Porn Addiction Statistics

 

Porn Addiction: A REAL Problem

In 2019, One study found that 11% men and 3% women admitted to being addicted to pornography. 

Porn addiction is a serious problem. Statistics on self-reported porn use and addiction, as well as rates of porn use and addiction by demographics and other factors, highlight the need for treatment.

Learn more about the statistics of porn in the U.S.

How many people are addicted to porn in the U.S.

Addiction to porn Since (a behavioral disorder) is not considered a legitimate medical condition by the general public, most reports of a porn addiction are made by individuals.

The study published in the Journal of Behavioral AddictionsIt was shown that 7% of U.S. adults who use the internet to access porn have reported a pornography dependency.

The study was done on a group consisting of 2,075 individuals based on their usage of porn over the course of their lives.

Porn Addiction in the U.S. and Other Nations

The number of people in the study who strongly agreed with the statement: “I’m addicted to pornography” is comparable to that of other nations.

In Australia for example 3% of men, and 1% women strongly agree that they have a porn habit — the same rate as in the U.S.

One study in the UK found that one fifth of teens watch porn and some even report addiction to it.

The problem is not necessarily porn addiction, but rather the use of porn.

As all addictions demonstrate, compulsive behaviours can lead to an addiction. Porn addiction can develop over time if you continue to use porn as a habit. 

PornHub has released its annual Year-in-Review Statement. The top countries where porn is viewed were:

1. The United States
2. The Philippines
3. France
4. Mexico
5. The United Kingdom
6. Japan
7. Germany
8. Italy
9. Canada
10. Brazil
11. Spain
12. Poland
13. Australia
14. Ukraine
15. The Netherlands
16. Argentina
17. Colombia
18. Egypt
19. Chile
20. Sweden

In 2023, the top 20 countries accounted for more than 78% all porn viewing.

Online Porn Rates by State

Porn viewing rates are also measured for each state. They range from the most time spent on pornography, to the least amount of time.

The top states where porn viewing time was spent for long periods in 2023 was:

• Maryland: 11 minutes, 31 seconds per average visit
• Rhode Island 11 minutes, 11 seconds per average visit
• New Jersey 11 minutes, 09 seconds per average visit
• North Carolina 11 minutes, 07 seconds per average visit
• Delaware: 11 minutes, 05 seconds per average visit
• Alabama: 11 minutes, 04 seconds per average visit
• Tennessee: 10 minutes, 57 seconds per average visit
• Minnesota: 10 minutes, 56 seconds per average visit
• Missouri: 10 minutes, 56 seconds per average visit
• South Carolina 10 minutes, 52 seconds per average visit

Statistics on Pornography

Pornography is widely used in the U.S.

Studies on other behavioral addictions have shown that continued engagement in addictive behaviors can lead to addiction.

Here are some statistics about pornography usage and behavior.

• Online Use: Around 69% of American males and 40% of American females view online porn every year.
• Viewing behaviorPornhub has reported that it received more than 2 billion visitors in a month in 2023.
• Beliefs on porn: In a recent study, 14% of Americans said they believe porn is wrong. 51% disagreed.
• Illicit porn use: 84% of American adult believe that the use of child pornography should be considered illegal and morally wrong.

Porn Addiction Statistics by Demographic

Look at porn use behaviors Understanding the risks of porn addiction, compulsive porn usage and the issues that can result from it is easier when you look at specific groups.

Gender and Porn

Porn addiction and use rates are markedly different between men in the U.S.

Males report higher rates than females of porn addiction, and use of pornography in all categories.

• Porn Addiction: 11% men, 3% women
• Porn use (viewing online: 69 % of men, 40 % of women.
• Porn downloadsMen are 20% more likely than women to download porn.
• Porn viewing behaviour In response to the statement “I have put off things I needed to do in order to view pornography”, 1% of women and 3% men agreed.

Sexual Orientation & Porn Use

Both heterosexual men and men who self-identify as homosexual or bisexual use porn heavily.

Self-reported problematic porn usage rates are also high among men of sexual minorities. While pornography can have positive effects, such as helping gay and bisexual men to learn about themselves, it also has negative effects on men of sexual minorities.

Men in sexual minorities, for example, may suffer from negative body images or mental health problems linked to their porn usage.

In one study, Culture, Health & SexualitySexual minority men who increased the rate of porn usage over time experienced negative effects on their expectations and ideals during sex.

Age and Porn use

The U.S. is home to the largest number of porn consumers. Between the ages 18 and 34.

Porn usage rates by age group

• 57% of young adults between 18 and 25 years old use pornography monthly or more often
• 29% of adults 25 and older use porno monthly or more often

Research also shows that children who are inappropriately exposed to porn are exposed at a very young age — Average age is between 9-13 years old.

In a recent study, 93% of teenage boys and 62% teen girls reported having been exposed to online porn. 

Men who participated in a study published in the Journal of Behavioral Addictions reported that exposure to pornography on the internet early in life affected their later use of pornography.

Race and Porn

Porn usage rates can vary between races, but they affect people of all races and ethnicities.

One study using data on pornography watching rates from 1973 to 2016 found that:

• Black Americans were more inclined to view pornography than White Americans.
• Black men are more likely to watch porn than any combination of gender/race.
• The rate of porn consumption by white women has increased over time, similar to the rate of porn consumption by black men.

The original studies that collected these data considered factors such as race, gender and sexuality.

Economic Factors and Porn Usage

In almost all studies conducted on the use of porn, economic factors such as income are included as contributing factors.

In the existing studies, income does not seem to be a direct correlate to pornography usage.

This is what I mean There is no correlation between higher rates of porn consumption and income levels. The factors that affect the rate of porn usage are instead gender, early exposure to porn, and overexposure to it.

What factors affect the rate of porn addiction?

Pornography is addictive by nature. Some studies have shown that pornography can stimulate the brain in a similar way to addictive substances.

When a person abuses drugs or alcoholThey can, for example form an addiction due to the way these substances affect the brain’s pleasure and reward system. These effects can lead to a person wanting to continue using drugs or drinking alcohol.

Other words, pornography can be addictive. This means that those who watch it often may be at a higher risk of compulsive usage and, in some cases, porn addiction.

Other factors that can affect the growing rate of porno-addiction include:

• Porno is easily accessible In the U.S., most people have access to the internet in some form — and 98% of porn use in 2021 was via online porn, with 69% viewed on cell phones.
• Porn addiction is self reported: Porn is not widely recognized as a legitimate medical condition. Most porn addictions are self-reported.
• Personal factors influence porn addiction reporting In one study, people who viewed pornography as morally incorrect self-reported a higher rate of addiction than those who didn’t. In addition, those who declared that religion was important to themselves or who identified as religious self-reported higher addiction rates than those who didn’t.
• The porn industry can be lucrative. Porn subscriptions costing $10 or more per month are available online. The internet porn industry has a current value of more than $1 billion. (As of 2023). Most porn websites offer a certain amount for free. This can keep users coming back.

Stats on Access to Pornography and the U.S.

How accessible is the pornographic industry in the United States? About 4,000,000 websites feature pornographic material. This number is based on About 12% all websites on internet.

As of January 2024 95% of U.S. citizens have access the Internet. This means that anyone can access pornography anytime.

This includes accidental exposure to porn. Pornography is accidentally exposed by a number of ways, such as:

• Spam text messages or emails
• Pop-up ads
• Not knowing that a website is pornographic
• Receiving a website link for a pornographic site without consent

Statistics on Porn Usage by Type

Porn is primarily consumed in the U.S. via online videos, photos and apps.

In 2019, a study showed that the majority of porn viewing takes place on computers. 73%. In comparison, 62% of all porn use happens on cell phones & smartphones.

PornHub stated in its report that their website alone receives over 42 billion visits annually.

Porn Industry Statistics

The pornography industry is not only huge and looming; it’s also on the rise. A study which examined 40 years’ worth of pornography among participants found Porn consumption has increased over time.

Here is a look at how the U.S.’s use of pornography has changed over the last few years:

• 1973-1980 cohortIn the study, 45% of men aged 18-26 had viewed pornography
• 1999-2012 cohortSixty-one percent of men aged 18-26 who participated in the study had viewed pornography

This increase in porn consumption may be linked to internet invention and growth.

In addition to that, From 2018 to 2023, the revenue of the porn business increased by 12.6% each year. This change is due to several factors including inflation and increased costs, but also to an increase in pornography usage.

Another change in the porn industry has increased both the number of people who use porn and those who create porn. Porn on social media platforms Like OnlyFans.

That is, on many social media platforms which allow pornographic content, the creators keep most of their revenue from the content — providing them an incentive to keep creating porn.

Twitter and Snapchat allow explicit content. By 2021, the top online pornographers could earn up to $6 million a year.

Statistics on Sexual Trafficking & Child Pornography

Even though 84% of Americans in a study said that child pornography should be condemned, there were 69.425 child pornography offenders reported in the U.S. during 2018.

In 99.1% of the cases, the defendants were found guilty.

Here is the breakdown of child pornography cases for that year:

• Child pornography is used by 1,414 people.
• 3% of those who committed child pornography were male
• 5% of child pornographers had no previous criminal record
• The average age for offenders is 41 years.
• Whites made up 3% of all child porn offenders, while Hispanics (9.5%), Blacks (4.2%), and Other (3.0%), made up the rest.

Sadly, Child pornography and child sex exploitation are often linked. Some porn websites have had allegations brought against them in civil lawsuits regarding their connection to violent porn, sex trafficking, and child porn — including PornHub and MindGeek.

The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol is confronted with hundreds of unaccompanied minors every day. These minors are prime targets for drug cartels who commit sex crimes such as child pornography or child sex traficking.

Social media is also used by predators to find children victims. Social media platforms can be used to find up to 55% U.S. sex victims aged 7 to 11 years old. The predators then use the same platforms to distribute, promote and sell the child pornography that they create.

Statistics on Perceptions about Porn Use

The U.S. public tends to agree on what constitutes pornographic content: sexually explicit material, sexual intercourse, and full nudity.

People have mixed feelings regarding How they perceive porn. In one study, participants were asked about their ethnicity. If porn was bad, it would be a social problem37% of older adults were in agreement, but only 14% of younger adults.

These rates also differ based on whether the participants are male or woman. In the same study, 39% of women believed that porn is ‘very bad’; 21% of men agreed.

Statistics on Other Effects Of Porn Use

Porn addiction and use can negatively impact a person’s sexual satisfaction.

A study that assessed men on their sex life satisfaction asked one group of men if they were satisfied with their sex life — 41% responded that they were satisfied. The same question was asked to another group, but only 26% of them reported satisfaction.

The only difference is? The only difference is that the first group did not watch porn the day before whereas the second group did.

Other Potential adverse effects of increased porn use include:

• Teen girls who watch TV are at increased risk of pregnancy
• Sexual objectification and attitudes towards it are on the rise
• Reinforce the tendency to be violent in sex
• Introduced/reinforced themes of male domination and female submission, with or without female enjoyment
• Relationship issues
• Self-loathing and isolation
• Sexual libido issues and sexual health
• Impact on mental health

Find Resources for Porn Addiction Today

Porn usage is on the rise in the U.S., and worldwide. Research shows that porn can have a variety of negative effects.

Porn addiction might not be a medical condition widely accepted. Compulsive porn can affect your sexual health, relationships, self-worth, and mental well-being.

Don’t delay in seeking help if you or someone you love is struggling with a porn addiction. Porn addiction therapy can be done in person or online. Support groups, such as Porn Addicts Anonymous have local chapters across the country.