New research involving young people aged 13 to 21 found that 64% of them had seen online pornography and that, of these, the average age of first exposure was 13.
Furthermore, 10% said they had seen porn for the first time at the age of nine and 27% at the age of 11.
The investigation by the Children’s Commissioner for England also reveals that 79% have encountered violent pornography by the time they are 18.
It warns too that Twitter is the most common place that young people see pornography (41%), followed by dedicated pornography sites (37%), Instagram (33%) and then Snapchat (32%).
The report is based on focus group work with teenagers aged 13 to 19 and a survey of 1,000 young people aged 16 to 21. It concludes: “We find that pornography exposure is widespread and normalised – to the extent that children cannot ‘opt-out’.”
Register now, read forever
Thank you for visiting SecEd and reading some of our content for professionals in secondary education. Register now for free to get unlimited access to all content.
What's included:
-
Unlimited access to news, best practice articles and podcast
-
New content and e-bulletins delivered straight to your inbox every Monday and Thursday
Already have an account? Sign in here