Children and young people’s use of porn
Porn can be defined as the representation of sexuality through images, text and film with the intention of being sexually arousing/turning on the viewers.
Access to porn and porn’s content develops in step with other technological developments. The Internet and digital surfaces are today the most important access point for pornographic material and the availability is enormous.
This has implications for users, players in the industry and the industry as a whole. It is estimated that the porn industry has a turnover of close to NOK 100 billion annually and at the same time constitutes a significant part of global internet traffic. Almost half of Norwegian 13–18-year-olds have received advertisements for porn online.
Issues related to porn
There are many discussions related to the use and production of porn that are important. For example, porn is addictive for many and can affect thoughts and attitudes related to sex, sexual partners and gender roles.
Incidence of aggression, coercion and dominance is significant in mainstream porn, the same applies to large age differences between sexual partners and incest. Furthermore, vulnerable groups are at risk of being exploited by the porn industry. It has been documented that there are films of minors in the porn on the major porn websites. In reality, this is documentation of abuse against children and young people. There are also close connections between porn, prostitution and human trafficking.
Curious about sex and porn
Many young people are curious about sex and use porn as one of several sources of knowledge about sexuality and sexual acts. For many, watching porn has become part of sexual development.
Close to 90% of boys and close to 40% of girls have seen porn by the time they are 18 years old. The vast majority of people seek out porn because they want to. Most people are able to distinguish between pornography and reality, but for some it can be more demanding. For some, the use of porn could, among other things, influence which attitudes and expectations one has towards sex.
Porn addiction
Some young people are at risk of developing a form of porn addiction that can affect normal sexual development. The development of tolerance for “rough porn” could lead to a need for more and more extreme stimuli for one’s own sexual arousal.
For some, the addiction could lead to a reduced ability to regulate emotions and mentalize (understanding and interpreting one’s own and others’ emotions). Research has also shown that for some, viewing violent porn can increase the risk of sexual aggression, compared to viewing non-violent porn.
Younger children and porn
Younger children may find pornography frightening, and may need help understanding and processing what they have seen. It is important that adults supervise children’s use of the internet and preferably block porn on devices used by the youngest. For young people, it is perhaps more important that we ensure access to good sexual knowledge in other arenas. It is important that porn does not become the main source of information about sexual behavior and that adults must talk to young people about porn. Of young people who watch porn, most were under the age of 13 when they saw porn for the first time.
For young people, it is perhaps more important that we ensure access to good sexual knowledge in other arenas. It is important that porn does not become the main source of information about sexual behavior and that adults must talk to young people about porn. Of young people who watch porn, most were under the age of 13 when they saw porn for the first time.
Porn gives insufficient knowledge
Some young people experience porn as something positive. Porn is a source of pleasure, of exploration and relaxation. This is not necessarily dangerous or harmful.
At the same time, we know that many young people are negatively affected by porn. The depiction of sex in porn can help give young people a distorted picture of what sex is usually like. In porn, there is little focus on the emotional aspects between people having sex. The main focus is on sexual acts. Porn is one-sided in terms of what a sexual relationship and sexual experiences can be.
Expectations
Children and young people say that sex in porn contributes to unrealistic expectations of sexual acts, relationships and experiences. Porn can affect the expectations you have of yourself, and contribute to insecurity regarding body and appearance, sexual acts, sexual feelings, arousal, performance and endurance.
Sex in porn can also give a distorted image and unrealistic expectations of a lover or sexual partner. Porn can also influence what the young person thinks their sexual partner expects from them. It is easy for someone to join in with things that are not connected with desire, but which you join in because you think it is normal and expected.
Distinguishing between acting and reality
For children and young people, it can be difficult to distinguish between acting and reality. Misunderstandings about what is okay and what is not okay easily arise. In porn, it is common for sex between adults to contain degrees of physical and psychological aggression.
Studies indicate that as many as 1 in 3 scenes taken from popular porn sites depict non-consensual sex. One party is often dominant and exercises degrees of humiliation on the other party. Sex in porn is mainly centered around the man’s ejaculation. Young people report that it is not easy to find porn that illustrates “ordinary sex”.
Knowledge from safe adults
It is important that children and young people learn about sex and sexuality from safe adults. If children and young people do not get knowledge about a topic from adults they trust, young people will acquire knowledge from other channels, including porn. It is up to safe adults that children and young people get knowledge about sex – and about porn – from the right people.
Hear specialist in clinical pedagogy, Morten Lundgren at RVTS Midt, give a mini-lecture on porn. Lundgren is a specialist in clinical pedagogy at RVTS Midt and has for many years worked with investigations into children and young people’s aggressive and violent behavior as well as worrying and harmful sexual behaviour.
Find more mini-lectures in the e-larning program
Play it Right
Do you need a tool that makes it easier for you to talk to teenagers and young adults about topics related to porn, sex, hygiene and more?
It’s time we talked
When you need more information about
- the porn industry
- how porn affects young people and society
- how we can deal with the availability of porn
The Australian website, “it’s time we talked”, is recomended.