Adult content, online addiction and UK Sex-Ed

“I was online and someone I had never heard of before messaged me and told me to check out this website. It was a porno website, and ever since I looked at it I have become addicted and I just feel weird. I am really ashamed and now I am getting emails from tons of porn sites. I am so scared my mum is going to find out.”

These are the words of an 11-year-old girl, taken from just one of thousands of calls Childline has received from young people deeply worried about pornography.

The government has promised action to prevent incidents like this. For example, a law requiring people to prove they are over 18 before accessing pornographic websites was due to come into force this month, but has been delayed.

According to the NSPCC’s Abbie Gillgan, this new law will have a big impact: “For young people who accidentally view pornography, the chance of it happening is going to be vastly reduced.” Indeed, stats show that 46% of children who have seen porn first saw it by accident.

“But it is not a silver bullet,” she adds, saying that education is also key. This means “giving young people the ability to analyse what they’re seeing and to understand that it’s not real life”.

Research shows that 28% of 11 to 12-year-olds have seen pornography, rising to 65% of 15 to 16-year-olds. “It’s never been as easy to access it,” Gillgan says, “and to be able to access quite extreme forms with a few clicks — that is new”.

For children, the fantasies that pornography promotes can be harmful: from encouraging risky sexual behaviour, to fostering warped views about consent, body image and gender relations.

Some even report feeling “addicted”. Gillgan recounts young callers saying that “something popped up, and since then I just can’t stop clicking”.

But she stresses that help is always available: “We would say to young people that there’s no point at which you can say ‘I wasn’t addicted and now I am’. If you feel uncomfortable about what you are watching — know that there are people you can talk to.”

What more should be done about the issue?

Sex-Ed

Reducing access is the way, some say. Age verification for websites is a big step, but we must cast the net wider. Social media sites like Instagram and Facebook are notorious for allowing pornographic content to slip through their filters — a huge problem given how many teenagers use these sites.

Education is the key, others respond. It is inevitable that young people will see pornography at some stage. They must be equipped with knowledge about healthy attitudes to sex so they can understand and deal with it when this happens. This means more frank and supportive conversations about sex at home and in schools.