by Danielle Thielke, Campbell Ince, Giselle Woodley. Written for “The Conversation“
Porn is a topic we tend to avoid talking about—whether it be at school, work or around the dinner table. But in Australia, roughly three-quarters of men (76%) and more than one-third of women (41%) report to have looked at pornographic material in the past year.
And among Australians ages 15–20, more than half (54%) of young men and nearly one-fifth (14%) of young women report accessing porn weekly.
You may have heard the term “porn addiction” used to describe the excessive consumption of porn, in ways that disrupt a person’s life or the lives of those around them.
But is porn actually addictive? Current research suggests the answer is rather complicated.
The debate about porn
For many people, watching porn is a fairly typical behavior. Others, however, consider it to be problematic.
A 2025 inquiry examined the effects of porn on people’s mental, emotional and physical health. It concluded porn is not inherently harmful. It may, however, affect people differently depending on what it depicts, who consumes it and how it is consumed.
Excessive porn use may become a problem if it affects how a person functions in daily life. To describe this, researchers and clinicians use the term problematic porn use. This refers to the inability to control one’s porn consumption despite repeated attempts to do so, and experiencing negative consequences as a result.
A global survey found 3%–15% of people potentially experience problematic porn use. And these difficulties are generally more common among men.
What causes it?
Problematic porn use is a complex issue and is influenced by various factors. These include pre-existing neurodevelopmental and mental health conditions, such as ADHD or depression. Certain personality traits such as impulsivity, low self-control and novelty seeking may also contribute.
Social and cultural factors such as low relationship satisfaction, social isolation and religious influences are also relevant. And people who feel lonely or lack emotional support are more at risk of developing this issue.
For many people with problematic porn use, consuming porn can become a vicious cycle that draws attention away from their relationships and daily responsibilities. For example, a person’s excessive porn use could lead to job loss due to poor performance. They may also become isolated from friends and family. These consequences often worsen their mental health and daily functioning, making it even harder to control their porn consumption.
People can experience problematic porn use in different ways. Researchers have suggested several key presentations, including:
- compulsivity, defined as a strong, hard-to-resist urge for porn, particularly to relieve built-up tension or anxiety
- impulsivity, which leads to speedy, spontaneous engagement with porn without considering consequences, for instance using porn on a work computer
- emotional dysregulation, when a person turns to porn to manage difficult emotions such as stress, boredom or loneliness
- addiction-like experiences, such as having intense cravings and/or needing more extreme content to feel satisfied.
Is porn actually addictive?
Problematic porn use is currently considered a type of compulsive sexual behavior disorder. Such disorders are characterized by an inability to control intense, repetitive sexual impulses for at least six months, to the point of neglecting daily responsibilities.
At this stage, problematic porn use is not formally recognized as an addiction. It is not included as an addiction in the WHO’s International Classification of Diseases or the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Illnesses, two international systems used to define and diagnose medical conditions.
Importantly, research on this topic has grown dramatically since these manuals came out. Evidence, including a recent international review, suggests problematic porn use can in some cases function like an addiction.
There are mounting calls to classify problematic porn use as a behavioral addiction, which would put it in the same category as other addictive online behaviors, such as gambling and gaming disorders….