Life imitating porn: many Brits have tried something they have seen in porn

Matthew SmithHead of Data Journalism
February 22, 2019, 10:01 AM GMT+0

The distinction between porn sex and real life sex seems to be becoming blurred for some Britons

Newly released YouGov data reveals that the distinction between porn sex and real sex is becoming blurred for many Britons.

Of the 66% of Britons who have ever watched pornography, around one in ten men (11%) and women (8%) think it is “very similar” or “fairly similar” to real life sex.

This figure is highest among frequent viewers – 20% of those who watch porn “very frequently” and 16% of those who watch it “quite frequently” see porn sex and real life sex as similar.

On top of this, sizeable minorities have either tried to make their sex life more like pornography, or think their partner may have done so.

One in three men (33%) and one in four women (26%) who have ever watched pornography say they’ve attempted something from it with a sexual partner. This figure is as high as 49% among men aged from 25 to 34 years old and 36% of women in the same age bracket.

Again, it’s the most frequent porn watchers whose sex lives have imitated pornography more closely. In fact, a majority (56%) of those who watch porn “very frequently” and close to half (47%) of those who do so “fairly frequently” say they’ve attempted to do something they saw in pornography.

Additionally, one in three women (32%) and one in five men (19%) say that they suspect that a sexual partner has done or attempted to do something with them that was inspired by pornography.

Whether it was themselves or their partner trying it, it’s different positions, anal sex and BDSM that people were most likely to say porn had brought to their bedroom.

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