Effects of pornography

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Pornography has been defined as any material in varying forms, including texts, video, photos or audio that is consumed for sexual satisfaction and arousal of an individual or partnership. The effects of pornography on individuals or their intimate relationships have been a subject of research.^[1][2]

Scholars note that much of the research on the effects of pornography often confuses correlation with causation.^[1]

Sexual strategies theory can be strongly linked to pornography consumption and its effects. This theory is originally proposed by psychologists David Michael Buss and David P. Schmitt in 1993.^[3] The theory details how men and women are biologically wired differently when it comes to seeking avenues of sexual and romantic endeavors. It argues that these biological evolutions and differences still exist today when choosing sexual material or even a romantic partner. Some other researchers also backed up Buss and Schmitt's theory, emphasizing how men are more attracted to the physicality of a person, while women are attracted to more of the status of a person.^[4]

In the context of pornography consumption, the sexual strategies theory comes in to play especially for men. Males would consume more pornography to have a visual physicality of certain pornographic actors, which would play into even more frequent consumption of the material.^[3]

Pornography research is greatly influenced by Script Theory. Originally proposed by researcher Silvan Tomkins, Script Theory proposes that behavior is a series of "scripts", or programs in order to achieve a goal.^[5][6] These scripts provide meaning for specific patterns, actions or behaviors that an individual does in certain contexts of achieving that goal. In 1986, Simon and Gagnon applied script theory to sexuality research, asserting that sexual scripts fall under a category of cultural scripts to regulate sexual behaviors.^[6] Modern research has applied this concept to work with pornography, and specifically how pornography may influence sexual scripts and behaviors. Some studies argue that pornography functions as a sexual script, cluing people in to the certain patterns, behaviors and actions mentioned above which would influence their own sexual behaviors in later encounters.^[5][7]

Pornography may alter individuals' expectations regarding sexual activity, which then impacts their ability to form and maintain romantic, or sexual, relationships.^[5][7] Pornography functions as a cultural script, a media through which individuals may pick up on or learn sexual cues. One concern is that, by relying on pornography for education on sexual cues or sexual scripts, individuals may have an altered sense of what sexuality and sexual intercourse truly entail.They might not perform appropriately in their real life sexual relationships, potentially causing misunderstandings or, in a more extreme cases, abusive behavior.^[8][9][7]

Pornography addiction is a purported behavioral addiction characterized by compulsive, repeated use of pornographic material which causes serious consequences to one's physical, mental, social, and/or financial well-being.^[10][11][12] There is no diagnosis of pornography addiction in the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5),^[10] though the DSM-5 considered the diagnosis of hypersexuality-related behavioral disorders (to which porn addiction was a subset), but rejected it because "there is insufficient peer-reviewed evidence to establish the diagnostic criteria and course descriptions needed to identify these behaviors as mental disorders."^[10] Instead, some psychologists suggest that any maladaptive sexual symptoms represent a manifestation of an underlying disorder, such as depression or anxiety which is simply manifesting itself sexually, or, alternatively, there is no underlying disorder and the behavior simply is not maladaptive. It is argued that psychologists do not recognize the concept of addiction, only chemical dependence, and some believe the concept and diagnosis to be stigmatizing and unhelpful.^[13][14]

A 2022 book by McKee, Litsou, Byron, and Ingham casts serious doubts upon the model of "porn addiction", suggesting that sexual shame should be blamed, instead of pornography.^[15]

Two 2016 neurology reviews found evidence of addiction related brain changes in internet pornography users. Psychological effects of these brain changes are described as desensitization to reward (which can be related to cognition), a dysfunctional anxiety response, and impulsiveness.^[16][17] Another 2016 review suggests that internet behaviors, including the use of pornography, be considered potentially addictive, and that problematic use of online pornography be considered an "internet-use disorder".^[18]

Introductory psychology textbook authors Coon, Mitterer and Martini, passingly mentioning NoFap (former pornography users who have since chosen to abstain from the material) speak of pornography as a "supernormal stimulus" but use the model of compulsion rather than addiction.^[19]

A number of studies have found neurological markers of addiction in Internet pornography users,^[20][18][17] which is consistent with a large body of research finding similar markers in other kinds of problematic users.^[18] Yet other studies have found that critical biomarkers of addiction are missing.^[21]

According to the American Society of Addiction Medicine, some psychological and behavioral changes in response to developing addiction include addictive cravings, impulsiveness, weakened executive function, desensitization, and dysphoria.^[22] BOLD fMRI results have shown that individuals diagnosed with compulsive sexual behavior (CSB) show enhanced cue reactivity in brain regions associated traditionally with drug-cue reactivity.^[16][23]

These regions include the amygdala and the ventral striatum.^[16][23] Men without CSB who had a long history of viewing pornography exhibited a less intense response to pornographic images in the left ventral putamen, possibly suggestive of desensitization.^[16] ASAMs position is inconsistent, however, with the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists, who cite lack of strong evidence for such classification, describing ASAM as not informed by "accurate human sexuality knowledge".^[24]

Much of the relevant research we identified on the relationship between consumption of pornography and aspects of healthy sexual development misinterpreted correlation as causality. [...] Much of the research on pornography has been normative; it has assumed that the only healthy form of sexuality is vanilla sex (that is, not kinky) between monogamous couple-based partners for reasons beyond simply pleasure.^[25]

— McKee, Litsou, Byron, and Ingham (2022)

‘Previous research has documented connections between media use and violence against women’ [...] Having read this book, the reader will understand that the actual data do not support such confident claims of a causal relationship (see Stanley et al., 2018, for a more nuanced account of the literature).^[26]

— McKee, Litsou, Byron, and Ingham (2022)

A more extreme case of pornography use could even result in impaired decision making. In some other cases, extreme levels of consumption could result in sexual bias, in which an individual would respond more greatly if there is an active presence of sexual stimuli.^[27]

Neuropsychopharmacological and psychological researches on pornography addiction conducted between 2015 and 2021 have concluded that most studies have been focused entirely or almost exclusively on men in anonymous settings, and the findings are contradicting.^[23]

The International Classification of Diseases, 11th edition (ICD-11) added pornography to Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder (CSBD).^[28] CSBD is not an addiction and should not be conflated with sex addiction.^{[29][30][31][32][33][34][35]}

DSM-5-TR, published in March 2022, does not recognize a diagnosis of porn addiction.^{[29][36][37][38]}

Although there are no significant outward effects on the physicality of an individual, Pornographic consumption can still have an effect on how individuals view their bodies and how they would change certain aspects of their physicality to better mirror those in the pornographic material. This in turn will lead to issues of self-esteem, body dysmorphia and overall body image issues.^[39]

A study of 359 college men found that high viewership of pornography relates to increased masculinity and body dissatisfaction.^[40] Sexual performance changes a man's view of his masculinity, and often his self-esteem. Pornography is not the only factor affecting men's self-esteem and body image. Popular media often depicts strong but lean men as the ideal attractive body type and goal. Pornography is significant to men's self-image. It connects a lean body type to sexual validation.^[40] Men would also make comparisons with the pornographic models due to a level of dissatisfaction. These can include face shape, hair and muscle mass. All of these elements could significantly contribute to men's self esteem levels.^[41] As of 2021, few studies have evaluated how exposure to pornography relates to men's body image. Researchers recommend that others conduct more studies on pornography's effect on men's psychology.

Heterosexual pornography reinforces a concept called the centerfold syndrome. In 1995, psychologist Gary R. Brooks wrote about men and the centerfold syndrome. This concept asserted that gender roles in media contribute to high sexual dysfunction in men.^[42] Sexual dysfunction has many parts. One part is the viewing of women as body parts, trophies, or sexual conquests. These concepts are often known as voyeurism, objectification, and trophyism. Another part is tying female approval of manliness to a man's self-image. The third part of sexual dysfunction includes avoiding intimacy, attachment, and emotions. Heterosexual pornography reinforces this syndrome through observational learning. In other words, the story within pornography becomes the expected reality. Deviations from that story create low self-esteem.

A 2021 study has shown a mediating role of pornography use among women and how it affects the consciousness of body image and attachment insecurities.^[43] Girls who have not experienced a sensitive response to their needs and/or were emotionally deprived under the parent/caretaker childhood environment had a greater chance of developing insecurities about their body image. The use of pornography would more likely amplify attachment fears and anxiety. Such anxiety is strongly connected to females seeking validation and approval of their physicality in intimate settings from their partners and relationships.

The findings did correlate with past research articles which found that "anxious but not avoidant attachment affects body image, the drive for thinness, body dissatisfaction^[44] and body appreciation."^[45] Furthermore, pornography use could also amplify women's body image self-consciousness in an intimate setting. The acts performed in pornographic movies created a feeling of pressure among women, not only creating a higher negative body image but also the feeling of being criticized by their partners if their body was not resembling the body shape of models in pornographic content.^[43]

A 2019 survey of 1083 U.S. adults by Mecham, Lewis-Western and Wood evaluated the relationship between pornography and unethical behavior in the workplace.^[46] Unethical behavior, according to the researchers, consists of delay discounting and dehumanization. Delay discounting involves the idea of waiting with steps that usually involve more process and work versus acting now, taking a faster route and getting instant reward. It is to expect lower rewards in the future versus acting in the moment. The expectation of a high, instant reward for acting now can lead to reduced self-control and increased impulsivity ^[47]

Dehumanization is a form of moral disengagement in which people view others as less than human. According to the study, increased pornography use causes increased dehumanization and unethical behavior.^[46] Regressing women to be looked at as sexual objects is a prime example of dehumanization due to pornography. Dehumanization also relates to sexual objectification. In relation to pornography, Men who are consuming porn that depict sexual objectification and regression towards women, would more likely engage in a few forms of dehumanization of women in real life. These can range from their change of attitude towards women, being more aggressive or the underestimation of women, where one thinks that women are of a lesser status.^[48]

Pathologizing any form of sexual behavior, including pornography use, has the potential to restrict sexual freedom and to stigmatize. Researcher Emily F. Rothman, author of Pornography and Public Health stated that the professional communities are not advocating for the "push" in labelling pornography as a "public health crisis".^[49]

She and another researcher have called these moves a "political stunt".^[50] The ideas supporting the "crisis" have been described as pseudoscientific.^[51]

The sexual effects of pornography on intimacy and relationships observe some of the most gendered differences. Men and women differ vastly in how they are impacted by pornography both within and beyond a romantic or sexual relationship.

The consumption of pornography has been shown to have an impact on sexual risk-taking, including less frequent usage of condoms and birth control, as well as more casual sexual encounters.^[8][52] It can negatively impact sexual functioning, especially in men.^[53] However, pornography can function as an educational resource for individuals to improve their sexual knowledge,^[8][54] and women who consume pornography more regularly experience increased desire for sexual activity, indicating that pornography might be useful as a form of foreplay.^[8][55]

Sexual desire is one of the factors that have an impact on the gender differences the most. In general, men experience the most acute effects from pornography in terms of sexual desire. Straight men report less sexual desire, both for their partner and in general, directly after consuming pornography.^[55] Men also typically utilize pornography for masturbation and solo-sexual activities, rather than partnered or joint purposes.^[56][57][58] Strong associations exist between increased pornography consumption, frequency of pornography consumption, and problematic decreases in sexual desire for men. Men who use pornography more frequently report less desire for their partner, and for sex in general.^[57]

While most modern research on pornography focuses on men, the findings in women hold interesting information on pornography's gendered impact on sexual desire. Women have found a positive correlation between pornography consumption and sexual desire, indicating that women who view pornography feel more positively about expressing their sexual impulses.^[58][59] In addition to increased sexual desire, women may express more sexual attraction specifically for their partner on days when they watch pornography.^[55]

Even though men and women have significant differences in terms of their sexual mood, behavior and overall porn consumption, Their brain activity would prove to be similar to each other. Both gender's brain activity is nearly identical to each other when consuming pornography, suggesting that men and women experience similar arousal effects due to pornographic exposure.^[60] Further, both genders report significant support for female-centric pornography, though men express similar levels of arousal to both "focuses" of pornography. Women meanwhile, report more general negativity towards traditional, male-centric pornography and express stronger support for female-centric pornography. Women also report higher levels of self-reported arousal when exposed to female-centric content.^[7]

In general, pornography consumption in couples has been associated with greater sexual desire.^[54] Although research in the way of same-sex relationships is limited, available findings indicate that pornography use is connected to an increased level of sexual desire. Men partnered with women report less sexual desire in general with increased pornography consumption, whereas women in both mixed-sex or same-sex relationships report greater sexual desire overall. Also, individuals were less likely to consume pornography the day after engaging in sexual intercourse.^[55]

Studies have found no evidence that pornography causes erectile dysfunction, delayed ejaculation or anorgasmia in men, though quality of available evidence is poor.^[59] Recently, the rates of sexual dysfunction have been increasing in younger age demographics.^[59] Medical professionals suspect pornography may be one factor contributing to this increase, however there is little causal evidence of such an effect.^[59][61] Another issue is delayed ejaculation, an issue where men may experience a large disconnected sensation between their orgasm and ejaculation. Some may experience difficulty achieving ejaculation altogether. Overarching research shows little evidence of pornography having any effect on delayed ejaculation.^[59]

In women, there is little evidence for pornography-induced sexual dysfunction. The most commonly observed effect is increased anxiety or distress, which may then lead to issues of overall sexual function. The most commonly reported issue for women is arousal dysfunction, indicating a difficulty in achieving or maintaining arousal during sexual activity.^[59]

Despite the lack of evidence for more physical issues with sexual function, pornography is correlated with lower sexual desire and sexual satisfaction. However, a causal link has not be established. It may be that causation is reversed and lower sexual satisfaction drives pornography use.^[57][59][62]

Numerous studies looking at both individuals and couples have found different, at times contradictory, results. One study found a negative relationship between pornography consumption and sexual satisfaction across two samples of men.^[57] In addition, the frequency of pornography consumption, rather than the type of pornography consumed, is negatively correlated with sexual satisfaction; the type of pornography consumed had no effect on sexual satisfaction.^[57] When considering couples and their pornography consumption, couples with a greater lack of agreement over content choice reported being more sexually dissatisfied than couples who watched pornography together, as well as couples who jointly abstained from pornography altogether.^[54]

Individuals who use pornography alongside masturbation as the primary tool of sexual arousal and satisfaction (or needs) may become conditioned to prefer pornography more than other methods of sexual arousal. Furthermore, a 2017 study by Wright et al. has shown that the "frequency of pornography consumption was also directly related to a relative preference for pornographic rather than partnered sexual excitement."^[63] The individuals in the given study primarily used pornography for masturbation purposes. The preference of consuming pornography over achieving a level of sexual satisfaction with a partner, especially in the case of extracting sexual information from pornography, would lead to lower overall sexual satisfaction. Individuals who seek pornography as the main source of information about sexuality were associated with lower sexual excitement, and as a result would have a significantly lower level of sexual satisfaction with their partners. Gender did not affect the results of such findings.^[63]

However, pornography among some individuals is not only used for sexual satisfaction. A study on affection substitution has shown that "pornography consumption is positively related to affection deprivation, depression, and loneliness and inversely related to experienced affection, relational satisfaction, and closeness."^[64] All presented above variants, except affection deprivation, had a significant correlation based on statistical data. Due to such positive relations, individuals who consume pornography not only use it to satisfy their sexual arousal but also to reduce loneliness and create a coping mechanism against social disconnection. Some of the examples of coping mechanisms may include "creating parasocial relationships with the characters depicted in pornography."^[64]

The use of pornography is extremely varied, especially in the United States. Measured rates such as: general consumption, frequency of consumption, length of time, and type of pornography— would vary by individual. This would further be classified by gender, age, and relationship status, as well as frequency of consumption, which all factor into the overall consumption rates. In general, men consume more pornographic content, and in a more frequent manner, than women.^[56][8][65] A vast majority of men report having consumed pornography, with rates ranging from 50% to 90%, usually plateauing in the upper 80% range. Women, however, report significantly less frequency and more varied consumption of pornography, with 30% and 80% of women saying they have viewed pornography in their lifetime.^[65] This variation reflects differences in nationality and culture in terms of sex positivity and pornography acceptance, as well as the unreliability of self-reporting. Despite the variation and lower reports of pornography consumption for women, female viewership of pornography is steadily increasing. Women tend to prefer less hardcore porn compared to men, and men report consuming pornography in conjunction with masturbation more frequently than women.^[56]

A cross-sectional study on prevalence and patterns in pornography use has detected individuals who mentioned an increased need for more extreme content.^[66] This has been theorized to be caused by the desensitization factor mentioned above.^[67] However, the actual cause comes from aggression as "more extreme pornography material was more frequently reported by males describing themselves as aggressive."^[66][68] On the other hand, females who increased their search for extreme pornographic content came from the curiosity aspect itself rather than a need due to desensitization.^[66]

The research focused on associations of dark personality traits with online activities. They found that some dark traits are closely related to online sexual use.^[69] Specific online activities of the study covered social media, online gaming, online gambling, online shopping and online sex. The results showed that the specific traits of Machiavellianism, spitefulness, sadism, and narcissism were related to different types of internet activities such as online sex, social media use, online gambling, online gaming, and online shopping."^[70]

Individuals' correlation to sexual use to such study variables is Machiavellianism (.32), spitefulness (.31), sadism (.34), narcissism (.24), and psychopathy (.26).^[70]

The association between pornography consumption and sexual aggression is unclear.^[71]

A controlled study describes the relationship between given behaviors or environmental conditions and health effects in a laboratory setting in which conditions other than those under study are effectively held constant across groups of participants receiving various levels of the experimental condition(s).^[72] The findings of the experiments were unable to be generalized outside of the field of the experiments. However, explanations of said studies are still required to prove their importance for understanding the subject matter. This is especially true when it comes to health consequences.

The link between pornography and sexual aggression has been the subject of multiple meta-analyses.^[73] Meta-analyses conducted in the 1990s by Allen et al. suggested to researchers that there might not be an association of any kind between pornography and rape supportive attitudes in non-experimental studies.^[74] However, a meta-analysis by Hald, Malamuth and Yuen (2000) suggests that there is a link between consumption of violent pornography and rape-supportive attitudes in certain populations of men, particularly when moderating variables are taken into consideration.^[73]

A meta-analysis conducted in 2015 found that pornography was associated with sexual aggression in a global scale towards both genders. Verbal aggression were done more frequently than physical aggression, albeit with the same impact. The patterns suggest that violent pornography could be the driving force behind these aggressive actions^[75]

A literature review by Ferguson and Hartley in 2009 argued that it would be wise to let go of the notion that pornography contributes to increased sexual assault behavior.^[76] The authors stated that the experts of some studies tended to highlight positive findings while de-emphasizing null findings. They would then conclude that controlled studies, on balance, were not able to support links between pornography and sexual violence.

Ferguson and Hartley updated their review with a 2020 meta-analysis. This meta-analysis concluded that mainstream pornography could not be linked to sexual violence and was associated with reductions in sexual violence at the societal level. Small correlations were found between violent porn viewing and sexual aggression, but evidence was unable to differentiate whether this was a causal or selection effect (i.e. sexual offenders seeking out violent porn).^[77]

Researcher Emily F. Rothman stated in 2021 that five separate studies have found that the people who commit sexual violence had consumed less porn than other criminals and that these people could potentially ruin the enjoyment of those who consume violence-based porn scenarios.^[78] There is no reason to assume that pornography is a cause of rape.^[79] There is not enough backing evidence to link violent pornography as the cause of rape.

An epidemiological study describes the association between given behaviors or environmental conditions, and physical or psychological health by means of observation of real-world phenomena through statistical data. Epidemiological studies would generally be useful in describing real life events outside of the experimental field but would have a weak correlation with cause and effect relationships between specific behaviors and the health consequences.^[72]

Danish criminologist Berl Kutchinsky's Studies on Pornography and sex crimes in Denmark (1970), a scientific report ordered by the Presidential Commission on Obscenity and Pornography, found that the legalizing of pornography in Denmark had not resulted in an increase of sex crimes.^[80] In 1998 Milton Diamond from the University of Hawaii noted that in Japan, the number of reported cases of child sex abuse dropped markedly after the ban on sexually explicit materials was lifted in 1969; however, in Denmark and Sweden, there was a very slight increase in reported rapes after the liberalization of their pornography laws during the same time period, which scientists attribute to a higher awareness of what amounts to sex abuse.^[81]

Some researchers argue that there is a correlation between pornography and a decrease of sex crimes.^[82][83][84] The effects of Pornography: An International Perspective was an epidemiological study which found that the massive growth of the pornography industry in the United States between 1975 and 1995 was accompanied by a substantial decrease in the number of sexual assaults per capita – and reported similar results for Japan.^[81]

In 1986, a review of epidemiological studies by Neil Malamuth found that the quantity of pornographic material viewed by men was positively correlated with degree to which they endorsed sexual assault.^[85] Malamuth's work describes Check (1984), who found among a diverse sample of Canadian men that more exposure to pornography led to higher acceptance of rape myths, violence against women, and general sexual callousness. In another study, Briere, Corne, Runtz and Neil M. Malamuth, (1984) reported similar correlations in a sample involving college males. On the other hand, the failure to find a statistically significant correlation in another previous study led Malamuth to examine other interesting correlations, which took into account the information about sexuality the samples obtained in their childhood, and pornography emerged as the second most important source of information.^[85] Malamuth's work has been criticized by other authors, however, such as Ferguson and Hartley (2009) who argue Malamuth has exaggerated positive findings and has not always properly discussed null findings.^[76] In a Quartz publication, Malamuth argued that porn is like alcohol: "whether it's bad for you depends on who you are" (stating that it increases violence in a few people, not in most people; it makes most people more relaxed).^[86] A 2019 study from the Archives of Sexual behavior on Teen Dating Violence (TDV) found that both males and females are perpetrators in different regards. Males would more often engage in Sexual TDV, while females would more often engage in Physical and Emotional TDV. The Study mentions the analysis of two separate frameworks. One is the Confluence model of Sexual aggression, in which it details porn being the one that influences boys to be sexually aggressive. It works significantly towards the males that have fragile masculinity and the ones that are more sexually promiscuous.^[87] The other framework is the script acquisition, activation, application model (3AM) of sexual media socialization. This framework suggests that behavior towards sexual encounters is acquired through "scripts" that people get from viewing pornographic content. These actions, often negative, will then be mirrored. This will result in more sexual and teen dating violence.^[88][89]

According to a 2022 study among German medical students, "Male students who did not experience a sexual transmitted disease (82.9%) and did not cheat on their partner (68.0%) consumed pornography more frequently". The study concludes "the results of this analysis show that the consumption of pornographic material is highly common among young German medical students" (meaning both male and female).^[90]

The consumption of pornography has various impacts in different areas of a relationship. Pornography can influence an individual's relationship through a number of channels, including overall relationship satisfaction, communication within a relationship, and setting boundaries within a relationship.^[91]

Pornography's impact on relationship satisfaction has come under scrutiny, as findings range from negative correlations to positive effects. Pornography consumption has been correlated with less relationship satisfaction, sexual satisfaction, and less sexual desire for their partner in men.^[57][55][62] Some researchers have concluded that this could be because the ever-changing value of pornography and its regularity makes it difficult for a female partner to compete, although at least one study concluded that their "data did not support the notion that pornography negatively impacts sexual or relationship satisfaction via preference for porn-like sex",^[57] and that in fact "it may bolster sexual satisfaction by promoting sexual variety."^[57] Other research reports positive findings for women who consume pornography more regularly, including increased relationship satisfaction and decreased distress.^[8][55]

The research on the correlation between pornography use and relationship satisfaction is varied. While some researchers believe that pornography consumption leads people to become less satisfied in their relationships, with greater frequency of use negatively associated with relationship satisfaction,^[57] others have argued that it can have the opposite effect. Pornography consumption tends to result in lower levels of satisfaction in long-term, heterosexual relationships. However, most of the current research is correlational, indicating a connected but non-causal relationship. Researchers have also examined the potential link between pornography and rates of divorce. According to one study, "married Americans who viewed pornography at all in 2006 were more than twice as likely as those who did not view pornography to experience a separation by 2012",^[92] with an 11% chance of divorce, versus 6% for those who did not use pornography.^[93] One thing that appeared to lessen the probability of divorce was the frequency of pornography consumption. However, this relationship "was technically curvilinear",^[92] increasing up to a point and then declining "at the highest frequencies of pornography use. Ancillary analyses, however, showed that this group of married Americans with high frequencies of 2006 pornography viewing and low likelihood of later marital separation was not statistically distinguishable from either abstainers or moderate viewers in terms of marital separation likelihood."^[92]

On the other hand, many researchers reject the idea that pornography is inherently harmful to relationship satisfaction. Joint pornography consumption within a relationship has been linked to increased levels of relationship satisfaction for both partners. Couples who consumed pornography together expressed more satisfaction with their relationships than couples in which only one individual used pornography.^[54] This suggests that there is more at play than simply the consumption of pornography, such as the role of honesty and partner perception. Individuals whose partners are honest about their own pornography consumption tend to feel more satisfied in their relationships, to a point. There is evidence for an "honesty threshold", indicating that the relationship between honesty and pornography is not linear, and partners do not want to hear every detail about the other's pornography habits.^[94] This indicates that, although honesty and disclosure is important for pornography consumption, there seems to be a threshold of helpful honesty that, once surpassed, may cause more harm. In addition, when women consume pornography, they report lower levels of distress than their counterparts.^[54] While women often consume pornography less often than men, men are fairly accurate at perceiving their partner's pornography consumption. Women, on the other hand, are less accurate at perceiving their male partner's pornography use.^[8]

Some research suggests that there is no connection between relationship satisfaction and pornography use. A study of two independent male samples found no relationship between pornography and relationship satisfaction in their first sample; when the second sample was introduced, they found a negative correlation between pornography and satisfaction.^[57] Conversely, other studies have discovered no relationship whatsoever between joint pornography use and satisfaction. When analyzing couples and their pornography consumption over the course of one month, researchers concluded that "pornography use was unrelated to relationship satisfaction";^[95] there "was no evidence that porn viewing led to decreases in how happy people are with their partners, nor did they seem to be using porn as a way of making up for deficiencies in their relationships."^[55] According to this study, "it appears that whether porn viewing helps or hurts intimate relationships depends instead on the attitudes the partners have about it."^[55]

Communication is a vital component of any healthy relationship, and many researchers question how pornography may impact the ability of a couple to communicate openly. Honesty has been shown to be a mitigator in relationship effects regarding pornography consumption. Couples who are honest about their pornography consumption report greater satisfaction than couples dealing with their concealed pornography use.^[94] Pornography consumption among couples leads to improved communication about sexual desires, and increased openness in communication.^[54] Conversely, active concealment of pornography habits can lead to less openness in communication and trust within the relationship.^[54][94]

Another important aspect is the communication of affection within relationships. Affection Exchange Theory establishes the inherent role of affection within romantic relationships. Even in the role of survival, reproduction, and sexual selection.^[96] Trait attachment is positively associated with relationship satisfaction. Individuals who score higher in trait attachment report feeling and expressing greater sexual desire for their partners, compared to individuals who score lower.^[5][96] Some evidence indicates that the connection between Affection Exchange Theory and sexual desire is, in fact, stronger than the connection to relationship satisfaction, suggesting that sexual desire may have a crucial moderating role between the two.^[96] While this study found no correlation between pornography consumption and trait affection, researchers noted that increased feelings of guilt were related to lower levels of sexual desire for one's partner. This is somewhat indicative of partner-imposed or communicated guilt, or possibly reflecting an effect of the sexual scripts of pornography creating unrealistic expectations that lead to overall relationship and sexual dissatisfaction.^[5]

• Effects of pornography on young people
• Meese Report, 1986 U.S. Attorney General's Commission on Pornography
• Pornographication
• President's Commission on Obscenity and Pornography, 1969, United States
• Stanley v. Georgia, U.S. Supreme Court case that established a right to pornography
• Williams Committee, 1979 UK Committee on Obscenity and Film Censorship
• Religious views on pornography
• Sexual ethics
• Victorian morality

• McKee, Alan; Litsou, Katerina; Byron, Paul; Ingham, Roger (10 June 2022). What Do We Know About the Effects of Pornography After Fifty Years of Academic Research?. London: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781003232032. ISBN 978-1-003-23203-2.

• Kutchinsky, Berl (1999). Law, pornography, and crime: The Danish experience. Oslo, Norway: Pax Forlag.
• Hald, Gert Martin (2007). Pornography Consumption - a study of prevalence rates, consumption patterns, and effects. Aarhus Universitet, Denmark: Psykologisk Institut.
• Hald, Gert Martin; Malamuth, Neil (2008). "Self-Perceived Effects of Pornography Consumption". Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity: The Journal of Treatment & Prevention. 19 (1–2): 99–122. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.661.1654. doi:10.1080/10720162.2012.660431. PMID 17851749. S2CID 31274764.