Over 100 quick stats and findings from an ever-growing body of research that details the effects of porn for individuals, relationships, and society.
While not all porn features physical violence, even non-violent porn has been shown to be associated with negative effects like increased sexual aggression
While most porn consumers are generally unconcerned about the potential mistreatment of porn performers, about 70% of porn consumers who do learn about mistreatment in the porn industry take some form of action to combat it, including changing their porn habits.
Studies consistently show that porn is linked to lower relationship satisfaction and lower relationship quality.
44.6% of underage sex trafficking victims experienced childhood sexual abuse before entry into the commercial sex industry.
According to one survey of nonconsensual pornography victims, 51% reported having suicidal thoughts due to the image-based abuse, and 93% reported experiencing severe emotional distress.
Research shows that people who consume porn tend to later experience lower relationship satisfaction.
Despite porn’s promise of improving consumers’ sex lives, research shows that consuming porn is associated with decreased sexual satisfaction.
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.
A 2016 meta-analysis of 22 studies from seven countries found that internationally, the consumption of pornography was significantly associated with increases in sexual aggression, both verbally and physically among males and females alike.
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.
Qualitative research with current and former porn performers suggests that sexual exploitation and trafficking are common experiences in the porn industry.
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