Fast Facts - Fight the New Drug

(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

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

Porn consumers tend to be less committed to their partners.

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

(Fritz, Malic, Paul, & Zhou, 2021; Zhou & Paul, 2016)

Research shows that mainstream porn featuring people of color often promotes racism by focusing on degrading stereotypes.

Citations

Fritz, N., Malic, V., Paul, B., & Zhou, Y. (2021). Worse than objects: The depiction of Black women and men and their sexual relationship in pornography. Gender Issues, 38(1), 100-120. doi:10.1007/s12147-020-09255-2
Zhou, Y., & Paul, B. (2016). Lotus blossom or dragon lady: A content analysis of “Asian women” online pornography. Sexuality & Culture, 20(4), 1083-1100. doi:10.1007/s12119-016-9375-9

Fast Fact #87

(Koletić, 2017)

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

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

(Skorska, Hodson, & Hoffarth, 2018; Zhou, Liu, Yan, & Paul, 2021)

Research shows that people who consume porn frequently are more likely to objectify and dehumanize others.

Citations

Skorska, M.N., Hodson, G., & Hoffarth, M.R. (2018). Experimental effects of degrading versus erotic pornography exposure in men on reactions toward women (objectification, sexism, discrimination). The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 27, 261 – 276.
Zhou, Y., Liu, T., Yan, Y., & Paul, B. (2021). Pornography use, two forms of dehumanization, and sexual aggression: Attitudes vs. behaviors. J.Sex Marital Ther., 1-20. doi:10.1080/0092623X.2021.1923598

How Porn Can Promote Sexual Violence

Fast Fact #75

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

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

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

(Levin, Lillis, & Hayes, 2012)

Research routinely shows that consuming porn is connected to poorer mental health.

Citations

Levin, M. E., Lillis, J., & Hayes, S. C. (2012). When is online pornography viewing problematic among college males? Examining the moderating role of experiential avoidance. 19(3), 168-180. doi:10.1080/10720162.2012.657150

How Porn Can Impact Mental Health and Fuel Loneliness

Fast Fact #9

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

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

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

(Donevan, 2021)

Qualitative research with current and former porn performers suggests that sexual exploitation and trafficking are common experiences in the porn industry.

Citations

Donevan, M. (2021). “In this industry, you're no longer human”: An exploratory study of women’s experiences in pornography production in Sweden. Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence. 6(3) doi:10.23860/dignity.2021.06.03.01

Fast Fact #84

(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

(Fritz, Malic, Paul, & Zhou, 2021)

A 2021 study analyzed videos from popular porn sites and found that porn featuring Black people tends to perpetuate harmful racist stereotypes, disproportionately emphasize violence and aggression, and often depicts Black people as “worse than objects.”

Citations

Fritz, N., Malic, V., Paul, B., & Zhou, Y. (2021). Worse than objects: The depiction of Black women and men and their sexual relationship in pornography. Gender Issues, 38(1), 100-120. doi:10.1007/s12147-020-09255-2

Fast Fact #90

(Tylka, 2015; Owens, Behun, Manning, & Reid, 2012)

Porn consumption is associated with poorer body image.

Citations

Tylka, T. L. (2015). No harm in looking, right? Men’s pornography consumption, body image, and well-being. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 16(1), 97–107. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035774
Owens, E. W., Behun, R. J., Manning, J. C., & Reid, R. C. (2012). The impact of internet pornography on adolescents: A review of the research.19(1-2), 99-122. doi:10.1080/10720162.2012.660431

How Porn Can Impact Mental Health and Fuel Loneliness

Fast Fact #20

(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

(Internet Watch Foundation, 2021)

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.

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

(Thorn, 2020)

1 in 3 underage teens report having seen nonconsensually shared nudes of other minors —which is legally considered “child pornography”.

Citations

Thorn. (2020). Thorn research: Understanding sexually explicit images, self-produced by children. Retrieved from https://www.thorn.org/blog/thorn-research-understanding-sexually-explicit-images-self-produced-by-children/

Fast Fact #72

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