A leading Australian group which works to stop violence against women and children says evidence suggests that young people’s pornography exposure has big public health implications.
Our Watch said advances in technology over the last decade had made pornography readily accessible on mobile devices, with a recent Australian study of 15–29-year-olds finding that 100% of young men and 82% of young women now reported ‘ever viewing pornography.’
“The median age for first exposure was 13 years for boys and 16 for girls. Male participants were much more frequent consumers, with 39% reporting viewing pornography daily in the last 12 months and a further 46% weekly, compared with 4% and 19% of female participants reporting daily and weekly use respectively,” the organisation said.
During the latest review, researchers from the QUT School of Justice — Professor Michael Flood and PhD candidates Maree Crabbe and Kelsey Adams — drew on a nationally representative survey of 1985 Australians aged 15 to 20 to investigate their exposure to and use of pornography.
Their findings, published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, revealed that risky sexual practices and violence towards women were often associated with pornography exposure and said that public health strategies for young people needed to address pornography use.
“In particular, pornography plays a role in shaping young people’s sexual understandings, expectations, and experiences. Research has shown pornography is associated with a range of harmful attitudes, and behaviours, including risky sexual behaviours, greater sexual objectification of women, rape myth acceptance, and sexual coercion and aggression,” Ms Crabbe said.
“Prevalence rates vary greatly, depending on factors such as participant age and how exposure is defined – for example, whether definitions include unintentional exposure, deliberate exposure, or both – but across a range of countries, the literature overwhelmingly suggests that people are being exposed to pornography from a young age.”
In the latest survey of 15–20-year-olds, 86% of male and 69% of female participants had seen pornography.
“Of those 50.1% of young men and 40.3% of young women reported deliberately seeking pornography the first time they viewed it,” Ms Crabbe said.
“Among young people who had seen pornography, the average age of first porn exposure was 13.2 years for males and 14.1 years for females.”
Curiosity was cited as the main motivation for seeking pornography for the first time, followed by sexual stimulation, because friends were watching, and wanting to learn more about sex.
Professor Flood said the extent of pornography exposure revealed by the study made it likely pornography was a significant influence on Australian young people’s sexual attitudes and behaviours.
“Pornography use is associated with both violence perpetration and victimisation. Given that young men aged 15-19 years are the group most likely to perpetrate sexual violence, and young women of that age group are most likely to be victims of it, violence prevention should include efforts to reduce pornography’s potential harms,” Professor Flood said.
“Almost half the young people who first encountered pornography accidentally stumbled upon it online via searches or pop-ups, suggesting both regulatory and technological measures should be considered to limit minors’ online exposure.”