Women Closing Gender Gap on Online Pornography Use

Who uses pornographic material online more often: men or women? Surprising reports are showing that women are closing the gap on men in their frequency of using online porn and addiction to online porn. It is believed that on a monthly basis, roughly 9.4 million women across the U.S. view pornography online, including sites featuring children.

While more males participate in online viewing of child pornography, the number of women who view these sites appears to be climbing. One study conducted by Family Safe Media said that search phrases related to teens having intercourse numbered nearly 14 million, and more than half of these searches were conducted by females. The study also suggests that 18 percent of women used search phrases related to teens and pornography in a count that included more than 6 million Internet searches.

The study results also indicated that 20 percent of males said they viewed porn while in the workplace, with 13 percent of women saying they also participated in the behavior. Around 17 percent of women in the study said they have a pornography addiction, and the majority admitted to hiding their pornography use from others.

Experts believe the rising trend of women using online porn, developing pornography addictions or displaying sexually compulsive behavior is linked with the increasing accessibility of pornographic websites. New smartphone apps allow around-the-clock Internet access, and nearly all porn sites can be accessed anonymously. The speed at which people become addicted to the materials is also increasing as a result of the widespread availability.

A particular area of concern related to women and pornography addiction is the use of online chat rooms, an area that Internet Filter Review says females outnumber males twofold. Women are also twice as likely as men to advance an online sexual relationship into a real-world relationship.

More women have also faced legal consequences in relation to child pornography crimes in recent years, including cases of mothers giving their children over-the-counter medications with sedative properties in order to gain their participation in sexual photos. A Missouri woman was found in possession of at least 600 pornographic pictures involving children and was also reported to having distributed the materials.

Pornography addiction and sexual compulsivity are focus areas of scientific research, which seeks to determine the causes, physiological and emotional impacts, and treatments. Some addiction experts speculate that people with obsessive compulsive tendencies, manic types of depression, or other key behavioral or mental traits may be at higher risk of developing a pornography addiction. Many experts agree that pornography addiction is similar in destructive properties and strength as a drug addiction, and that people use the pornographic materials to "numb" or escape from negative emotions.