Adult – Internet Reference Much Different than Original Characterizations

The definition of an “adult” centers around the idea that an individual has reached a level of maturity. This may include biological maturity, reaching the age of majority or even achieving a certain personal or social status. When searching for the word “adult” online, this term takes on an entirely different meaning.

The search word “adult” is very often associated with sites that have “mature” content, mostly pornographic sites with “adult” pictures, movies, stories, and blogs. The following study is dedicated to quantifying and ranking searches involving the word “adult”. The volume and diversity of these searches are both interesting and revealing.

Adult Flash Games – New Phenomenon in Online Gaming

Judging from the volume of searches in Graph 1 below, adult flash games are of significant interest to online users. Simple multiplayer text-based games came into being in the early 1980’s when PCs began to reach the general public. They continued to grow in popularity throughout the 1990s and beyond. It follows then that “adult games” is the third most commonly searched phrase with 2,460,271 queries.

“Adult emoticons” are also a particularly popular search with 1,584,228 queries. This popular Internet graphic form has not escaped “adult” online creators. Similarly, furry art, a type of animation or visual art where animals take on human characteristics has worked its way into the “adult” realm with 355,050 queries. Also popular are “adult” comics, anime, and cartoons.

Adult - Prevalent Search Topics - Graph 1

(Continued on Graph 3 at the bottom of this page)

Top 30 two and three word combinations

	estimated searches/year across all search engines
	400,000		5800000
free adult	5675198
adult sex	2827711
adult games	2460271
adult friend	1835031
adult friend finder	1639204
adult emoticons	1584228
adult video	1412008
adult porn	1340929
adult halloween	1230541
adult stories	1221943
adult movies	1122555
adult videos	1052109
adult flash	838680
adult chat	782960
adult halloween costumes	743948
free adult sex	711139
adult flash games	674246
adult search	624778
sex stories	572795
adult sex stories	567427
adult toys	555785
adult costumes	532244
adult comics	526777
free adult movies	506036
sex games	496075
free adult games	467926
adult sex games	467512
adult dvd	440384
adult cartoons	419610
adult baby	416848
	400,000		5800000

Compulsive Sexual Behaviour or Online Pastime?

The line between “adult” searches being an online pastime or a sign of compulsive sexual behaviour is one that sexual addictions professionals attempt to define. Any sexual behaviour that becomes out of control or has negative consequences for the individual or others can be considered compulsive and a sign of sexual addiction. Judging from the difference in query numbers between this study’s most commonly searched phrase “free adult” at 5,675,198 queries and “sexual addiction” searches at 118,439 (see sexual addiction study), most online users are searching “adult” sites without any recognition of a problem or a pattern of compulsive behaviour.

Adult Market Research - Graph 2

Top 100 words used in adult searches
(Top 1000 can be found at Top 100 adult exact phrases and top 1,000 concepts/words. - Graph 5)

	estimated searches/year across all search engines
	0		6800000
free	6631103
games	5082132
sex	2950482
stories	2045526
friend	1835820
finder	1828777
video	1734104
emoticons	1595724
porn	1466471
videos	1401831
costumes	1395051
movies	1368851
halloween	1292090
chat	940958
flash	899380
online	839405
toys	825737
clips	726189
search	714083
comics	635970
sites	583450
xxx	563013
tv	556776
party	551554
cartoons	494972
art	483256
dvd	455052
movie	431698
baby	416979
costume	411082
furry	387592
engines	363308
toons	352263
anime	299870
dating	298237
swim	296684
pictures	285696
ideas	274929
pics	270858
home	263750
funny	258635
body	249740
painting	247026
engine	233561
web	229630
game	221617
disney	219391
rooms	212533
entertainment	208925
galleries	206281
personals	205975
youtube	201275
links	195110
amateur	187638
jokes	169299
diapers	159989
cartoon	159068
clip	156747
trailers	155721
friendfinder	142156
buffet	140038
list	138663
dvds	138461
humor	138442
women	136303
babies	134606
homemade	132579
sailor	132466
moon	132035
film	130491
reviews	126882
sharing	126601
hentai	126270
sexy	123886
elephant	118974
max	117558
huns	117383
yellow	117329
webcams	113942
erotic	111614
myspace	109760
cams	109306
marks	109305
comic	108779
bookmarks	108410
content	107286
fantasy	105943
2	104849
lingerie	104743
cards	104358
flintstones	100836
dragonball	96389
passwords	95550
cam	95155
spanking	94434
bbs	92048
toy	90710
simpsons	90325
downloads	89888
blog	89259
	0		6800000

Sexual Addictions Research Benefits from Innovative Form of Study

At Clear Haven Center, a progressive drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility near Montreal, Canada, search frequency studies are revolutionizing the way in which addictions professionals keep pace with trends and developments. Sexual addictions research is just one of the topics covered by this innovative method.

Adult - Prevalent Search Topics, Continued - Graph 3

Top 31 - 100 two and three word combinations
(Top 30 are in Graph 1 above)

	estimated searches/year across all search engines
	100,000		430,000
adult xxx	415518
adult tv	412301
adult party	405533
adult movie	403060
free adult video	368171
adult free	358531
free adult porn	358181
adult furry	355050
adult sites	352584
free adult videos	337576
adult search engines	332666
online adult	306540
adult swim	296684
adult party games	295199
free adult sex stories	290074
adult dating	273657
adult anime	273415
adult toons	269776
free adult stories	264298
free adult chat	263399
sex toys	262664
adult sex toys	262504
adult clips	261257
adult video clips	250045
adult body	249707
adult body painting	247024
adult online	242314
adult furry art	241873
adult pics	223174
adult search engine	210822
adult web	207801
adult pictures	204020
online adult games	203486
adult halloween costume	199074
adult entertainment	198513
adult chat rooms	198223
adult home	197712
adult links	194563
adult personals	188486
adult youtube	187819
free adult flash	183460
free adult sex games	182000
adult online games	178007
funny adult	176200
adult halloween games	173701
free adult flash games	170354
adult jokes	162046
adult games online	158221
free online adult	152466
adult free video	145304
adult art	143553
adult friendfinder	142154
adult buffet	140038
adult humor	137144
adult dvds	136825
adult disney	135080
adult babies	134605
adult free video clip	132278
adult sailor moon	131751
adult diapers	129388
adult film	129211
free adult movie	127457
porn games	123619
adult porn games	122413
adult finder	122357
free adult video clips	122288
homemade adult	117685
max adult	117537
free adult sites	117413
adult cartoon	115090
	100,000		430,000