Fast Facts - Fight the New Drug

Porn is considered a supernormal stimulus.

(Hilton, 2013; Goodwin, Browne, & Rockloff, 2015)

Citations

Hilton D. L., Jr (2013). Pornography addiction – a supranormal stimulus considered in the context of neuroplasticity. Socioaffective neuroscience & psychology, 3, 20767. https://doi.org/10.3402/snp.v3i0.20767
Goodwin, B. C., Browne, M., & Rockloff, M. (2015). Measuring Preference for Supernormal Over Natural Rewards: A Two-Dimensional Anticipatory Pleasure Scale. Evolutionary Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474704915613914

How Porn Can Change The Brain

The majority of young people are exposed to porn by the time they’re 13, according to research involving young people in the UK.

(BBFC, 2020)

Citations

British Board of Film Classification. (2020). Young people, pornography & age-verification. BBFC. Retrieved from https://www.bbfc.co.uk/about-classification/research

Fast Fact #1

Research shows that women are almost always the targets of violence or aggression in porn —about 97% of the time.

(Fritz, Malic, Paul, & Zhou, 2020)

Citations

Fritz, N., Malic, V., Paul, B., & Zhou, Y. (2020). A descriptive analysis of the types, targets, and relative frequency of aggression in mainstream pornography. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 49(8), 3041-3053. doi:10.1007/s10508-020-01773-0

How Porn Can Promote Sexual Violence

Fast Fact #61

83% of active 2020 sex trafficking cases involved online solicitation, which is overwhelmingly the most common tactic traffickers use to solicit sex buyers.

(Feehs & Wheeler, 2021)

Citations

Feehs, K., & Wheeler, A. C. (2021). 2020 Federal Human Trafficking Report. Human Trafficking Institute. Retrieved from https://www.traffickinginstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/2020-Federal-Human-Trafficking-Report-Low-Res.pdf

Fast Fact #104

Problematic porn consumers who are treated using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy show a 92% reduction in porn consumption, and an 86% reduction three months later.

(Crosby & Twohig, 2016)

Citations

Crosby, J. M., & Twohig, M. P. (2016). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Problematic Internet Pornography Use: A Randomized Trial. Behavior therapy, 47(3), 355–366. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2016.02.001

Fast Fact #12

Research shows that people who consume porn tend to later experience lower relationship satisfaction.

(Rasmussen, 2016; Wright, Tokunaga, Kraus, & Klann, 2017)

Citations

Rasmussen, K. (2016). A historical and empirical review of pornography and romantic relationships: Implications for family researchers. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 8(2), 173-191. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12141
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

How Porn Can Negatively Impact Love And Intimacy

Fast Fact #50

Porn consumers tend to be less committed to their partners.

(Lambert, Negash, Stillman, Olmstead, & Fincham, 2012; Rasmussen, 2016)

Citations

Lambert, N. M., Negash, S., Stillman, T. F., Olmstead, S. B., & Fincham, F. D. (2012). A love that doesn’t last: Pornography consumption and weakened commitment to one’s romantic partner. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 31(4), 410-438. doi:10.1521/jscp.2012.31.4.410
Rasmussen, K. (2016). A historical and empirical review of pornography and romantic relationships: Implications for family researchers. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 8(2), 173-191. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12141

How Porn Can Negatively Impact Love And Intimacy

Fast Fact #51

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.

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

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

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.

(Malcolm & Naufal, 2016)

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

One review of 20 studies on the topic found that pornography consumption negatively impacts adolescents’ self-esteem and mental health.

(Koletić, 2017)

Citations

Koletić, G. (2017). Longitudinal associations between the use of sexually explicit material and adolescents’ attitudes and behaviors: A narrative review of studies. Journal of adolescence, 57, 119–133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2017.04.006

How Porn Can Impact Mental Health and Fuel Loneliness

Fast Fact #19

Desensitization, or a numbed pleasure response, has been shown to happen in cases of pornography consumption.

(Banca, Morris, Mitchell, Harrison, Potenza, & Voon, 2016; Kühn & Gallinat, 2014)

Citations

Banca, P., Morris, L. S., Mitchell, S., Harrison, N. A., Potenza, M. N., & Voon, V. (2016). Novelty, conditioning and attentional bias to sexual rewards. Journal of psychiatric research, 72, 91–101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2015.10.017
Kühn, S., & Gallinat, J. (2014). Brain structure and functional connectivity associated with pornography consumption: The brain on porn. JAMA Psychiatry, 71(7), 827-834. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2014.93

How Porn Can Become An Escalating Behavior

Fast Fact #7

The Internet Watch Foundation recently reported that during 2020, approximately 44% of all child sexual abuse material reported to the IWF involved self-generated material. That’s a 16% increase from 2019 when only a third of reports involved self-generated imagery.

(Internet Watch Foundation, 2021)

Citations

Internet Watch Foundation. (2021). The annual report 2020: Self-generated child sexual abuse. Retrieved from https://annualreport2020.iwf.org.uk/trends/international/selfgenerated

How The Porn Industry Profits From Nonconsensual Content And Abuse

Fast Fact #65

Sex trafficking is a commercial sex act that is brought about by force, fraud, or coercion, or where someone under 18 is involved.

(TVPA, 2000)

Citations

Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000, Pub. L. No. 106–386, Section 102(a), 114 Stat. 1464. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-106hr3244enr/pdf/BILLS-106hr3244enr.pdf

How Porn Can Fuel Sex Trafficking

Fast Fact #94

Because of desensitization, many porn consumers find themselves consuming more porn, consuming more often, or consuming more extreme forms of pornography.

(Park, Wilson, Berger, Christman, Reina, Bishop, Klam, & Doan, 2016; Banca, Morris, Mitchell, Harrison, Potenza, & Voon, 2016)

Citations

Park, B. Y., Wilson, G., Berger, J., Christman, M., Reina, B., Bishop, F., Klam, W. P., & Doan, A. P. (2016). Is Internet Pornography Causing Sexual Dysfunctions? A Review with Clinical Reports. Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland), 6(3), 17. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs6030017
Banca, P., Morris, L. S., Mitchell, S., Harrison, N. A., Potenza, M. N., & Voon, V. (2016). Novelty, conditioning and attentional bias to sexual rewards. Journal of psychiatric research, 72, 91–101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2015.10.017