Arousal Quantified: 7 Trends Revealed via Pornhub's Data
What millions of searches and clicks say about sexual desire
Porn.
What are you feeling?
It’s strange that for a single word to embody so much, we have such a hard time publicly expressing those thoughts and feelings.
Arguably, what we’re most uncomfortable with is not porn itself, nor are we uncomfortable speaking out against porn, but rather what we’re uneasy with is navigating its complexity and nuance.
Perhaps this is because we don’t have a whole lot of data to base our opinions off of — just private, isolated thought amidst a backdrop of taboo.
Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, author of Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are, writes,
“People have no incentive to tell the truth on surveys. The more impersonal the conditions, the more honest people will be. An internet survey is better than a phone survey, which is better than an in-person survey.”
Stephens-Davidowitz goes on to propose that Google searches are “the most important dataset ever collected on the human psyche.”
I think we can take this idea one step farther.
The Pornhub search bar, the largest porn platform in the world, and the 7th most viewed website in the world — more frequented than Amazon.com — is an even more intimate alter of human truth.
ZINE received early access to Pornhub’s 2024 Year in Review Data Report — in addition to some exclusive, requested analyses — in order to better decode the state of eroticism, curiosity and our private desires online.
Before diving into the 7 themes I identified, I propose 7 important framings before touching the data:
This analysis solely focuses on statistics revealed around consumption, rather than what drives consumption, porn’s effects, it’s larger role in culture or sex work itself.
Like all entertainment, porn is not one medium. This data only speaks to one site. It does not reveal trends across OnlyFans, cam/streamer platforms, and audio or literary erotica.
When reviewing the data — as always, we should ask, “What are its biases?” This spawns questions: Does a platform and algorithm drive preference, or does preference drive the algorithm? Further, are creators making what they want, or what the platform rewards? And even further, do some clicks matter more in this creation-consumption flywheel? For writer Gustavo Turner,
“There’s an analogy to be made with U.S. politics: political analysts refer to ‘what the people want,’ when in fact a fraction of ‘the people’ are registered voters, and of those, only a percentage show up and vote. Candidates often try to cater to that subset of ‘likely voters’ — regardless of what the majority of the people want.
In porn, it’s similar [...] Porn companies, when trying to figure out what people want, focus on the customers who convert. It’s their tastes that set the tone for professionally produced content and the industry as a whole.”
Therefore, is what’s produced, most available or most surfaced unevenly influenced by a fraction who pay for porn? These are all worthy questions to remain mindful of.
Related, are our searches and consumption driven by preferences or inquisitiveness? When “hentai” (a style of Japanese pornographic anime and manga) is the most searched for term on Pornhub globally, is that because no one has any idea what hentai is or are more people getting into hentai? If I’m to pick a side, I don’t think this is obliviousness. For those 18-24, the Hentai category is watched on average for 6m05s which is much longer than a quick, curious peek. For context, Hentai is watched longer than Cosplay (4m52s), another top category for this demo, and only slightly less than than the Lesbian category (7m18s), which is one of the longest watched categories across the entire platform. Also, Google exists.
Young men are (too) often seen as the only consumers, and therefore drivers of porn. This is changing. Worldwide, women now account for 38% of all Pornhub visitors, up from 14% in 2015. And while 18-24 year-olds make up 27% of all traffic, and 25-34 year-olds make up 24%, the rest — near half of all visitors — are 35+ (35-44 = 17%, 45-54 = 14%, 55-64 = 11%, 65+ = 7%.) We should be mindful of this demographic diversity.
Whether you watch, enjoy and approve of porn or not, remaining curious about what the world consumes is critical to inform our understanding of society at large. If you’re uncomfortable even reading about porn, that’s a worthy inquiry. We don’t have to like or celebrate everything to respect it.
We will never have complete explanations to such data, and therefore we should also bask in the unknowing.
So, with that out of the way, here are the largest emergent themes:
01. Get Real: Manufactured Authenticity
As fact and fiction blends, as does our reality and entertaining fantasy.
In 2024, searches for “authentic sex” grew +43%, “real authentic” +39%, and “authentic couple” +28%. Searches for “ethical porn” were up +92% and “respectful sex” +61% YoY (year-over-year). Searches for “real amateur” jumped +10 spots becoming the 27th most searched phrase globally.
Meanwhile, the category Behind The Scenes grew +75%, signaling a desire for new ways to “connect” with performers. This is driven by the astronomic growth of the OnlyFans model (in both senses: individuals and economics).
One of the most revealing stats supporting desire for “the real” is that the more natural Vertical Video category is up +85% YoY.
This reach for the real isn’t new. In 2022, searches for “real amateur homemade” grew +179% worldwide. At the time, some of the most popular searches were “real orgasm,” “real couple,” and “real massage.” Further, this interest is actually being driven by women, who view "reality porn" +37% more than men.
The surge in searches for “real” reveals a deep tension in our collective psyche — a desire to pierce through the artificial, filtered, performative and algorithmic veil and to witness something fundamentally raw, human and intimate.
The paradox is that we seek authenticity through the very mechanisms of mediation (screens), which drive us to crave it. Behind-the-scenes content doesn't eliminate the screen — it adds another layer, another performance of authenticity. Meanwhile, interest in “ethical” and “respectful” signal a radical awareness.
We're not choosing between real or fake — we're authoring new blurrier definitions of “real.”
02. Elder Eros: MILFs, DILFs & The Mature
When it comes to the most viewed categories on the platform, in 2024, MILF soared to the most viewed category of the year, up +4 spots from 5th place in 2023, and one more spot since 2022. “Milf” remains the second most searched word globally.
In 2024, for men, the MILF category rose +2 spots to become their 2nd favorite, and for women it rose +4 spots to be their 3rd favorite.
Dads get the love too. In 2023, searches for “dilf” grew +71% and “daddy” +27%. Meanwhile, searches for “mature” grew +77% YoY, as the Mature category (separate from the MILF category) also jumped one spot globally.
Buckle in. More noteworthy, in 2023, there was a +132% increase in searches for “granny” with “granny cougar” and “sexy granny” also popping. To top it off, searches for “Gilf” grew by +168% YoY.
This may not be driven by young people interested in old people, but old people interested in the old people.
Whether it’s suppression or curiosity (or both), those 55+ are more likely to watch the categories: Strap On +35% more likely vs. the general public, Gangbang (+32%), Double Penetration (+29%) and BBW (+26%).
If we’re to trust this data as interest in the adventurous, it challenges our often-infantilizing assumptions about senior sexuality. It hints at a generation navigating late-in-life sexual exploration in an era of unprecedented privacy and access. After all, nearly 1-in-5 Pornhub visitors are 55+.
03. The Big Gets Bigger: Size Matters
Search terms “big,” “bigger” and “biggest” collectively grew by +177% worldwide in 2023, while searches containing “huge” grew by +67, and “massive” by +91%.
During the same time, “big boobs” saw an increase of +78%, “busty” nearly doubled by +94%, “big natural tits” were up +141%, and “big booty” searches were up +83%.
In 2024, “big ass” jumped +3 spots to become the 6th most searched word globally, “big tits” jumped +3 spots becoming the 15th most search word, and “BBC” became the 22nd most searched phrase (9th in the U.S.).
It may be a stretch, but I can’t help but wonder if as our lives become increasingly virtual and flattened, there's a counter-movement toward the extravagantly physical, corporal and fleshy.
It’s as if a crave for the physically overwhelming and undeniable is a reaction to our everyday digitally disembodied experiences. Maybe this isn’t just about size, but about presence.
Or maybe bigger is just hotter.
04. Synthetic Seduction: The Sexy Robot Takeover
In 2023, one of the top trending searches of the year was “android,” growing +1,689% YoY. The term is often combined with video game searches, as well as “android cosplay” and “android roleplay.”
Further, searches for “robot” grew by +304%, with terms like “sex robot,” “AI robot,” “3D robot,” and “anime robot” being the most popular in 2023. Meanwhile, searches for “sex machine” jumped by +88%.
Related and unsurprisingly, “NPC” (non-playable character) also spiked, essentially from zero searches to one of the most sought after pieces of content worldwide.
As AI hype festers and remains top of mind for us all, it shouldn’t be a surprise that we see such thoughts translate into sexual desire.
We’re witnessing post-human eroticism.
While stone dildos (technology!) are 28,000 years old, the anthropomorphism of our sextech is a bit newer.
It’s an uncanny sexy frontier — one which speaks to our human isolation and one that can be wholly programmed to our personalized tastes.
Mechanical fantasies aren't an escape from humanity, but another expression of it.
05. Intimate Recovery: Wellness & Care
Reflecting the zeitgeist, in 2023 searches for “therapy” spiked +344% YoY, and was a top trending search in some countries like Canada and Australia. Searches fore “therapy sex” were up +121%, while physical acts of care like “massage therapy” were up +76%, and “foot therapy” up +219%. Meanwhile, professions in the healing space like “massage therapist” were up +62%, “sex therapist” +55%, and “personal trainer” +85%.
Continuing the trend, in 2024, “massage” became the 16th most searched phrase globally, while “mindful pleasure” was up +112% and “mindful JOI” (jerk off instructions) was up +87%.
Porn centering wellness is perhaps the least surprising theme.
According to Gallup, the number of Americans seeking mental health treatment is nearly twice as high as it was two decades ago. We’re so systemically unwell that it’s revealed in our porn habits.
The perceived sacred, gentle safety of disclosure and healing is doing something for us. The crave for the eroticization of care is as profound as obvious.
This begs the question: Does the simulation of care satisfy our needs (at least in the short term), or exacerbate its absence?
06. Trans Porn: The Public-Private Paradox
In 2022, the Transgender category grew by +75%, becoming the 7th most popular category worldwide, where it remained in 2024. Trans porn is more popular than the Threesome, Bondage and Amateur categories.
In 2024, “trans” was the 20th most searched for term globally.
For men, it’s their 6th most viewed category above Lesbian, Threesome and Big Tits. And for women, it’s their 9th — above Popular With Women and Big Dick.
Pornhub found that visitors 55+ were the most likely to view Transgender porn (+16% more likely than other age groups), and men are +15% more likely to watch Trans porn than women. Additionally, searches for female identifying Trans Performers are watched +262% more than for those identifying as male.
It should be noted that anti-trans legislation has grown dramatically during this same exact time period...
Italy was 2x more likely to view Trans porn than the worldwide average — nearly +40% higher than the country who came second: Brazil, which was +63% more likely to view Trans content than the rest of the world. Following Italy and Brazil was Spain at +53% higher than average.
Correlation does not insinuate causation, and cofounding variable run amok, but it’s interesting that 74% of Italians and foreigners living in the country are Catholic, as are 53% of Brazilians, and 52% of Spaniards.
Brazil has the highest population of Catholics in the world and also the highest rate of trans murder than anywhere in the world, 3x those in the U.S.
Again, correlation does not insinuate causation.
The paradox of human sexuality and social politics, and the tension between public performance vs. private desire is worthy of significantly more of our attention. I don’t say this lightly. Public condemnation often masks private fascination.
This data doesn’t just reveal our hypocrisy, but the intricate ways desire, itself, navigates social stigma.
How ironic, the search bar has becomes the confessional.
07. Character Crossovers: Hentai, Anime & Cosplay
Topping this year’s most searched terms globally was “hentai,” which had significant growth over the years, and has held the top spot as the most searched term for now four years in a row.
In 2014, “hentai” was the 10th most searched for term in America. In 2023, it was 3rd, and now in 2024, it’s #1.
In 2024, searches for “animation” grew by +28% (now the 14th most searched for word globally, up +15 spots YoY) and searches containing “3D” were up +19% (24th most searched globally), and “realistic animated” up +78%
In 2023, Gen Z were +94% more likely than the general public to view hentai. In 2024, Gen Z were +193% more likely to view hentai.
We’d be mistaken to presume this is only driven by Gen Z men. For two years straight, Hentai climbed as one of women’s favorite categories, now their 7th most popular category. For men, it’s their 9th. Which means, in other words: For those who watch porn, hentai is more popular for women than it is for men.
This is imagination untethered. Animation is the counter-tension to the rise in the “authentic” and “real.” It’s the other extreme. The impossible can become the possible.
Interest in hentai isn’t a flee of reality, but a reinvention of it. After all, it exists. It’s real. Nothing here is “fake.”
Adjacent to the popularity of the Hentai and Animation categories, is Cosplay, or fictional character role playing. Cosplay as a category grew +33% YoY, with Gen Z having a special interest as they’re +146% more likely to watch Cosplay porn. It’s also one of the shortest viewed categories, watched on average for 4m52s (vs. the longest, Massage at 8m22s).
It’s worth pointing out Cosplay is a more commonly known term than Hentai. Therefore I don’t think Cosplay’s shorter watch time is driven by “let’s quickly take a peek and learn what this thing is.” If searches were actually driven by naive curiosity, then Hentai watch time (6m05s) would be lower than Cosplay (4m52s).
As for titles, in 2023, Star Wars was the most searched for IP, bumping Harley Quinn down -1 spot to a close 2nd. However with the new 2024 Joker 2 movie, Harley Quinn leaped back in first place as they most searched fictional character. Following these two was Game of Thrones, Avatar (which grew in 2023 due to the second release), Harry Potter, Wonder Woman, The Incredibles, Black Widow, Deadpool and Batman.
Shrek is searched more frequently on Pornhub than Superman, Batgirl and Star Trek.
Cosplay isn’t relegated to just TV or film — video games are swelling in popularity. Continuing its interest from 2021, 2022 and 2023, in 2024, Fortnite remains the most searched for video game title. Second was Genshin Impact, Pokémon, Overwatch and then... Minecraft.
Grown on video games, we can’t be surprised younger demographics are shaping their go-to medium into sexual curiosities. Deeper, games offer safe spaces to experiment with identity, trying on different skins.
For previous generations, sexual awakening might have happened through magazines, TV or film. Today its gaming.
On Being Human
Distilling this data is difficult.
Not just because there’s so much of it and it asks more questions than answers, but it makes ethereal ideas concrete. Undeniable. Desire becomes quantifiable. And that’s uncomfortable.
In speaking with Aella, a sex worker and researcher, analyzing sexual fetishes amongst many other cultural curiosities:
“I think there’s this fear that if you become scientific about something, you’ll figure out that your feelings are unjustified and then you’ll experience this horrible thing: ‘I’m afraid of this, but I’m sort of being forced by my logical mind to believe this thing.’
I don’t think this is true at all.
I think your feelings are there for a reason. Logic or rigorous analysis should be dedicated to figuring out why it’s there, not to suppress it or tell it it shouldn’t be there.”
These aren’t stats.
These are mirrors.
We fear the quantification of arousal because it challenges our carefully constructed narratives around sex and deepest held assumptions about the human condition. About normalcy. About ourselves.
Data doesn't judge, it reveals.
Yet a mathematical gaze doesn't diminish the mystery of sexual desire, it should only deepen it.
The surge in android and animated fantasies sit beside a hunger for authenticity, while a deadly tension mounts between public legislation and private browsing.
These aren't contradictions — they're constellations.
These are spots of light revealing the complexities of being human, telling us stories, and guiding us — ideally — forward.