65% of US men said they looked at pornography in the past year in the 2022 General Social Survey, according to an analysis by Wright & Tokunaga summarized in a 2026 report by the American Institute for Boys and Men (AIBM).
Monthly use is lower. 44% of US men watched porn in the past month in 2022, about 4 times the share of women (11%), according to the AEI Survey Center on American Life.
In this article, we’ll break down how many men have ever watched porn, how often they watch, the long-term trend, results by age, relationship status and country, why men watch, and which popular claims don’t hold up.
Top Statistics on Men and Porn
- 65% of US men looked at pornography in the past year in 2022, according to General Social Survey data.
- 82% of US men have ever watched sexually explicit videos, vs 60% of women, according to Herbenick et al. (2017).
- 44% of US men watched porn in the past month, about 4 times the share of women, AEI found in 2022.
- About 33% of US men watch porn weekly or more and 8% daily, based on Grubbs, Kraus & Perry (2019).
- Men made up 72% of the UK’s adult porn audience in May 2024, according to Ofcom.
- 11% of US men agree at least somewhat that they are addicted to porn, vs 3% of women (Grubbs, Kraus & Perry, 2019).
What Percentage of Men Watch Porn?
Between 65% and 69% of US men have watched porn in the past year, and more than 80% have ever watched it, depending on the survey. The 2022 General Social Survey put past-year use at 65% of men (AIBM).
82% of US men have ever watched sexually explicit videos, vs 60% of women, a 22-point gap, according to the 2015 Sexual Exploration in America Study (Herbenick et al., 2017), and the gap in women’s porn use widens as viewing gets more frequent.
Here’s a breakdown of the main US surveys on men’s porn use:
| Survey | Men surveyed | Measure | Share of men |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grubbs, Kraus & Perry (2019) | Adult internet users | Ever viewed | 85% |
| Herbenick et al. (2015 data) | Adults | Ever watched explicit videos | 82% |
| Grubbs, Kraus & Perry (2019) | Adult internet users | Past year | 69% |
| Regnerus et al. (2014 data) | Men 18–39 | Past year | 69% |
| General Social Survey (2022) | Adults | Looked at pornography, past year | 65% |
| Regnerus et al. (2014 data) | Men 18–39 | Past month | 56% |
| Grubbs, Kraus & Perry (2019) | Adult internet users | Monthly or more | 47% |
| AEI (March 2022) | Adults | Past month | 44% |
| General Social Survey (2022) | Adults | X-rated movie, past year | 43% |
Source: Grubbs, Kraus & Perry (our calculation from published counts, except monthly); Herbenick et al.; Regnerus, Gordon & Price, via Miller et al. (2020); GSS 2022 via AIBM; AEI
Question wording changes the answer a lot. In the same 2022 survey, 43% of men said they saw an “X-rated movie” in the past year, 22 points fewer than the 65% who said they looked at “pornography.”
Convenience samples run higher. 91.5% of men in an online US sample of Amazon Mechanical Turk workers had used porn in the past month (Solano, Eaton & O’Leary, 2020), but that sample isn’t nationally representative.
Do All Men Watch Porn?
No. 12% of US men say they have never watched porn, according to a 2015 YouGov poll, and about a third of men (31%) hadn’t watched in the past year in Grubbs, Kraus & Perry’s national survey.
Many men in relationships abstain. 25% of married US men say they never view porn, according to the Wheatley Institute’s 2021 National Couples and Pornography Survey. In earlier RELATE data (2011–2013), 37% of married men never used porn (Wheatley Institute).
Here’s a breakdown of popular claims about men and porn and what the evidence shows:
| Claim | Where it comes from | What the evidence shows |
|---|---|---|
| “64% of US men watch porn monthly” | 2014 Barna survey for Proven Men, an advocacy group | Reported to come from a sample of 388 Christian men; national surveys put monthly use at 44% to 47% |
| “40 million Americans regularly visit porn sites” | 2003 estimate by Internet Filter Review, a filter vendor | No published method; repeated for two decades |
| “70% of men 18–24 visit porn sites monthly” | Online lists and infographics (2000s–2011) | No primary source found |
| “All men watch porn” | Common belief | 12% of US men have never watched; 25% of married men never view |
Source: Diverse Education; Women of Grace; ClickZ; Psych Central; YouGov; Wheatley Institute
How Often Do Men Watch Porn?
About 33% of US men watch porn weekly or more and 8% watch daily, based on counts published by Grubbs, Kraus & Perry (2019) for 1,016 men. 47% watch at least monthly, about 2.9 times the share of women (16%).
Among men who watched in the past year, about 47% (332 of 704) watch weekly or more.
Other surveys find similar frequencies:
- 9% of US men watch porn daily and 17% more than once a week, so about 26% watch more than once a week or daily (YouGov, 2015).
- 16% of US men aged 18–39 watch online porn daily, about twice the rate of women (7%), according to an IFS/YouGov survey (IFS, 2024).
- 42% of US men aged 30–49 watched porn in the past week (AEI, 2022).
- 36% of British men watch porn at least weekly and 13% daily or most days (YouGov, 2022).
Time spent is modest. UK men who visited porn sites spent an average of 1 hour 44 minutes on them in a month in 2024, vs around an hour for women (Ofcom via Telecoms.com).
Is Porn Use Among Men Increasing?
Yes, slowly. The share of US men who saw an X-rated movie in the past year rose 7.2 percentage points, from 31.7% in 1973 to 38.9% in 2018, according to the General Social Survey (NORC; Miller et al., 2020). It reached 43% in 2022.
Here’s a breakdown of the GSS series for men:
| Year | Men who saw an X-rated movie in the past year |
|---|---|
| 1973 | 31.7% |
| 2000 | 32.2% |
| 2010 | 37.4% |
| 2012 | 35.0% |
| 2014 | 34.2% |
| 2016 | 40.0% |
| 2018 | 38.9% |
| 2022 | 43% |
Source: General Social Survey, via NORC (1973–2012), Miller et al. (2014–2018) and AIBM (2022)
Tracking data shows a similar rise. The share of Polish male internet users who visited porn sites in a given month grew 11 points, from 38% in 2004 to 49% in 2016 (Lewczuk et al.).
Attitudes moved less. 46% of US men called porn morally acceptable in 2023, up 3 points from 43% in 2015, according to Gallup (2015; 2023).
Men Who Watch Porn by Age
Middle-aged men are the most likely to watch. 57% of US men aged 30–49 watched porn in the past month, vs 44% of men 18–29 and 26% of men 65 and older (AEI, 2022).
Over the past year, younger men lead. In the 2018 GSS, 58.6% of men aged 18–26 saw an X-rated movie, vs 12.7% of men 64 and older (Miller et al., 2020).
Daily use is concentrated among young men. About 17% of partnered US men under 30 view porn every day, vs just under 7% of men over 30, about 2.5 times as many (EPPC on the Wheatley survey, 2021).
In Britain, 62% of men under 30 watch porn, falling to 52% of men in their 50s and 34% of men 60 and older (YouGov, 2022).
Many men start young. 43% of US men who have watched porn first did so before age 18, vs 22% of women (YouGov, 2015).
Do Married Men Watch Porn?
Most do, but less often than dating men, and porn use in marriage differs sharply between husbands and wives. 19.6% of married US men watch porn weekly or more, vs 50.0% of casually dating men, according to RELATE data from 2011–2013 (Carroll et al., via Wheatley Institute).
Here’s a breakdown of men’s porn use by relationship status:
| Relationship status | Never use | Weekly or more |
|---|---|---|
| Casually dating | 25% | 50.0% |
| Seriously dating | 25% | 40.0% |
| Engaged | 38% | 20.3% |
| Married | 37% | 19.6% |
Source: Carroll, Busby, Willoughby & Brown (2017), RELATE data 2011–2013, via Wheatley Institute
More recent data, using different questions, shows higher use. About one-third of married US men view porn alone weekly or daily, and 1 in 4 partnered men actively hide their viewing from their partner (Wheatley Institute, 2021).
45% of married men who use porn always watch alone, vs 11% of married women (Wheatley Institute).
What Percentage of Men Watch Porn by Country?
Between 76% and 84% of men have ever watched porn in Australia, the US and Great Britain. Recent use ranges from 43% of UK online men in a single month to 76% of Dutch men in the past six months.
Here’s a breakdown of men’s porn use by country:
| Country | Measure | Men | Women | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (16–69) | Ever viewed | 84% | 54% | 2012–13 |
| United States | Ever watched explicit videos | 82% | 60% | 2015 |
| Great Britain | Ever watched | 76% | 53% | 2022 |
| Netherlands (15–70) | Past 6 months | 76% | 33.2% | 2011 |
| Sweden (16–84) | Used porn | 68.7% | 27.0% | 2017 |
| Germany | Visited a porn site in a year (tracked) | 66% | 26% | 2018–19 |
| Australia (16–69) | Past year | ~64% | – | 2012–13 |
| France | Male internet users of all ages visiting adult sites monthly (tracked) | 53% | 20% | 2022 |
| Poland | Male internet users visiting porn sites in a month (tracked) | 49% | 24% | 2016 |
| France (18–69) | Past 3 months | 46% | 14% | 2023 |
| United Kingdom | Visited a porn site in one month | 43% | 16% | 2024 |
Source: Rissel et al. (ASHR2); Herbenick et al.; YouGov GB; de Graaf et al.; Malki et al.; GESIS; Arcom; Lewczuk et al.; Ifop; Ofcom via Telecoms.com. Australia past year is our calculation (84% ever × 76% of ever-viewers).
In the UK, about 10 million men visited a porn site in May 2024, and men made up 72% of the adult audience, about 2.6 men for every woman (Telecoms.com; Ofcom).
Frequent use is far more common among men everywhere. 18% of Swedish men use porn frequently, vs 1% of women, and 4 in 10 Swedish men aged 16–29 use it at least three days a week (Folkhälsomyndigheten, 2017).
Surveys of the same country can disagree. 60% of British men told Ipsos in February 2026 that they have ever watched porn, vs 76% in YouGov’s 2022 poll; question wording and samples differ.
Men’s Share of Porn Site Audiences
Men make up roughly 78% to 83% of visitors to the biggest adult sites, according to Similarweb’s panel estimates for September 2026. xHamster has the most male audience at 83.04%.
Here’s a breakdown of the estimated male share of visitors by site:
| Site | Male share of visitors |
|---|---|
| xHamster | 83.04% |
| OnlyFans | 80.1% |
| XVideos | 79.35% |
| XNXX | 78.36% |
| Pornhub | 77.67% |
Source: Similarweb estimates for xHamster, OnlyFans, XVideos, XNXX and Pornhub, September 2026
Pornhub’s own count is lower. The company says women made up 38% of its visitors in 2025, implying about 62% men (IBTimes Australia). Both figures are estimates.
Why Do Men Watch Porn?
Men report stronger motives than women on most measures. Men scored higher on 6 of 8 porn-use motives, including sexual pleasure, stress reduction and boredom avoidance, while men did not score higher only on sexual curiosity and self-exploration (Bőthe et al., 2021).
Sexual pleasure, boredom avoidance and stress reduction, three of the main reasons people watch porn, were the motives linked to how often people watch (Flinders University).
90% of Australian men agreed porn could enhance the pleasure of masturbation, vs 79% of women (University of Sydney).
How Many Men Feel Addicted to Porn?
11% of US men agree at least somewhat that they are addicted to porn and 3% strongly agree, vs 3% and 1% of women (Grubbs, Kraus & Perry, 2019).
The strictest clinical cutoff puts the figure lower, in line with global porn addiction statistics. 6.26% of men in the 42-country International Sex Survey were at risk of problematic porn use, about 8.7 times the rate among women (0.72%) (Bőthe et al., 2024).
Here’s a breakdown of men’s problematic-use estimates by measure:
| Measure | Share of men |
|---|---|
| Brief Pornography Screen (screening, 42 countries) | 28.92% |
| Agree at least somewhat “I am addicted” (US) | 11% |
| CSBD-19 compulsive sexual behavior cutoff (42 countries) | 8.17% |
| PPCS-18 risk of problematic use (42 countries) | 6.26% |
| Feel addicted, among Australian men who have seen porn | 4% |
Source: Bőthe et al., via AIBM and Addiction; Grubbs, Kraus & Perry; Rissel et al.
Most men who watch report no harm. 82% of Australian men who had seen porn disagreed that it had a bad effect on them (Rissel et al., 2017), and 23% of Swedish men said it had a mainly positive effect on their sex life, vs 5% mainly negative (Folkhälsomyndigheten).
What Men Think About Porn
47% of US men say viewing porn is morally wrong and 19% say it’s acceptable, vs 58% and 11% of women, according to Pew Research Center (2025).
59% of US men say porn should be legal in all or most cases, vs 34% of women (PRRI, 2025).
How We Compiled These Statistics
We collected 255 candidate data points from peer-reviewed studies, national surveys (GSS, AEI, YouGov, Ipsos, Pew, Gallup, PRRI), regulators (Ofcom, Arcom), public-health agencies and web-analytics panels, then traced each figure to its original publisher where possible.
Surveys use different populations, wordings and time frames (“ever,” “past year,” “past month”), so we label each figure. Grubbs, Kraus & Perry’s ever, past-year, weekly and daily shares are our calculations from the counts in the paper’s Table 2.
Ratios and percentage-point changes are our own calculations. Similarweb shares are third-party panel estimates, and Pornhub figures are company-reported. Barna, the Institute for Family Studies and the Wheatley Institute are faith-based or socially conservative research groups.
Key Takeaways
Most men watch porn, but not all, and not all the time. 65% of US men looked at porn in the past year in 2022, 44% in the past month, and about 33% watch weekly or more.
Use peaks among men in their 30s and 40s on a monthly basis, is lower among married men and has crept up since the 1970s. Popular claims like “64% of men watch monthly” come from advocacy surveys, not national data.
FAQ
What percentage of men watch porn?
65% of US men watched porn in the past year in 2022, according to the General Social Survey, and 44% did in the past month, according to AEI. More than 80% of men have ever watched it.
Do all men watch porn?
No. 12% of US men say they have never watched porn, and 25% of married men say they never view it. About a third of US men haven’t watched in the past year.
How often does the average man watch porn?
About 33% of US men watch porn weekly or more and 8% daily. Among British men, 36% watch at least weekly and 13% daily or most days.
Do married men watch porn?
Most do, but less often. 19.6% of married US men watch weekly or more, vs 50.0% of casually dating men, and 25% of married men never view porn.
Why do men watch porn?
Sexual pleasure, stress reduction and boredom avoidance are the main motives linked to how often people watch. Men score higher than women on 6 of 8 measured motives.
Are men addicted to porn?
Few are. 11% of US men agree at least somewhat that they are addicted, and 6.26% of men across 42 countries were at risk of problematic use on the strictest clinical scale (PPCS-18).
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