‘Porn addiction’ is a term commonly used by young people, and some professionals or caregivers, to describe varying degrees of porn-related distress or problematic experiences. These may include feeling shame or anxiety around porn usage, becoming preoccupied with porn, escalating or evolving usage, or difficulty controlling porn usage or cutting down on porn.

‘Problematic porn usage’ is the term used by academics and some clinicians to describe a clinical experience where an individual has a loss of control over their porn use and continues with persistent usage despite adverse outcomes. It is often experienced with significant distress, feelings of shame, and psychosocial dysfunction, as well as other addictive behaviours.

The World Health Organization’s ICD-11 includes problematic patterns of pornography usage within the classification of ‘compulsive sexual behavior disorder’ (65). However, there is currently no recognised DSM-V classification, and a lack of robust scientific data supporting the diagnosis can make understanding and offering a formal assessment difficult.