Pornography has always been a pioneering industry online, pushing internet technology, business models, and usage forward more than is often acknowledged.
New data from video porn website Pornhub—which itself had nearly 15 billion views in 2013—suggest that the adult entertainment sector is a leader in the shift to mobile as well.
In 2013, the US earned the distinction of being the first country tracked by Pornhub to watch the majority of its online porn on mobile phones. About 52% of porn consumption was on mobile phones this year, compared to 46% last year, according to Pornhub. That’s significantly higher than anywhere else.
Privacy and portability are two obvious reasons for the mobile shift. But more broadly, usage of everything digital is moving from desktops and laptops to tablets and smartphones. That 62% of porn video consumption in the US is taking place on mobile devices drives that point home.
Phones and tablets as a percentage of usage jumped from 2012 to 2013 in all of the countries Pornhub tracks. It’s likely just a matter of time before the majority of their consumption comes from mobile phones too.
Among the other interesting data in Pornhub’s latest report is its analysis of usage by day of week and country. Monday is the most active for online porn consumption in most countries except for Japan, whose usage patterns appear out of sync with the rest of the world (see Pornhub table below.) In addition, global porn traffic drops heavily on Christmas Day, except for in Japan, where it actually spikes higher.
