Over 100 quick stats and findings from an ever-growing body of research that details the effects of porn for individuals, relationships, and society.
A 2018 study found that an estimated 1 in 3 young Australians reported being repeatedly exposed to violent depictions of sex in porn within the last year of their lives.
Research suggests that frequent porn consumers are less likely to intervene during a sexual assault.
According to a nationally representative survey of U.S. teens, 84.4% of 14 to 18-year-old males and 57% of 14 to 18-year-old females have viewed pornography.
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.
1 out of every 8 porn titles shown to first-time users on porn home pages describe acts of sexual violence, according to a 2021 study.
A 2021 study analyzed videos from popular porn sites and found that porn featuring Black people tends to perpetuate harmful racist stereotypes, disproportionately emphasize violence and aggression, and often depicts Black people as “worse than objects.”
According to a 2018 study of "child porn" victims, survivors reported that the images of their abuse caused different problems than the sexual abuse itself, including distress over being recognized from the images.
According to one study, 79% of 18-21-year-olds had seen content involving sexual violence as a minor.
Some frequent porn consumers can become so accustomed to the exaggerated forms of sex they see in porn, that they may have a difficult time becoming aroused in real-life sexual encounters unless porn is also present.
If a porn performer is tricked, manipulated, or coerced during the production of porn, that is legally defined as sex trafficking.
Porn consumption is linked to poorer relationship quality.
Qualitative research reveals that young women often feel pressured to play out the “scripts” their male partners had learned from porn —they feel badgered into having sex in uncomfortable positions, faking sexual responses, and consenting to unpleasant or painful acts.
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