The growing presence of pornography and explicit content on the internet continues to have an impact on youth who are seeing it either on purpose or by accident at alarming rates.
According to a recent Common Sense Media survey, 54% of teenagers reported seeing online pornography before they turned 13. On average, respondents for the survey listed 12 as the average age they first consumed the content.
Even more concerning, 15% of those polled said they had seen pornography as young as 10-years-old.
Common Sense Media is a non-profit child advocacy organization, and its poll included responses from 1,300 youth ages 13 to 17 and was carried out in September 2022.
The survey points to the glaring issue that has been discussed for sometime now, as exposure to explicit content like porn can lead to several different lifelong consequences for young people.
“Pornographic content can harm children. Exposure to pornography at a young age may lead to poor mental health, sexism and objectification, sexual violence, and other negative outcomes,” according to a Unicef post about the dangers of porn. “Among other risks, when children view pornography that portrays abusive and misogynistic acts, they may come to view such behavior as normal and acceptable.”
The report also discussed the danger of older teens consuming the content, noting that it can have unrealistic or dangerous expectations of healthy sexual relationships. The survey found just that, as around 25% said it accurately depicts how most people have sex.
Less than half of those who reported watching pornography said that it has provided them with helpful information about sex.
However, not all those who saw the content sought it out, as the survey found that while 44% watched pornography intentionally, 58% saw it by accident.
The majority of those who saw the content also shared that it was aggressive or violent forms of pornography.
As for how the content made teens feel, a majority said they feel “ok” about the porn they watch, while half said they feel guilty or shameful after they watch or view it.
For those consuming pornography intentionally, around 75% said they had viewed it within the last week. Still, 68% of those who saw it accidentally also said they saw it within the last week, meaning the content is coming from somewhere online and finding its way to their devices.
“Worryingly, most teens responding to this survey who said they have only ever seen pornography accidentally also reported that they had been exposed to pornography accidentally in the previous seven days, suggesting that unintentional pornography exposure may be a frequent experience for teens who aren’t seeking it out,” authors wrote.
With content easily accessible, being that a growing number of young people are able to access the internet on personal devices, Unicef says it is important to talk about the dangers of porn, as regulations aren't enough.
“While regulatory and technological initiatives are essential, they are not sufficient on their own,” the Unicef page says. “There is also a need to educate and empower children to navigate the digital environment with critical reasoning skills, media literacy, and information on healthy relationships.”
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