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.
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.
Over 46% of young people reported that they saw online porn for the first time when it just “popped up”, and 22% reported that someone else showed it to them when they weren’t expecting it.
According to a UK survey of over 22,000 adult women, 16% reported having been forced or coerced to perform sex acts the other person had seen in porn.
People who use porn as a self-soothing technique tend to have some of the lowest reports of emotional and mental wellbeing according to a 2017 study.
Reports show that those who sexually abuse children often show their victims porn to groom them or normalize sexual abuse.
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.
Research shows that even individuals who are accepting of pornography tend to experience psychological distress when their own partners consume pornography.
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.
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.”
Research has shown that those who don’t consume porn report higher relationship quality—on every measure— than those who viewed pornography alone.
Results of a survey of young adults show that 1 in 4 (24.5%) listed pornography as the most helpful source to learn how to have sex.
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