Over 100 quick stats and findings from an ever-growing body of research that details the effects of porn for individuals, relationships, and society.
Nearly 1 in 5 sexually active 16- to 17-year-olds said they had either asked or been asked to incorporate acts from porn into their sexual experiences, according to a 2020 report from the UK.
Porn consumers tend to be less committed to their partners.
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.
In more committed relationships, only 46% of women accurately reported how much their partner consumed porn with nearly 40% of men reporting more consumption than their partners believed was occurring, according to a 2017 study.
In comparison to couples who never viewed porn, a 2011 study found that those who watched porn alone reported twice the rate of cheating, and individuals who viewed porn alone and with their partners reported three times the rate of cheating.
Over half of 11 to 16-year-old boys (53%) and over a third of 11 to 16-year-old girls (39%) reported believing that pornography was a realistic depiction of sex, according to a 2016 report.
Studies consistently show that porn is linked to lower relationship satisfaction and lower relationship quality.
Research has found that those who enjoy extreme porn tend to prefer porn to real-life sex as a way to achieve sexual arousal.
In a study of casually dating adults, zero women reported that their partner consumed pornography daily or every other day. But in reality, 43% of casually dating men in the study reported this level of heavy porn consumption.
Research has shown that those who don’t consume porn report higher relationship quality—on every measure— than those who viewed pornography alone.
Even quitting porn for a short time can lessen its negative effects and have positive effects on consumers' lives and relationships.
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