Over 100 quick stats and findings from an ever-growing body of research that details the effects of porn for individuals, relationships, and society.
Increased pornography consumption is linked to men’s enjoyment of degrading, uncommon, or aggressive sexual behaviors.
Porn consumption is linked to poorer 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.
Research indicates that young people often feel pressured to imitate porn when having sex.
According to a 2021 study, only 5.94% of porn-consuming respondents said that they watched porn because of a "lack of sexual satisfaction." In other words, the vast majority of porn consumers are watching porn for reasons other than their partner not being "enough."
Studies consistently show that porn is linked to lower relationship satisfaction and lower relationship quality.
One study that kept track of couples over time found that consuming porn was the second strongest predictor that a relationship would suffer.
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.
Porn consumers tend to be more accepting of cheating.
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.
A study of women in relationships with men who consume porn found that the frequency of the man’s porn consumption was negatively correlated with the woman’s sense of self-esteem, level of relationship quality, and sexual satisfaction.
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.
©Fight the New Drug, Inc. 2025, All rights Reserved. Fight the New Drug is a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit. EIN: 26-3550143
Fight the New Drug, PO Box 522378, Salt Lake City, UT 84152 | Fight the New Drug is a part of the PHASE Alliance™.