Safety Net

4. How big of a problem is pornography?
The following are statistics from various studies
regarding pornography. Although more accurate
information is needed, the following reflects the
magnitude of the problem:
In 1997, approximately one out of every six Internet
searches related to sex. Each day there are 23 to 60
million unique visitors to pornography websites.
Revenues from pornography now exceed the
combined revenues of all professional football,
baseball, and basketball franchises.
Some 34,376,000 unique users (23.68% of all
Internet users) visit pornography websites and
view an average of 239 pornographic web pages
each day.
By the end of 2004, 420 million pages of pornography
existed on the internet. It is estimated that 13.97% of
online pornography consumption is by children ages
two to seventeen. Some 83% of youth watch
pornography at home. Approximately 70% of youth ages
fifteen to seventeen reported accidentally coming
across pornography online, and 23% of those youth
said this happens “very” or “somewhat” often.
Of all consumers of online pornography, 71.61% are
male and 28.39% are female. Nearly 9 out of 10 (87%)
young men and nearly one third (31%) of young women
report viewing pornography. Forty million Americans
regularly visit porn sites. Seventy percent of men
between the ages of eighteen and twenty-­­four visit porn
sites in a typical month. The average age at which a child
first sees online porn is eleven years old. In 1998, 45% of
the Protestant clergy surveyed reported using
pornography.
Forty-­­seven percent of families in the United States say
pornography is a problem in their home. Every second,
more than 28,000 individuals are looking at
pornography on the internet. Pornography is a
worldwide industry, generating $97 billion annually.
Every second consumers spend $3,075.64 on
pornography.
Nine out of ten children between the ages of eight and
sixteen have viewed pornography on the internet, in
most cases unintentionally. Every thirty-­­nine minutes, a
new pornographic video is created in the United States.
Twelve percent of the websites on the internet are
pornographic (approximately 24,644,172).
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5. Is pornography a problem for women?
While pornography use is currently not as common
among women as it is for men, the number of women who
view pornography is rapidly increasing. Seventy
percent of new pornography websites are geared
towards women. Pornography addiction in women
frequently takes different forms than for men. For
example, men tend to respond to visual images, while
women initially tend to be more drawn to verbal and
written forms of pornography such as graphic romance
novels, explicit chat rooms, or online romantic role
playing. Many women are drawn into social media
relationships that can lead to the production of selfpornography
for dissemination to individuals they
meet online. Some women agree to watch
pornography with their boyfriend or husband as a
way to “spice up” the relationship or in an ineffective
attempt to keep him from viewing it alone. In many
cases, women can become addicted to the pornographic
material. The same dangers of addiction and the same
process of recovery that apply to men also apply to
women.
6. If the problem is so big, why am I not more aware of
it?
Traditionally, the topic of pornography and sexual
addiction has been taboo, so it was rarely discussed
openly. There has been a stigma associated with the
viewing of pornography along with an assumption
that good people do not view it. This created a social culture
that strongly resisted the recognition of pornography as
a problem or addiction. Today, pornography is marketed
as a healthy pastime. Additionally, the idea is being
perpetuated that only religious prudes with over-­­active
guilt complexes disapprove of it. Much of society does not
recognize pornography as a social concern. Unlike other
addictions, pornography and sexual addiction are
relatively easy to hide. This perpetuates the myth that
pornography really is not a widespread problem. In
actuality, it is a very real problem that needs to be
discussed and addressed openly.