Romance and porn may not be the most natural bedfellows, but it looks like Valentine's Day changes our porn viewing habits in the romantic direction. Or as romantic as mainstream porn gets. The fascinating Pornhub Insights consistently shows us how what's going on in the world— elections, holidays, movie releases— affects what we search for in our most, erm, private moments. And it turns out Valentine's Day is no different.
What is really interesting is that there is a big drop in porn viewing on Valentine's Day, according to Pornhub. In fact, it can go as low as 17 percent below normal viewing levels. I guess that a lot of us are busy with candlelit dinners and lingerie. But those of us who aren't seem to be searching for it.
Because not only is there a huge jump in searches that are specifically about Valentine's Day, it seems like we're in the mood for more romantic porn in general. Suddenly we're searching for things like "romance" and "making love" in our porn. I didn't even realize those were categories. But don't worry too much that we're all going soft, because there are also some increases in searches for rough stuff. We're only human, after all.
Here's a look at the most popular searches and when we're searching, because all the rules change on Valentine's Day:
1The Most Popular Searches
When it comes to searches, "love" had the biggest increase— a whopping 269 percent more than normal. Interestingly, there was a bigger jump for "love" searches for men than women. But as you can see, "quickie" and "bondage" also had big jumps, so it's not all massages and flowers.
2We Love Valentine's Porn
I didn't realize that this was so popular, but you can see the massive spike on the fourteenth. That's a 1,093 percent increase. I've never watched Valentine's Day porn, but there's definitely a video out there for everything, so I'm sure there are plenty of options if you're looking for them.
3There's A Bigger Drop Among Women
While there is less porn watching on Valentine's Day generally, it's actually women who slow down more than men. We drop our porn viewing by 22 percent around 9 p.m., compared to a 16 percent drop among men.
4There Are Big Differences In Age Groups
Younger age groups — 18 to 24 and 25 to 34 — showed larger drops than older ones. Maybe it's that they normally watch more porn or maybe they're just more tied down in romantic evenings, but they're logging on a lot less on Valentine's night.
5And It Varies Around The Country
One of the most interesting things I always find in these Pornhub insights is how much variation there is around the country. In some places porn habits really change with the season, in others there's almost no difference. For example, in Nevada there is a 22 percent traffic change, but in Minnesota it's only 2 percent. Nothing can stop those Minnesotans.
No matter where you are, it looks likely you're watching less porn on Valentine's Day. But if you are searching for it, it's probably more romantic. Because there's a porn for everything, even love.
