---
title: "Say Internet Pornography Is Harmful"
description: "That's the portion of the American adults who disagree with the statement  \"nude pictures and X-rated videos on the internet provide harmless entertainment for those who enjoy it.\" "
date: "2007-07-21"
authors:
  - name: "Russell Heimlich"
    job_title: "Former web developer"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/russell-heimlich/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2007/07/21/say-internet-pornography-is-harmful/"
---

# Say Internet Pornography Is Harmful

A large 70%-majority of Americans reject the idea that “nude pictures and X-rated videos on the internet provide harmless entertainment for those who enjoy it”; only 27% agree; in general, opinions about pornography have become slightly more conservative over the past 20 years. Currently 41% agree that “nude magazines and X-rated movies provide harmless entertainment for those who enjoy it,” while 53% disagree. The number saying such material is harmless has fluctuated, declining from 48% in 1987 to 41% in 1990 and then varying by no more than four percentage points thereafter. The pattern is more mixed for other values related to freedom of expression.[Read More](https://www.pewresearch.org/pubs/434/trends-in-political-values-and-core-attitudes-1987-2007)