25 Porn Addiction Statistics for 2025
Pornography addiction can harm mental health, relationships, and daily life. While the DSM-5 doesn’t officially recognize it, research links problematic use to cravings, anxiety, depression, erectile dysfunction, and disruptions in real-life intimacy.
Continuing education courses can help clinicians, counselors, and other mental health professionals spot harmful patterns, use interventions like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and support clients with strategies tailored to the unique challenges and consequences of this behavior.
We’ve compiled 25 pornography addiction statistics that provide insights into its prevalence and the serious risks it presents—including psychological, physical, and relational damage.
Key Porn Addiction Statistics
1. In America, up to 11% of men and 3% of women are addicted to pornography (source)
While there’s no formal medical standard for diagnosing pornography addiction, surveys show that 11% of men and 3% of women believe they are addicted, with 3% of men and 1% of women strongly agreeing.
A similar Australian study found nearly identical rates—3% of men and 1% of women. Meanwhile, roughly 20% of UK students habitually access pornography and about 1 in 10 say they are addicted. This suggests the trend is consistent internationally.
2. Between 3.2% and 16.6% of the global population is at risk of pornography addiction (source)
The International Sex Survey, spanning 42 countries across five continents, found that between 3.2% and 16.6% of people meet criteria for Problematic Pornography Use (PPU), a diagnosis classified under Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder.
- Men are more likely than women to experience PPU.
- Of those affected, only 4% to 10% have sought treatment.
- 21% to 37% wanted help but didn’t pursue it—often due to cost or other barriers.
3. Among U.S. adults 18-35, about 87% of men and 28.5% of women view porn at least once a week (source)
These figures include all pornography use, not necessarily use that would indicate signs of porn addiction or PPU.
4. On average, boys are exposed to porn by age 10 and girls by age 13 (source)
Research shows strong correlations between exposure to pornography and earlier, more varied sexual activities among adolescents. This includes increased numbers of sexual partners, use of alcohol or drugs during sexual experiences, and other behaviors related to negative sexual and mental health effects. For example, sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned pregnancies.
However, 70% of males and 40% of females have viewed porn before age 18, and about half of teens have seen porn online by age 15.
5. In a single month in 2023, Pornhub had 2.14 billion visits (source)
Total monthly traffic for the adult entertainment website was more than Netflix, Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest combined.
While Pornhub leads in site traffic, it’s only part of a $97 billion industry that generates $4.6 billion each year from advertising alone.
6. About 4% of websites are pornographic — drawing 13% of web searches and 20% of mobile searches (source)
Across the internet, fewer than 1 in 20 websites contain pornography. However, 13% of web searches are seeking adult content — and that rate increases to 1 in 5 for mobile searches.
Porn Addiction Statistics – Who’s Seeking It?
7. Young American males are twice as likely to use porn than females — but older males are 4 times as likely (source)
Among Americans aged 13–24, 67% of males report using porn compared to 33% of females. After age 25, usage declines for both genders—47% of men and just 12% of women—making men in this older group nearly four times more likely to use porn than women.
8. Roughly 40 million Americans visit porn sites regularly (source)
About 60% of Americans who view pornography do so at least several times a week. Meanwhile, the share of Americans who access porn daily has reached 15%.
9. Up to 52% of Americans age 13 and older view porn at least once a month — but nearly half never look for it (source)
Here’s a breakdown of self-reported frequency of porn use among American teens and adults:
- Daily: 6% to 12%
- Weekly: 14% to 21%
- Once or twice a month: 13% to 19%
- Less often: 18% to 32%
- Never seek out porn: 49%
- Have never viewed porn: 17%
10. About 38% of people who visited Pornhub in 2024 were women (source)
This is an increase from 36% in 2023 and 24% in 2015—a 58% growth over a decade. In the United States, 71% of visitors were male and 29% were female. In the Philippines (59%) and Argentina (51%), more site traffic comes from women than men.
11. Older people are less likely to watch porn — but the average Pornhub visitor is 38 years old (source)
Ages 18–24 (27%) and 25–34 (24%) dominate, together making up over half of traffic. Older age groups decline progressively, with only 7% of visitors age 65 and older.
Regional trends vary: Egypt skews youngest (50% aged 18–24), while Spain skews oldest (65% over 45). Argentina has the largest 65+ share at 22%.
Porn Addiction Statistics – Moral Attitudes
12. People who disapprove of porn are more likely to say they’re addicted — regardless of their consumption habits (source)
Research suggests people who see porn as morally wrong are more likely to feel addicted, potentially due to a factor called moral incongruence. This in turn increases sexual shame and, ultimately, depression. This chain of effects is influenced by whether they blame others for their behavior, as externalizing blame can both intensify and reduce these negative links.
13. Moral attitudes toward porn are more permissive among younger Americans (source)
Over half (54%) of U.S. adults 25 and older say watching porn is wrong, but only 32% of those aged 13–24 agree. Even so, some younger Americans do express disapproval—10% of teens and 5% of young adults say they’ve voiced negative views about porn to their peers.
14. About 54% of practicing Christians report using porn compared to 68% of the overall population (source)
Practicing Christians are less likely to report porn use than the general population. However, 3 in 4 Christian men and 40% of Christian women say they have consumed pornography of some kind.
Porn Addiction Statistics – Risks and Negative Impacts
15. In a study of nursing students, over 1 in 3 showed signs of porn addiction — with 5.6% classified as addicts (source)
In a recent study of nursing students, participants were an average age of 20.7, 63% were female, and 92.9% were single. Nearly 61% said they believed porn harmed them, and they cited boredom as the top reason for viewing porn.
Pornography addiction scores:
- 63.3% in the normal range
- 15.5% showing concern
- 15.7% needing treatment
- 5.6% classified as addicted
Hours spent online and viewing porn:
- Nearly 16 hours per day online
- 55.5% watch porn less than 1 hour/week
- 2.7% watch porn more than 5 hours/week
16. The study linked porn addiction to 43% of differences in personality scores — and nearly 17% of mental distress (source)
The survey of nursing students revealed impacts of porn on personality and mental health, including these red flags:
- 36.8% had “extremely severe” anxiety
- 16.7% had “extremely severe” depression
- Nearly 1 in 5 students had severe or extremely severe stress
- Overall distress scores were high at 48.47
Higher porn addiction was linked to lower sociability, cooperation, and self-discipline, along with greater emotional instability.
Heavy viewers (more than 5 hours/week) scored lowest in personality traits and highest in distress.
These findings suggest that while not all students are struggling, a substantial portion face both psychological and emotional challenges tied to their porn consumption habits.
17. Compulsive porn use can damage mental health and interpersonal relationships (source)
About 35% of people feel guilty after watching pornography, and 45% of people who watch porn say it has damaged real-life relationships.
Additionally:
- 1 in 3 young adults with a daily porn habit feel “down, depressed, or hopeless.”
- 1 in 5 people who consume adult content do it during work hours, risking professional consequences.
- Of people who attempt to quit watching porn, 55% do it out of concern for their mental health.
This diagram shows some of the ways that prolonged exposure to pornography can affect the brain:
18. Solo pornography use among married people nearly doubles the probability of divorce (source)
In one study, the rate of divorce increased from 6% to 11% when participants started watching porn after marriage. For women, the rate increased even more — from 6% to 16%.
19. About 45% of porn-addicted men under 35 have erectile dysfunction (source)
The more porn participants watched, the more likely they were to have erectile dysfunction (ED). Among men under 35, 30% of those watching more than 300 minutes of pornography per week had erectile dysfunction (ED), compared to 10% watching less than 30 minutes.
In ages 35–45, the rate rose to 40%. The average porn viewing time was 69 minutes per week, and 5% watched more than 300 minutes per week.
Over half of survey participants who experienced ED during partnered sex had no problem with porn, suggesting desensitization. This is despite the fact that 65% of participants found partnered sex more exciting than watching porn.
Further, 20% of men under 35 said they need increasingly extreme porn to get aroused—those men also watched more and had higher addiction scores.
20. Physical and verbal aggression, sadism, and racism are rampant in popular porn videos (source)
Porn addiction can expose users to the normalization of sexualized violence. A French study of videos on popular porn sites like on sites like Pornhub, XVideos, Xnxx, and XHamster revealed:
- 88% of the 50 most viewed videos depicted physical aggression.
- 48% of 50 most viewed videos displayed acts of verbal aggression.
- 90% of these videos contained real physical, sexual, or verbal violence against women, making them punishable by French law.
- 1.4 million videos contained sadistic or sexist/sexual violence
- 1.5 million included racist categories.
Researchers reported 35 videos to authorities, but none of the reports were acted upon.
21. 98% of deepfakes are pornographic — and normalize non-consensual sexual content (source)
In 2023, nearly all (98%) of the 95,820 deepfake videos online were sexual in nature, with women making up most of the victims. Deepfakes are hyper-realistic but fake images, videos, audio, or text, and they have spread rapidly since they emerged in 2017.
Sexually explicit deepfakes are considered a form of image-based sexual abuse and AI-facilitated harassment, causing emotional trauma and reputational damage.
Porn Addiction Statistics – How Do They Watch It?
22. Pornhub had 928 million unique monthly visitors in 2024 — making it the leading domain for porn online (source)
Ranked second was adult site Xvideos with nearly 613 million monthly visitors. However, use of different browsers and devices can obscure the number of unique individuals visiting the site.
23. America generates nearly 3 times more Pornhub traffic than any other country (source)
Following the U.S., France and the Philippines nearly tied in 2024—reversing their order from the previous year. Mexico and the U.K. held steady in fourth and fifth place, while Germany rose to sixth and Brazil to seventh. Peru entered the top 20 for the first time, jumping five spots.
Here are the top 20 countries by traffic in 2024:
- United States
- France
- Philippines
- Mexico
- United Kingdom
- Germany
- Brazil
- Italy
- Japan
- Canada
- Spain
- Poland
- Netherlands
- Argentina
- Ukraine
- Colombia
- Australia
- Egypt
- Chile
- Peru
Collectively, these countries account for 79.2% of daily visits.
24. Globally, porn viewing sessions are getting shorter — but in America they’re getting longer (source)
The average visit time on Pornhub dropped 29 seconds to 9:40 in 2024. However, the average visit in the U.S. increased 46 seconds to 10:37.
- In the U.S., Alaskans spent the longest time watching porn at 11:04, followed by Connecticut and Wisconsin at 10:46.
- Louisiana logged the shortest visits at 9:18.
- Washington saw the biggest time increase (+66 seconds), while Rhode Island dropped the most (–64 seconds).
- Worldwide, 18–24-year-olds spent 76 seconds less than average during each session, while visitors 65+ stayed 83 seconds longer.
- Mexico and the Netherlands both spend longer on the website than America, at 11:01 and 10:51 per visit, respectively.
- At the low end, Poland averaged 8:35, with Peru (8:39) and Brazil (8:45) close behind.
- Women stayed 17 seconds longer than men.
25. Phones are the most commonly used device for watching porn (source)
According to data from Pornhub, phones account for 90.5% of traffic to the website. Meanwhile, 7.6% of traffic comes from desktop computers and 1.6% comes from tablets.
However, the share of traffic from phones decreased 1% in 2024, while traffic from desktop increased 11% and traffic from tablets increased 8%.
Porn Addiction Statistics – FAQs
Here are answers to frequently asked questions related to the porn addiction statistics we’ve discussed. Clinicians, counselors, and other mental health professionals can find additional guidance through online continuing education courses.
Is porn addiction bad?
Porn addiction can be harmful—linked to anxiety, mood disorders, relationship instability, and negative effects on sexual health, intimacy, and self-esteem. While not officially classified as a mental health disorder, its consequences are comparable to other behavioral addictions.
What are the negative effects of porn addiction?
It can lead to depression, isolation, erectile dysfunction, relationship breakdown, distorted sexual expectations, and reduced well-being—eroding real-life sexual activity, intimacy, and self-esteem.
What are the causes of porn addiction?
Factors include accessibility of pornographic material, early exposure, moral incongruence, loneliness, stress, and brain reward pathways similar to substance abuse. Shame and pre-existing mental health issues often fuel compulsive use.
How can I help someone with a porn addiction?
Encourage seeking clinicians skilled in compulsive behaviors, attending support groups (e.g., Sex Addicts Anonymous), or therapy focused on underlying issues. Addiction treatment approaches—CBT, relationship counseling, and psychoeducation—can aid recovery.
How long does it take to recover from porn addiction?
Recovery timelines vary; problematic behavior must typically persist and cause distress over at least six months to be considered a disorder. Recovery may require months or years of therapy, support, and behavior change
Do I have a porn addiction?
If your porn habits are compulsive, interfere with daily life, cause distress, and you’re unable to cut back despite consequences—especially with cravings or neglect of real relationships—you may have problematic pornography use. Professional evaluation by mental health or sexual health clinicians can help clarify.
What These Porn Addiction Statistics Reveal
The latest porn addiction statistics highlight troubling patterns in pornography consumption and its wide-ranging effects:
- Internet pornography is consumed by millions daily, cutting across all demographics, with men watching more than women in most regions.
- Heavy use of pornography, especially online porn, is linked to negative consequences such as relationship strain, reduced sex life satisfaction, and mental health challenges.
- The porn industry fuels constant access to pornographic content, normalizing harmful behaviors and increasing the risk of compulsive sexual behavior and sexual addiction.
- Early exposure often shapes sexual attitudes, sometimes leading to addictive behavior and escalated masturbation habits.
- Affected individuals — or a loved one — may experience guilt, secrecy, and difficulty stopping use despite harm.
These trends suggest that the effects of pornography addiction extend far beyond the screen, underscoring the need for awareness, prevention, and support for those struggling.
How eCare Behavioral Health Institute Can Help
Understanding the realities behind these porn addiction statistics is essential for providing informed, compassionate care. At eCare Behavioral Health Institute, we offer CEU-approved courses covering breaking free from pornography addiction, compulsive and addictive sexual behavior, sex addiction recovery, and treating porn-related problems in therapy.
Learn evidence-based strategies for assessment and treatment — all through expert-led, on-demand or live webinars. Whether you’re a counselor, psychologist, clinician, or social worker, these online continuing education courses help you stay current with the latest research and best practices in the field.
