Over 100 quick stats and findings from an ever-growing body of research that details the effects of porn for individuals, relationships, and society.
Pornography is the 2nd-most common form of sex trafficking, according to cases reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
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.
Reports show that those who sexually abuse children often show their victims porn to groom them or normalize sexual abuse.
Research has found that therapy is an effective way to treat problematic pornography consumption.
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.”
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”.
Research suggests that pornography can make young people more sexually illiterate —in other words, it’s actively spreading harmful misinformation about sex.
Research suggests that frequent porn consumers are more likely to victim-blame survivors of sexual violence.
Research routinely shows that consuming porn is connected to poorer mental health.
Porn is considered a supernormal stimulus.
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.
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.
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