Pornography Harms.pdf

93% of boys and 62% of girls have seen internet pornography during adolescence.
The median age for first viewing pornography is 13 years for males and 16 years for females.
64% of young people (ages 13-24) actively seek out pornography weekly or more often.
11 popular pornography sites are among the world's top 300 most popular internet sites.
Hardcore pornography users are typically male, but use among younger females is increasing.
The pervasive depiction of softcore and hardcore pornography in popular culture produces problems and significant risks outside the ability of individuals and families to manage on their own.

Public Health Crisis:

Pornography is correlated with a broad array of harms that adversely impact public health, including higher incidence of STIs, increased verbal and physical sexual aggression, acceptance of rape myths, and risky sexual behaviors among adolescents.
The pornography industry has created a public health crisis, similar to the tobacco industry.
There is a need for protection from pornography exposure and awareness of the risks associated with its use.

Research Summary:

Hardcore pornography portrays paraphilic disorders and extreme sex, including depictions of sex with persons who look like children or teens, scenarios portraying incest, and other paraphilic interests.
Pornography teaches users that women enjoy sexual violence and degradation, with a content analysis of 172 videos from PornHub.com showing that 117 videos exhibited "adult" performers and 55 "teenage" performers.
The influence of age (teenage performer vs. adult performer) on aggression and pleasure depicted in popular heterosexual pornographic videos was examined, with results showing that teenage performers were more likely to be depicted as enjoying sexual violence and degradation.