Over 100 quick stats and findings from an ever-growing body of research that details the effects of porn for individuals, relationships, and society.
Research suggests that porn can influence women to be more submissive in sexual encounters.
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.
One study that kept track of couples over time found that consuming porn was the second strongest predictor that a relationship would suffer.
Porn consumption is linked to increased loneliness.
Women whose partners consume porn tend to experience more psychological distress, feel more objectified, have poorer body image, and are even more likely to develop eating disorder symptoms.
Porn consumption is linked to poorer relationship quality.
A study of women in relationships with men who consume porn found that the frequency of the man’s porn consumption was negatively correlated with the woman’s sense of self-esteem, level of relationship quality, and sexual satisfaction.
Research consistently shows that porn consumers are twice as likely to later experience a divorce or breakup —even after controlling for marital happiness, sexual satisfaction, and other relevant factors.
Research has found that those who enjoy extreme porn tend to prefer porn to real-life sex as a way to achieve sexual arousal.
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.
One study shows that approximately 45% of teens who consumed porn did so in part to learn about sex.
Research shows that even individuals who are accepting of pornography tend to experience psychological distress when their own partners consume pornography.
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