Surprise! Porn Viewing During the Pandemic Actually Declined

The experts, including me, predicted a COVID-related surge in viewing. Wrong.

• There was every reason to believe porn viewing should have soared during the early months of the COVID pandemic, but a recent study says no.

• From February to May 2020, viewing increased by a modest 9%, then dropped to below pre-pandemic levels.

• The study authors speculate that privacy may have been harder for porn viewers to find with families stuck at home together during lockdowns

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?

Surprise! Porn Viewing During the Pandemic Actually Declined