Pornography Use Among Young Adults in the United States

Pornography, defined as “Sexually explicit media that are primarily intended to sexually arouse the audience,” exists in many forms across the internet including pictures, videos, audio, written materials, video games, and social media posts. A majority of the US population has intentionally viewed pornography before, with an even larger majority of US young adults viewing pornography regularly.

Prevalence and Public Opinion

Pornography exists on 12% of all websites and is viewed by approximately 69% of American men and 40% of American women in any given year. Furthermore, support and public opinion for pornography have increased among young adults in the last several decades.

The Lucrative Pornography Industry

One reason for the creation and circulation of pornography is the lucrative nature of the industry—in 2023 the Adult & Pornographic Websites industry in the United States was on track to match the revenue of the NCAA at $1.15 billion. The pornography industry generates massive amounts of revenue, which continually fuel the creation and advertising of new pornography.

Negative Consequences and Health Risks

Despite the widespread use of and support for pornography, viewing sexually explicit media can have many negative consequences. Research confirms the negative consequences, and organizations are emerging to combat what has been deemed as the “porndemic.”

  • Pornography use has been shown to correlate with decreased sex-life satisfaction, lack of positive self-image, and increased chances of divorce.
  • Research also shows that both pornography viewers and pornography actors are likely to experience emotional health consequences.
  • Using pornography correlates with increased desire for rough or violent sex.
  • Two of the reasons people consume pornography so frequently are because the content has addictive properties and because it is widely marketed on the internet and therefore easily accessed.

Impact on Adult Film Performers

Adult film performers face a range of challenging issues including mental and emotional well-being (such as depression, eating disorders, and even suicide), financial struggles, physical and sexual health risks (including STDs and body modifications), strained relationships, and the distressing reality of systematic support for sexual abuse and rape.

Key Terminology

To better understand the complexities of this issue, the following definitions are provided:

  • Addiction: “Compulsive, chronic, physiological or psychological need for a habit-forming substance, behavior, or activity having harmful physical, psychological, or social effects and typically causing well-defined symptoms."
  • Sexually explicit: “Sexually explicit means a pictorial depiction of actual or simulated sexual acts including [but not limited to] sexual intercourse, oral sex, or masturbation.”
  • Incentive Salience: A theory about brain function suggesting that “it is possible to ‘want’ what is not expected to be liked, nor remembered to be liked, as well as what is not actually liked when obtained.”
  • Amateur Porn Stars: “Non-professionals performing with little pay, or actors for whom this material is not their only paid modeling work.”

While there are many resources available to combat pornography use, the main practice to decrease pornography is to publicize its negative consequences and alert people to the risks they assume when they view sexually explicit content.