Surprise! Porn Viewing During the Pandemic Actually Declined

In the spring of 2020, as the first—and scariest—wave of the COVID pandemic triggered stay-at-home orders around the U.S., binging on alcohol increased by 20%. Cigarette consumption increased for the first time in decades. And pretty much every pornography pundit, myself included, predicted a “porn-demic,” a sharp increase in viewing.

At first, it looked like the pundits were correct. As the nation sheltered in place, Google reported a jump in porn searchers. In addition, one of the world’s largest porn sites, PornHub, made its paid content free—and quickly reported a substantial spike in traffic, from 115 million unique visitors a day to 160 million.

But believe it or not, a recent study that appears credible shows that after an early, brief, and modest spike in viewing, porn watching subsequently declined to levels equal to or below those recorded before the pandemic. So, no porn-demic. How could that be?

The Study

Researchers at several U.S. universities analyzed data from the ongoing American Community Survey, which tracks Americans’ activities and mental health—and includes questions about porn. Participants included a nationally representative sample of 868 adults, a number large enough to inspire some confidence in the findings. The participants completed two surveys before the pandemic (August 2019 and February 2020), and then three more during the first wave of COVID (May, August, and October 2020), when most were largely sheltering in place at home.

The surveys asked: Did you watch any pornography during the past month? Those replying “yes:”

August 2019 (pre-pandemic): 38%—Men 59%, Women 21%

February 2020 (pre-pandemic): 27%—Men 45%, Women 12%

May 2020 (pandemic): 36%—Men 58%, Women 19%.

August 2020 (pandemic): 22%—Men 38%, Women 8%.

October 2020 (pandemic): 21%—Men 37%, Women 7%.

Early in the pandemic (May 2020), as most people sheltered in place, and as PornHub made premium content free, porn viewing jumped from 27% of study participants to 36%. But after May 2020, viewing declined to levels lower than those recorded before the pandemic.

Meanwhile, watching porn is generally stigmatized. Few people admit they view it, let alone frequently. Robust research shows that people underestimate their involvement with stigmatized activities—drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, self-sexing—so it’s virtually certain that the study participants viewed more porn than they admitted. But even assuming that’s the case, we would expect consistent under-reports during all five waves—which would leave the overall picture more or less the same.

Of course, among those who viewed porn, some watched only a little, and others quite a bit. It’s possible that, as social conservatives predicted, some men fell down a rabbit hole into compulsive, out-of-control viewing. But only 5% of respondents said their porn viewing had increased markedly during the five waves of the study. That’s likely an understatement, but even if twice as many respondents—10%—watched more porn, predictions of a porn-demic did not pan out. The researchers concluded: “Available data did not support fears about pornography use during pandemic-related lockdowns.”

Why Didn’t the Pandemic Increase Viewing?

There were good reasons to believe porn viewing would increase during the pandemic:

• Pleasure. The main reason people view pornography is to enhance the pleasure of self-sexing. Pandemic-related lockdown orders limited many pleasures people took for granted—socializing, dining out, travel, and live events. Porn was readily available for free. It offered a seductive path to substitute pleasure.
• Stress and anxiety. Several studies have documented widespread pandemic-related increases in stress and anxiety. To cope with these feelings, many people, especially men, engage in solo sex—often while watching porn. You'd expect the pandemic to boost viewing.
• Boredom. During the pandemic, many people trapped at home reported feeling bored. Good evidence shows that boredom spurs some people to watch porn.
• Loneliness. Finally, some evidence suggests that loneliness may trigger porn viewing. During the lockdown, many single people reported increased loneliness.

Add all these elements together, and the pandemic should have spiked porn viewing in a major way. It didn't. From February to May 2020, viewing increased by a modest 9% (13% among men, 7% among women). But after May 2020, just 10 weeks into shelter-in-place orders, viewing dropped to below pre-pandemic levels. Why?

No one knows. The study authors speculate that viewing porn requires privacy, and with families shut up at home together, it may have been more difficult to find. But huge numbers sheltered by themselves. And even in crowded households, privacy is available in the bathroom where porn can be easily viewed on phones.

Pornography Essential Reads

Treatments for Problematic Pornography Use

Do Accessibility and Anonymity Lead to Problematic Porn Use?

Another possibility is that somehow this study got it wrong. Maybe viewing increased. This study looks reasonably credible. It's just one study, but with almost 900 participants, it appears persuasive, and the decreases in porn viewing were substantial.

So why didn’t the pandemic fuel a major spike in porn viewing? It’s a mystery.

Apparently, Porn Is Not All That Compelling

Porn critics contend that XXX-rated photos and videos are so captivating that people, especially men, can’t help but watch, and often get sucked into a black hole of compulsive, out-of-control viewing from which many never escape. Evidently, that’s rarely the case. During the COVID lockdown, with plenty of reasons to seek solace in porn and PornHub offering premium content for free, most people had no difficulty finding other ways to amuse themselves.

I’m scratching my head over this study. The findings are seriously unexpected, but there they are.