Do you watch porn? It’s well-known that a large number of women do these days, so there’s a good chance you're among them. But other than the fact that more of us are watching it – and developing an unhealthy addiction – we know very little about women’s porn-viewing habits.
However, new research from Pornhub has shed light on the ways in which women watch porn. It turns out we're far more likely than men to watch it on mobile devices – 80% of women visit Pornhub in this way, with 71% of those using smartphones and 9% using tablets.
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This is compared with the 69% of men who use mobile devices to access the site. Men are 34% more likely to access porn on desktop computers than women – perhaps suggesting they’re far more open about their habit than women are.
Women account for around a quarter (26%) of Pornhub’s total visitors, according to its Year in Review report released early this year, and the site reported a notable drop in traffic during January’s Women’s March. Because if there's one thing more important than getting our rocks off, it's fighting for our basic human rights.
Accessing porn through mobile devices has become more common among both men and women over the past few years – 72% of Pornhub’s worldwide traffic now comes from smartphones and tablets. But women have been consistently more likely to watch porn in this way.
It's no surprise that millennial women are blazing the trail when it comes to mobile porn viewing. A mammoth 78% of women watching porn in this way are between 18 and 34 years old. Meanwhile older women (and men) are more likely to use tablets or desktop computers.
British women are particularly into watching adult entertainment on their mobiles, with 79% of female Pornhub visitors doing so, behind only South Africa (91%) and the US (89%).
It’s unclear exactly why women prefer watching porn on our smartphones to our laptops, but it does seem likely that shame has something to do with it. While many men boast about their porn habit – and even boldly blast it out on public transport – there is still, sadly, a taboo around women watching it.