Problematic Pornography Use

Information About Pornography

People can develop an unhealthy relationship with any kind of pornography. Porn comes in a wide variety of formats, including:

Videos and photos
Pre-recorded or live webcam content
Subscription-based services used for chatting or exchanging other sexual content
Erotic stories or audio content

Problematic porn use is often a hidden and stigmatised issue. In a recent global study, 9.8% of the general population was found to reach the cutoff for problematic pornography use when porn habits were assessed with the Problematic Porn Consumption Scale (Bothe et al., 2024). At least one in twenty Australians surveyed were found to have problematic relationships with their pornography use. While problems occurred more often for men, it was found that women and gender-diverse individuals also often had significant problems with problematic porn use.

Problems with pornography use can cause major problems in people's everyday lives. Porn addiction can impact concentration, sexual functioning, relationship functioning, and mental health. Studies show that the brain functioning of people who use higher amounts of porn is different than people who use low amounts of porn (Shu et al., 2025). These findings suggest that people who are more sensitive to the effects of porn need to be deliberate about maintaining a healthy level of pornography use. It is also possible, but not yet clear, that excessive pornography use in childhood and adulthood can cause long-term changes in brain functioning and structure.

An unhealthy relationship with porn can look like:

Spending too much time accessing and thinking about porn
Spending too much money on pornography and related online content
Developing difficulties with sexual functioning without the use of porn
Developing unrealistic or unhealthy expectations for body image or sexual behaviours
Compulsively or frequently checking various sources of pornography
Accessing increasingly more extreme content to achieve the same level of arousal
Increasingly secretive use of porn
Shame and guilt

Support and Interventions

We know from research studies that therapy can help people who experience problems with porn use. Evidence-based therapies can help people to change their pornography use patterns, or can change the emotional difficulties they experience as a result of their porn use (Young, 2011). Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is an effective individual intervention for both Internet Addiction broadly (Anuradha & Singh, 2018) and specifically for Problematic Pornography Use (Lopez-Pinar, Esparza-Reig, & Bothe, 2025). Intervention around porn use can also arise in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT), a format of couples therapy which has been shown to improve both relationship outcomes, and individual mental health and addiction-related outcomes (see Furrow, Bradley, & Johnson, 2011 for a review of evidence). When clients feel comfortable to access therapy, evidence tells us that CBT and EFCT can be effective treatments.

Therapy for pornography addiction works best when it is experienced as supportive and client-led. As a therapist, I take a non-judgemental stance, and allow clients to develop their own goals for therapy. Some clients want to change their feelings about their porn use, some want to reduce their use, and others want to abstain altogether. The private and confidential nature of the therapy space can make it much easier to talk about these issues. I offer face-to-face or online therapy for porn addiction or problematic porn use.

Self-Report Questionnaire

You can anonymously complete the Short Problematic Pornography Consumption Scale (PPCS-6) below.

Scores of 20 and above indicate possible problematic pornography use. You should consider reaching out for help if you are concerned about your porn use, regardless of whether or not you score 20+ on this measure.

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