Who watches porn? Demographic insights from web tracking data

Abstract

The penetration of high-speed internet and mobile technology in our daily life has transformed pornography consumption, making it one of the most viewed online contents. Traditional survey-based research measuring pornography consumption has been correlated in the past with self-report biases, mostly underreporting due to social stigma. To avoid this, the current study of pornography consumption has shifted towards the use of large-scale web tracking data to analyse the differences in consumption patterns.

Our research reveals that online pornography consumption is concentrated on a small number of dominant platforms, with most users displaying strong loyalty to specific websites rather than exploring unknown websites. Consumption peaks during morning and evening hours, with declines at late night and midday. Mobile devices have become the primary access point for pornography, with tablets being more used, and desktop and laptop less but still relevant.

We examined demographic factors such as gender, age, and ideology of pornography users. Findings reveal that men are the primary consumers, with female consumption becoming significant in some countries. Consumption is common across all ages, being the highest at the 30s and then decreasing with age. While ideological self-identification shows no strong association with pornography use, a significant difference emerges in partisan media exposure, with pornography users exhibiting slightly more centrist media diets than non-users.

Using empirical web tracking data and behavioural analysis, this study provides one of the largest scale assessments of online pornography consumption. Despite the limitations, the findings reported in this article provide valuable insights into behavioural science and contribute to broader social discussions around pornography consumption.