Over 100 quick stats and findings from an ever-growing body of research that details the effects of porn for individuals, relationships, and society.
Porn consumption is associated with lower self-esteem.
In a 2016 study, researchers found that 46.9% of respondents reported that, over time, they began watching pornography that had previously disinterested or even disgusted them.
The majority of young people are exposed to porn by the time they’re 13, according to research involving young people in the UK.
Research shows that while feeling guilt can motivate healthy change, feeling shame actually fuels problematic porn habits.
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.
Research assessing the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in treating porn addiction found that “over 95% of clients were able to manage symptoms at the end of the twelve weeks and 78% sustained recovery six months following treatment.”
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.
Desensitization, or a numbed pleasure response, has been shown to happen in cases of pornography consumption.
Research has demonstrated that overcoming a pornography habit is absolutely possible, and that over time, pornography’s negative effects can be managed and largely reversed.
Research routinely shows that consuming porn is connected to poorer mental health.
Some experts have determined four major brain changes common to addicted brains—sensitization, desensitization, hypofrontality, and a malfunctioning stress system— all of which can be found in cases of pornography consumption.
Porn is considered a supernormal stimulus.
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