Youth & Porn Archives

The largest group of viewers of Internet porn is children between ages 12 and 17. Family Safe Media, December 15, 2005
Youth who look at violent x-rated material are six times more likely to report forcing someone to do something sexual online or in-person versus youth not exposed to x-rated material. [12] (Internet Solutions for Kids, Center for Disease & Control, November, 2010)
Middle-school aged boys who view X-rated content are almost three times more likely to report oral sex and sexual intercourse than boys who do not use sexually explicit material [13] Brown, J. & L'Engle, K. 2009, Communications Research, 36(1), 129-151, X-Rated: Sexual attitudes and behaviors associated with U.S. early adolescents’ exposure to sexually explicit media)
93 % of boys and 62% of girls are exposed to Internet porn before the age of 18.

70% of boys have spent more than 30 consecutive minutes looking at online porn on at least one occasion. (35% of boys have done this on more than 10 occasions.)

23% of girls have spent more than 30 minutes looking at online porn on at least one occasion. (14% have done this on more than one occasion.)

83% of boys and 57% of girls have seen group sex on the Internet

69% of boys and 55% of girls have seen porn showing same-sex intercourse.

39% of boys and 23% of girls have seen online sex acts involving bondage.

32% of boys and 18% of girls have viewed bestiality on the Internet.

18% of boys and 10% of girls have seen rape or sexual violence online.

15% of boys and 9% of girls have seen child pornography.

Only 3% of boys and 17% of girls have never seen Internet pornography.

Source :"The Nature and Dynamics of Internet Pornography Exposure for Youth." By Chiara Sabina, Janice Wolack, and David Finkelhor (from Cyber Psychology and behavior, 2008).
Roughly two-thirds (67 percent) of young men and one-half (49 percent) of young women agree that viewing pornography is acceptable. (Carroll, Jason S., et al. “Generation XXX: Pornography Acceptance and Use Among Emerging Adults. Journal of Adolescent Research 23.1 (2008) 6-30. Study examined population of emerging adults, aged 18-26)
Nearly 9 out of 10 (87 percent) young men and 1 out of 3 (31 percent) young women report using pornography. Ibid
Experts have warned that the rise in the viewing of pornography was implicated in a variety of problems, including a rise in the levels of STDs and teenage pregnancies. Additionally, males aged between 12 and 17 who regularly viewed pornography had sex at an earlier stage in life and were more likely to initiate oral sex, apparently imitating what they had seen. (Hamill, Jasper. “Internet porn ‘encourages teenagers to have sex early.” Scotland’s Sunday Herald. 2008., Kraus, S., and B. Russell. (2008) Early Sexual Experiences: The Role of Internet Access and Sexually Explicit Materials. CyberPsychology & Behavior. 11(2): 162-168.)
“Boys aren’t the only ones affected by our porn culture. Girls, who make up a portion of the 12–to–17 year olds that the porn industry’s largest consumer base, have internalized these messages too.” (R. Henes, “Internet porn is ruining your relationship,” NY Daily News, January 2, 2011.)
53% of boys and 28% of girls (ages 12 – 15) use sexually explicit pornography, most via the Internet; 98.9% of boys and 73.5% of girls have viewed pornographic sites (J. Brown and K. L’Engle, “X–Rated: Sexual attitudes and behaviors associated with U.S. early adolescents’ exposure to sexually explicit media,” Communications Research 35, no. 1 (February 2009):129–151. See also http://www.unc.edu/depts/jomc/teenmedia/pdf/xrated.pdf.)
When exposed to pornography, a child’s developing brain becomes neurobiologically altered, damaging the sense of self and reality (Riesman 2003)
For some adults and youth, pornography increases the risk of sexually aggressive behavior (Hald, Malamuth & Yuen 2009), and is one factor contributing to sexual dysfunction, including sexually deviant tendencies, sexual offenses, difficulty with intimacy and acceptance of rape myths (Paolucci-Oddone, Genious & Violato 2000).
Juvenile sex offenders are more likely to have been sexually abused, have atypical sexual fantasies, or had early exposure to pornography (Seto & Lalumiere 2010).
Children as young as 5 are imitating sex acts at school because they are allowed to stay up late and watch pornography (Journal of Family Violence 2009)
Research into male adolescent’s porn consumption found exposure to sexually violent messages affects their attitudes and perceptions, and these negative attitudes are not reversed by educational interventions. Malamuth, N. (2010) “Pornography’s Impact on Male Adolescents.” Adolescent Medicine: State of the Art Reviews. Vol. 4 (3).
About 2 out of 3 (63%) 15- to 17- year olds say they favor the Children's Internet Protection Act. (The Kaiser Family Foundation in consultation with International Communications Research, 2001)
The survey found that 90% of teens and young adults have gone online, and that half (49%) of those online plug in once a day or more. Three out of four young people (74%) have access at home, and nearly one in three (31%) has access from their own bedroom. (The Kaiser Family Foundation in consultation with International Communications Research, 2001)
Students were most at risk for cybersex compulsions due to a combination of increased access to computers, more private leisure time, & developmental stage characterized by increased sexual awareness & experimentation. Both computer classes & colleges might need to recognize this increased vulnerability and institute new primary prevention strategies. (MSNBC/Stanford/Duquesne Study, 2000)
Children are reported missing at the rate of 750,000 per year, 62,500 per month, 14,423, per week, 2,054 per day, and 85 per hour or 3 children every 2 minutes. (NCMEC Online Victimization: A report on the nation's Youth April 3, 2000)
44 percent of children polled have visited x-rated sites or sites with sexual content. Moreover, 43 percent of children said they do not have rules about Internet use in their homes. (Time/CNN Poll, 2000)
11/98 - 11-year-old Josh had been looking at graphic violent porn on the Internet for 20 minutes immediately before stabbing 8-year-old Maddie Clifton to death. (Dangerous Access, 2000)
6/29/98 - 13-year-old (boy) was in the Phoenix Burton Barr Library viewing porn on the Internet. He followed a 4-year-old into the bathroom and asked the younger boy to give him oral sex. (Dangerous Access, 2000)
While 75% of parents say they know where children spend time online, the truth about kids' Internet habits show 58% of teens say they have accessed an objectionable Web site: 39 % offensive music, 25% sexual content and 20% violence. (Source: WebSense, USA Today, 10/10-12/99)
Pornographers disguise their sites (i.e. "stealth" sites) with common brand names, including Disney, Barbie, ESPN, etc., to entrap children. (Cyveillance Study, March 1999)
Nearly all young people have used a computer (98%) and gone online (96%). They spend an average of just over one hour each day using a computer outside of schoolwork (1:02), including about 48 minutes online. In a typical day, just over half (54%) of all young people use a computer for recreation (compared to 85% who listen to music and 81% who watch TV) (Generation M: Media in the Lives of 8-18 Year-Olds. Victoria Rideout, Donald F. Roberts, Ulla G. Foehr. March 2005. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. 17 November 2006 <http://www.kff.org/entmedia/upload/Generation-M-Media-in-the-Lives-of-8-18-Year-olds-Report.pdf>).
In a typical day, just over half (54%) of all young people use a computer for recreation (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation Study, March 2005).
A study by the NOP Research Group found that of the four million children aged seven to 17 who surf the net, 29% percent would freely give out their home address and 14% would freely give out their e-mail address if asked. (Telegraph.co.uk January 2002)
The Kaiser Family Foundation's study on teens' use of the Internet for health information has some shocking findings:
Pornography and Internet Filtering Among all 15-24 year-olds:
Two-thirds (67%) support the law requiring Internet filters at schools and libraries.
Two out of three (65%) say being exposed to online pornography could have a serious impact on those under 18.
A majority (59%) think seeing pornography on the Internet encourages young people to have sex before they're ready.
Among the 95% of all 15-17 year-olds who have ever gone online:
Seventy percent have accidentally stumbled across pornography online, 23% "very" or "somewhat" often.
A majority (55%) of those who were exposed to pornography say they were "not too" or "not at all" upset by it, while 45% were "very" or "somewhat" upset.
A third (33%) of those with home Internet access have a filtering technology in place there. Among the 76% of all 15-17 year-olds who have sought health information online: *-*Nearly half (46%) say they have been blocked from non-pornographic sites by filtering technology.
The entire study is online at http://www.kff.org/content/2001/20011211a/GenerationRx.pdf (The Kaiser Family Foundation, 2001)
Internet pornography was blamed for a 20 percent increase in sexual attacks by children over three years.[6]
One out of three youth who viewed pornography, viewed the pornography intentionally.[1]
Seven out of ten youth have accidentally come across pornography online.
Nearly 80 percent of unwanted exposure to pornography is taking place in the home (79 percent occurs in the home; 9 percent occurs at school; 7 percent other/unknown; 5 percent at a friend’s home).[3]

Kids experience unwanted exposure to sexual material via:[4]

A link came up as a result of an innocent word search (40 percent)
Clicking on a link in another site (17 percent)
A pop-up (14 percent)
Other (13 percent)
Misspelled web address (12 percent)
Don’t know (4 percent)
Pictures involving animals or other strange things (10 percent)

Type of material youth encounter when unwanted exposure to pornography occurs:[5]

Naked people (86 percent)
People having sex (37 percent)
Violent pictures (13 percent)

Every second…

$3,075.64 is being spent on pornography
28,258 Internet viewers are viewing pornography
372 Internet users are typing adult search terms into search engines (Internet Filter Review, 2006)

Every 39 minutes, a new pornographic video is made in the United States. (Internet Filter Review, 2006)