Effects of pornography on young people

Developing a natural curiosity about sexuality fosters healthy sexual development.[10] Pornography serves as a sexual educator, as well as a main source of knowledge on diverse sexualities and sexual practices.[9]

Pornography fails to educate young people about the reproductive aspects of sex, as well as the ethical negotiations surrounding sexuality, such as consent. It also does not teach young people about relationship skills and safe sexual practices.[10]

Pornographic material may be utilized by young people to pleasure themselves, as well as to explore their sexual identities and other sexual practices.[11] Pornography can teach awareness and can foster acceptance towards personal identities, sexualities and bodies. It also enables those who engage with pornographic content to feel more comfortable expressing themselves in relation to sex and sexuality and to be reassured of their sexual identities.[10]

Expressing liberal sexual attitudes, such as the willingness to engage in premarital sex, casual sex, oral sex or anal sex, is associated with pornographic use. Engaging with pornography also influences expectations about sex, which can shape what society perceives to be pleasurable or conventional.[12] These expectations may cause anxiety or fear[9] if individuals feel uncomfortable engaging in these sexual acts.[12] Expectations shaped by sexually explicit content may also lead to unrealistic understandings of sex and sexuality in society,[13] as well as misrepresentative views of pleasure and acceptable behaviors in relationships.[12]

Sexual themes seen in public platforms, such as the media, advertisements and other marketing material predisposes people to perceive other's values and attractiveness based solely on sex appeal.[1]

Frequent pornographic use has also been associated with increased gender inequality[8] and stronger beliefs in gender stereotypes[13] associated with sex. Pornography has fostered sexist attitudes and sexual objectification, particularly towards women,[1] resulting to negative impacts on how men regard women in society.[2]

Pornographic exposure has been associated with unsafe sex practices. Unsafe sex practices may include engaging in sexual intercourse without the use of contraceptives, as well as engaging in diverse forms of sexual acts such as anal intercourse, facial ejaculation[9] and intercourse with multiple partners.[12]

Children who have been frequently exposed to explicit sexual content are more likely to engage in the behaviors and practices they observe.[11] They are also more likely to express sexually coercive behaviors such as those depicted in pornographic material.[13]

Using pornography has also been associated with frequent sexting. Young people may view sexting as a means of verbal or emotional communication amongst each other, rather than a means of sharing sexually exposing images of themselves to others.[11] Young people, particularly young girls, may feel pressured to send intimate images of themselves to others. This may elicit feelings of anxiety and discomfort.[13]

Pornographic content has become more aggressive, with most scenes depicting acts of physical and verbal aggression. Themes in pornography exhibit: men showing aggression and control; women being dominated; acts of aggression such as gagging, choking and slapping; degradation and humiliation of women; men getting what they want; women as objects of pleasure; unconventional and unrealistic forms of sex; unsafe and unprotected sexual practices; and engaging in sexual acts with multiple partners.[12]

Pornographic content displays sexual violence against women, which perpetuates sexual harassment to both men and women in society.[2] People who regularly engage with violent pornographic material are more likely to be sexually aggressive compared to those who view non-violent pornographic material or those who do not engage with explicit sexual content at all.[9]

Those who frequently engage with explicit sexual material are also more likely to be sexually aroused by violence.[12]

There has also been a growing trend of younger children who sexually assault other young children due to early or frequent exposure to pornographic content.[12]

The messages that sexualized materials convey impact how children develop their identity, attitudes and beliefs, as well as their understandings on how society perceives them. Frequent engagement with pornographic content may also foster self-objectification, which is when one perceives his or her own body as an object of others' desires.[2]

Other psychological implications associated with the frequent use of pornographic material and the exposure to other sexualized material include developing depression and low self-esteem. These mental states may stem from the development of eating disorders,[2] which can arise from a damaging perception of one's body image, associated with exposure to sexualized material.[8] Depression and low self-esteem may also stem from body insecurities when one feels like he or she does not embody what society perceives to be attractive. Again, these societal norms are influenced by sexualized material such as women's and men's clothing magazines.[8]

Exposure to sexually explicit images can also pressure young people to take and send sexually exposing images of themselves to others, which may subject them to having their intimate images distributed without consent.[2] This makes them susceptible to cyberbullying, sexual bullying, harassment, sexual abuse, child abuse and sexual exploitation.[9] These consequences may also distress or upset younger children[9] and can damage young people's mental and emotional health, increasing the likelihood of psychological illnesses as well as physical illnesses to manifest.[8]