Nearly 1 in 5 sexually active 16- to 17-year-olds said they had either asked or been asked to incorporate acts from porn into their sexual experiences, according to a 2020 report from the UK.
1 in 3 underage teens report having seen nonconsensually shared nudes of other minors —which is legally considered “child pornography”.
According to a 2020 report, approximately 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 10 boys aged 13-17 report sharing their own nudes, despite the fact that those images are legally considered “child pornography”.
One study shows that approximately 45% of teens who consumed porn did so in part to learn about sex.
According to an analysis of over 130,000 porn titles, “teen” is the most common word used in porn titles.
Teenagers feel that they are frequently encountering online pornography without intending to view it and describe these encounters as unwanted, uncomfortable and unavoidable.
Research suggests that pornography can make young people more sexually illiterate —in other words, it’s actively spreading harmful misinformation about sex.
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