The Covid-19 pandemic has affected almost everyone, both individuals and businesses. Currently, the porn industry is in the minority of those industries that do not suffer from a pandemic. The adult film production can be a place where other industries that develop plans for safe workplaces reopening can find advice.
After the outbreak of HIV infection in the 1990s, the porn business has completely changed, as new rules have come into play. The mainstream porn community has implemented procedures that require all performers to be tested for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections every 14 days before they can be cleared to work. Any HIV-positive test leads to an immediate shutdown of all U.S. sets, followed by detailed contact tracing before sets can reopen.
Sounds very similar to today's situation, isn't it? However, even being so prepared, the porn industry has experienced some correlations due to the pandemic.
Let's take a look at how the adult film industry has changed with the spread of Covid-19.
1. Demand has grown in a short time
The pandemic has locked millions of people in their homes and completely has taken away all social contacts and engagement. Of course, in such conditions, boredom prevails and forces people to look for activities to somehow spend their time. Porn is always a big player in the fight against boredom.
With the continuation of quarantine, porn traffic has increased on major online platforms. And it seems that the restrictions will not stop, so demand will only grow. For example, compared to March, Pornhub traffic was up 22% in April, the first full month of stay-at-home mandates. Social media-based adult content site OnlyFans announced a groundbreaking 75% rise in new sign-ups in March.
2. Social distancing turns porn sites towards amateur and home-made videos
Amateur videos have been gaining popularity in recent years, compared to the traditional content made in the studio. And the coronavirus pandemic has only increased this demand.
Porn performers must adhere to quarantine restrictions just like anyone else. That is why sites with less professional content began to gain popularity. Moreover, they began to gain popularity not only among viewers but also among industry workers.
Some platforms provide a premium subscription to the performer and get access to insisting content or order videos to your liking. All content performers make by themselves at home. It can be a great idea to start a business because such platforms have grown during the quarantine.
3. New people are not always aware of the consequences and responsibilities of the industry
At a time when there are massive job cuts, business closures, and business survival in a pandemic, the porn industry is thriving and making money. People from other fields want to make money and enter the porn industry because amateur videos and webcams are now at the peak of their popularity.
But they don't realize that all the content that goes online stays there forever. And have their consequences. People lose their jobs because their colleagues watch their videos at work, and, of course, the boss doesn’t like that.
In any case, the pandemic only slightly correlated the porn industry but did not make it suffer.