How accessible is porn?
- Porn is accessible through any electronic device with internet access. The more portable the device, the more difficult it is to monitor and manage a child or young person’s use.
- Internationally, it is estimated that 1 in 3 internet users are under 18.
- Estimated number of children who have access to a smartphone or tablet:
- 40% of children aged between 4-7 years
- 71% of children aged between 8-11 years
- 95% of children aged between 12-15 years
- Of those who use internet-connected devices, many have no monitoring …
- 16% of 4-7-year-olds
- 40% of 8-11-year-olds
- 73% of 12-15 year olds
- ⅓ of students under the age of 8 years had attempted to access some type of online porn in the previous 6 months (according to a filtering company in 2019). This includes accidentally accessing porn through banners and pop-ups depicting sexually explicit images or videos.
- By age 13, almost 70% of boys and 25% of girls have seen online porn.
- Around 15% of all teens have received an image or video of someone nude or nearly nude that they did not ask for.
- Porn can be accidentally or deliberately viewed on internet-connected devices through sources such as:
- Google images
- Apps and chat rooms
- Peers or siblings
- Gaming
- Social media
- Youtube and Youtube kids
- Pop-ups
- Music videos
- Books/Kindle
- Airdrops, hotspots, emails
- Chat forums such as Reddit
- Porn can also be accessed through porn sites and other adult platforms such as PornHub, RedTube, Brazzers, X-Videos and more.
How can porn harm young people?
- A 2019 UK study revealed that children as young as seven are seeing aggressive, violent or degrading porn online (accidentally or deliberately).
- Porn can influence the sexual scripts (or stories about sex) that young people believe–it promotes gender inequality and men’s power over women rather than messages about what women may find pleasurable.
- Porn can also contribute to a heightened risk of grooming; child-on-child sexual abuse; sexual harassment and abuse—online and offline; the normalisation of sexting (sending and receiving explicit images); mental health concerns and addiction; porn-induced erectile dysfunction and arousal disorders; and escalation to extreme content.
According to the Australian Institute of Family Studies, ease of access to online porn has raised concerns about the impacts it can have on children and young people’s:
- knowledge of, and attitudes to, sex;
- sexual behaviours and practices;
- attitudes and behaviours regarding gender equality;
- behaviours and practices within their own intimate, sexual or romantic relationships; and
- risk of experiencing or perpetrating sexual violence.
In the last decade, research conducted with young people highlights increases in:
- Normalised sexting, sending nudes or pressuring others into sending nudes.
- Cases of young people recreating the violent, aggressive or degrading acts viewed in porn with sexual partners.
- Anxiety and self-esteem issues surrounding sex and body image.
- Compulsive sexual behaviours and porn-induced erectile dysfunction.
Regular porn viewing, particularly throughout childhood and adolescence, can impact mental health and lead to compulsive sexual behaviour disorder–often referred to as porn addiction.
Intentional exposure appears to be associated with overall negative psychological well-being. Regular porn use can lead to difficulties with concentration and academic performance and contribute to depressive symptoms, diminished life satisfaction and higher levels of sexually permissive attitudes. On the more extreme side, porn viewers may become fixated on sourcing sexual materials that are more and more violent, including illegal content that would not have originally appealed to them.
The Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation recommends that children and young people of all ages need the support, guidance and education of adults to stay safe online.
- Those of primary school age should always be overseen by an adult when online.
- Those in early teenage years should have their online activity monitored and supervised closely by an adult.
- Those in older teenage years should be educated about what to do to stay safe when they are online.
- Those with learning or other disabilities may require different levels of supervision and support based on their needs.
Parents, you can find help to safeguard kids for digital, relational, emotional and mental wellbeing by downloading our free kids & screens guide—a measured & balanced parenting approach for every age and stage. Find this and other recommended resources on our website: Parent Help 101.
The best way to promote safe & healthy relationships free from sexualised harms is through research-based education—schools partnering with parents. Ask us how.
Click to view the Bibliography
References list in order of appearance and hyperlink from the blog text.
- ACCCE – Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation. (2020). Online Child Sexual Exploitation: Understanding Community Awareness, Perceptions, Attitudes and Preventative Behaviours. Retrieved from: https://accce.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/60246/ACCCE_Research-Report_OCE.pdf
- (2019). New research commissioned by the BBFC into the impact of pornography on children demonstrates significant support for age verification. Retrieved from: https://www.bbfc.co.uk/about-us/news/children-see-pornography-as-young-as-seven-new-report-finds
- Beyens, I., Vandenbosch, L., & Eggermont, S. (2015). Early Adolescent Boys’ Exposure to Internet Pornography: Relationships to Pubertal Timing, Sensation Seeking, and Academic Performance. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 35(8), 1045–1068. DOI: 1177/0272431614548069
- Culture Reframed Parents Program. (n.d.) Enrichment 1: Porn & the Brain. Retrieved from: https://parents.culturereframed.org/course/enrichment-1
- eChildhood 2020 Update: Statement of Research Relating to Pornography Harms to Children. Prepared by Walker, L. & Kunaharan, S. Retrieved from: https://www.echildhood.org/statement
- ICD-11 for Mortality and Morbidity Statistics. (Version : 09/2020) 6C72 Compulsive sexual behaviour disorder. Retrieved from: https://icd.who.int/browse11/l-m/en#/http%3a%2f%2fid.who.int%2ficd%2fentity%2f1630268048
- Koziol, M. Sydney Morning Herald. Internet filter finds one in three children under eight trying to access pornography (News Article, 29 September 2019). Retrieved from: https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/internet-filterfinds-one-in-three-children-under-eight-trying-to-access-pornography-20190920-p52tcu.html
- Lim, M.S.C., Agius, P.A., Carrotte, E.R., Vella, A.M. & Hellard, M.E. (2017). Young Australians’ use of pornography and associations with sexual risk behaviours; Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health; 41(4): 438-443. DOI: 1111/1753-6405.12678
- Livingstone, S., Carr, J. & Byrne, J. (2016). One in three: Internet Governance and Children’s Rights. Innocenti Discussion Paper No.2016-01, UNICEF Office of Research, Florence. Available from URL: https://www.unicefirc.org/publications/pdf/idp_2016_01.pdf
- Luscombe, B. Porn and the Threat to Virility. Online Article: Time Magazine, March 31, 2016. Retrieved from: https://time.com/4277510/porn-and-the-threat-to-virility
- Ma, C.M.S. Relationships between Exposure to Online Pornography, Psychological Well-Being and Sexual Permissiveness among Hong Kong Chinese Adolescents: a Three-Wave Longitudinal Study. Applied Research Quality Life 14, 423–439 (2019). DOI: 1007/s11482-018-9604-5
- Madigan S, Ly A, Rash CL, Van Ouytsel J, Temple JR. Prevalence of Multiple Forms of Sexting Behavior Among Youth: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatr. 2018;172(4):327–335. DOI: 1001/jamapediatrics.2017.5314
- Palazzolo, F., & Bettman, C. (2020) Exploring the Lived Experience of Problematic Users of Internet Pornography: A Qualitative Study, Sexual Addiction Compulsivity. DOI: 1080/10720162.2020.1766610
- Park, B.Y.; Wilson, G.; Berger, J.; Christman, M.; Reina, B.; Bishop, F.; Klam, W.P.; Doan, A.P. Is Internet Pornography Causing Sexual Dysfunctions? A Review with Clinical Reports. Behav. Sci. 2016, 6, 17. DOI: 3390/bs6030017
