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This paper presents findings about young people’s experiences with online pornography. It draws on data from the first national survey of secondary school boys and girls regarding their attitudes and feelings about online pornography, whether viewing it deliberately or accidentally. To our knowledge, this is the most extensive survey of 11-16 year...
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... Numbers of children who have ever seen porn and with whom When directly asked whether or not they have seen online pornography, (survey question 13), 476 young people (48%) had seen pornography and 525 (52%) reported not seeing online pornography. Figure 5, presents findings of whether or not young people were by themselves when they first saw online pornography and whether they expected to see it or not. Four hundred and sixty-four young people answered this question. ...
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... Qualitative research suggests that parents generally view their children's involvement with IP negatively. Several studies have found that, as with sexuality in general, parents are hesitant, fearful, nervous, and/or embarrassed to discuss the subject of IP with their child (Martellozzo et al. 2017;Zurcher 2019). Unsurprisingly then, research in several contexts indicates that parentchild discussion of IP is uncommon and/or inadequate (Gesser-Edelsburg 2018; Barbovschi and Staksrud 2020;Davis et al. 2021). ...
... This rhetorical strategy of inverting stigmatizing attributions has been noted in other research in which speakers who belong to a marginalized group rework their difference in positive ways to 'turn the tables' on the dominant group (Morison et al. 2016). The depiction of adults as socially naïve and out of touch resonates with international research showing a disconnect between what adults believe young people should do in relation to intimate relationships and sexuality, and what they actually do (Jearey-Graham and Macleod 2015; Martellozzo et al. 2017). In this regard, Jearey-Graham and Macleod (2015) refer to a 'discourse of disconnect'. ...
In this article, we explore how culturally available sexual scripts are drawn on to make meaning of young people’s engagement with internet pornography (IP). We draw on a version of sexual scripting theory developed by feminist discursive scholars to perform a critical thematic analysis of 24 interviews with parents, educators, and young people. We identify three main scripts commonly drawn on by participants to make sense of youth engagement with IP, namely: a script of harm, a heterosexual script, and a developmentalist script. These scripts, often interweaving with one another, were deployed in various ways, firstly, as ‘risk talk’ and, secondly, as ‘resistant talk’. While both adults and youth engaged with dominant (‘risk’) and alternative (‘resistant’) talk, adults primarily positioned youth within ‘risk talk’. We show how alternative ‘resistant talk’ disrupts common, scripted ways of accounting for youth engagement with IP in a way that demonstrates more nuanced sexual subjectivities – particularly among youth – than the traditional media effects paradigm acknowledges. Importantly, our findings show how, within discursive restraints, essentialized gender constructions can be resisted to position youth as agentic sexual subjects.
... This adverse effect is especially relevant among boys (vs. girls), as they consume pornography more frequently (Brown et al., 2017) and have been found to show more positive attitudes toward it (Martellozzo et al., 2016; Save the Children, 2020). ...
Pornography is the primary means by which young people learn about sex. This, combined with a generalized lack of comprehensive sex education, can contribute to fuelling negative attitudes toward women. This research aimed to examine social perceptions of porn actresses versus porn actors, based on the stereotypes attributed
to them, considering viewer’s sexist ideology. In a sample of 306 individuals (53.9% women; Mage = 27.13; SDage = 9.35), results showed that pornography contribute to stereotyping women, with the discrimination that this entails. This research contributes to a better understanding of how discrimination against women is perpetuated in the realm of pornography.
... Recent reports on the relationship between pornography use and adolescents' well-being (Martellozzo et al., 2016 ;Quadara et al., 2017 ) have pointed to potential links between pornography use and risky sexual behavior as a major concern. Due to risky sexual behaviors, adolescents have the highest age-specific proportion of unintended pregnancies and the highest age-specific risk for acquiring sexually transmitted infections (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017 ). ...
In this chapter, the authors critically review the body of research on adolescents’ and emerging adults’ pornography use and its consequences. We start with a number of theoretical concepts—including social learning and comparison theories, sexual scripting, self-objectification theory, the confluence model, the value congruence model, cultivation and media practice models developed in communication science, and the differential susceptibility to media model—that have been employed in the field, mainly with the goal of understanding possible effects of youth pornography use. Next, we explore the prevalence (both pre- and post-internet), the dynamics (i.e., change over time), and correlates of pornography exposure and use. Associations between pornography use on the one hand and sexual risk taking and sexual aggression on the other hand are explored in separate sections. The role of pornography use in young people’s psychological and sexual well-being is also explored, focusing on possible negative, but also positive outcomes. Acknowledging rising societal concerns, we also reviewed the research on the role of parents in their children’s experience with pornography, as well as the potential contribution of emerging pornography literacy programs. In the final section, we present some recommendations for future research. In particular, much needed measurement (for pornography use and its specific content) and research design improvements are suggested, and practical implications are briefly discussed.KeywordsPornography useAdolescents and emerging adultsSexual risk takingSexual aggressionPsychological and sexual well-being
... According to a report by Ofcom (2018), 41% of 3-4-year-olds and 67% of 5-7-year-olds in the UK are now exposed to online pornography. This exposure influences the way children understand sex and relationships and may encourage them to emulate what they have seen (Martellozzo et al, 2016). Additionally, a third of child sexual abuse is committed by other children or young people (Hackett et al, 2016). ...
Background: Parental confidence and attitudes towards a young child’s readiness to receive sex education are varied and complex. There is growing global concern about increased sexual activity among younger children and related discussions about how families address sex education in the home.
Aim: The purpose of this study was to identify determinants of parents’ communication about sex with their primary schoolaged child/ren.
Methods: The study employed a cross-sectional design for UK parents with at least one child aged 5–11 years using an online questionnaire which incorporated validated scales.
Findings: A total of 205 parents participated with a total of 405 children. Parents with more than one child were more likely to have had a conversation with their child about sex and were more confident in talking about the reproductive process and healthy sexual relationships.
Conclusions: Parents with the confidence to engage children in conversations about sex can support targeted risk behaviour, pubertal development and sexuality.
... The average age of first exposure is thought to be around 11 years old (Rothman, 2021) and 52% of North American adolescents report at least weekly viewing of pornography (Bőthe et al., 2020). More than half of adolescents who have recently watched pornography said they used it to learn about sex (Office of Film and Literature Classification, 2018), and a substantial minority report both getting ideas about potential sexual behaviors from pornography (Häggström-Nordin et al., 2005;Martellozzo et al., 2016) and subsequently trying out those behaviors (Mattebo et al., 2012;Office of Film and Literature Classification, 2018). Notably, the likelihood that an adolescent will endorse pornography as a helpful source of sexual information increases for older adolescents and those currently in romantic relationships . ...
Research into adolescent pornography use has identified numerous individual-level behavioral and attitudinal correlates. However, associations between adolescents' pornography viewing and their romantic relationships remain understudied. Furthermore, very little is known about adolescents' watching pornography with their romantic partners (i.e., joint pornography use). The present study of adolescents (n = 755, 59.9% girls, M age = 15.72 years old [SD = 1.34]) is among the first attempts to link adolescents' pornography viewing behaviors to their romantic relationship attitudes and behaviors. We hypothesized that adolescents' viewing would be associated with poorer self-reported relationship skills, more negative relationship behaviors, and increased involvement in sexual activity, such as sexting. Partial support for these hypotheses was found. Frequency of overall viewing was associated with lower relationship and refusal skills. Lifetime joint pornography viewing was associated with higher rates of dating violence victimization and perpetration in the past six months and with more abusive behaviors from one's partner and more verbal conflict in the current dating relationship. Results, though cross-sectional, suggest that pornography viewing in adolescence is associated with poorer romantic outcomes. Implications for adolescent development and for healthcare providers and educators are discussed.
... Young people usually first encounter IP during their teenage years and subsequently have regular experiences with it, intentionally or otherwise (Martellozzo et al., 2017;Peter & Valkenburg, 2006). Prevalence rates of IP viewing among young people has been studied using a wide array of research designs, across different disciplines, with varied population samples, drawn from unique cultural and societal contexts. ...
... Some research specifically addresses parent-child communication about IP, and this small body of work suggests parents are unsupportive, ill equipped and reticent about discussing IP with youth (Martellozzo et al., 2017;Rasmussen et al., 2015;Rothman et al., 2017;Widman et al., 2021;Zurcher, 2017). Parents, and mothers specifically, may be more likely to explicitly condemn IP viewing among girls, yet ignore such viewing among boys, further perpetuating a double standard and demonstrating the gendered concern within the sexualisation debates (Etheredge, 2016;Gesser-Edelsburg & Arabia, 2018;Sorbring et al., 2015). ...
... Our findings are consistent with international research, showing that most young people (85.31%) have seen IP on one or more occasion at some point in their life, either intentionally or unintentionally (Martellozzo et al., 2017;Peter & Valkenburg, 2016). ...
Youth encounters with Internet pornography (IP) have led to global concern
regarding the healthy sexual socialisation of youth. A growing body of critical research
recognises young people as agentic political actors in their sexual socialisation with
legitimate knowledge of their own experiences, and seeks to understand their
perspectives alongside those of influential adults in their lives. Grounded in social
constructionist thinking, my research extends this emerging body of knowledge. I
investigate how key stakeholders (16-18-year-olds, caregivers, and educators) account
for and discursively construct youth engagement with IP, and explore their perspectives
on porn literacy education. The central premise of this scholarship is to determine how
such knowledge might translate positively for young people through sexuality education
that recognises their lived realities.
Key stakeholders were recruited from nine schools across the North Island of
Aotearoa, New Zealand. A mixed-methods design was employed over sequential
phases, comprising an online survey (N = 484), a Q-sort (N = 30), and semi-structured
interviews (N = 24). Descriptive statistical analyses of the survey data provided a
preliminary understanding of youth engagement with IP; a specialised software
programme assisted with factor analysis for the Q-methodological study investigating
perspectives towards porn literacy education; and interview data were analysed by
means of a critical thematic analysis, drawing on a feminist discursive approach to
sexual scripting theory.
Key research findings are presented across four research articles and indicate
that; (i) (gendered) youth engagement with IP is commonplace, and there are varied
understandings between stakeholder groups and across genders as to why and how these encounters occur, (ii) youth take up agentic positions that suggest they are active,
legitimate sexual citizens, and adults generally harbour concerns about recognising
youth in this way, and (iii) the construction of childhood innocence dubiously positions
youth as uncritical, ‘at risk’ viewers of IP. Accordingly, protectionist adult intervention
is justified and conceptualised in accordance with this construction of youth.
My research highlights dominant and alternative constructions about youth
sexuality, and describes the synergies and discrepancies across key stakeholder
perspectives about youth engagement with IP. Importantly, my findings suggest some
youth engage with IP in a more nuanced manner than typically assumed. Through
gaining a comprehensive understanding of stakeholders' perspectives, the findings of
my research expand scholarly knowledge by providing practical inquiry into the
potential of porn literacy as pedagogy.
... Our findings are consistent with international research, showing that most young people (85.31%) have seen IP on one or more occasion at some point in their life, either intentionally or unintentionally (Martellozzo et al., 2017;Peter & Valkenburg, 2016). Additionally, for many young people, particularly girls, first encounters were reported as unintentional (54.68%), often as a result of being shown by peers or pop-up links appearing while browsing the Internet. ...
... Gender diverse youth reported viewing IP at a younger age (10.10 years) than their female and male peers, and may be exploring their identity and sexuality in a world where there are not as many resources to do this with, or people to talk with (Collier et al., 2013). Our research suggests that some young people seek out IP to try to learn about sex, and this occurs alongside reluctance to discuss sex (and particularly IP) with adults, and their perception of adults being reluctant to discuss it with them, consistent with previous findings about IP as a source of information about sex and sexuality (Martellozzo et al., 2017;Rothman et al., 2018). ...
Despite international inquiry regarding young people’s encounters with Internet pornography (IP), there is a lack of knowledge about how their caregivers (parents or guardians) and educators perceive these encounters in comparison to young people. Such knowledge is critical to understanding the synergies and discrepancies that might exist between these key stakeholder groups (youth, caregivers and educators) and across genders, to subsequently inform how to best support youth in navigating IP. To this end, the present study describes youth (16–18-year olds) encounters with IP, as well as caregiver and educator perceptions of these encounters. An online survey was completed by 256 youth and 217 caregivers and educators recruited from nine schools with an existing investment in sexuality education in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Similar to global trends, this group of young New Zealanders were familiar with IP and patterns of encounters were gendered. However, there were varied understandings between stakeholder groups and across genders as to why and how these encounters occur. Understanding the ways youth encounter IP—and exploring how caregivers and educators perceive these encounters—serves as a springboard for future research that considers the broader socio-cultural context within which these perspectives are constructed.
... Participants were also screened to ensure that they had previously seen IP, defined as: "By pornography, we mean images and films of people having sex or behaving sexually online. This includes semi-naked and naked images and films of people that you may have viewed or downloaded from the Internet, or that someone else shared with you directly, or showed to you on their phone or computer" (Martellozzo et al., 2016). ...
... In addition to being asked the age at which they were first exposed to IP, respondents were also asked about the context of their exposure. This measure provided a retrospective examination of respondents' early exposure to IP and employed a modified version of a scale utilised in a UK study of secondary students (Martellozzo et al., 2016). Novel items were added to capture sufficient detail of the circumstances of exposure, such as "To your best recollection, which of these best describes who you were with when you first saw pornography online…I was with a friend/a group of friends". ...
... These items were designed to measure the degree to which respondents were desensitised to IP (i.e. had a diminished emotional response after repeated exposure to IP) through their early exposure to IP (Martellozzo et al., 2016). The first affective responses to IP scale required participants to click on as many responses that they recalled feeling at their Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. ...
Introduction
Characterised by both exploration and engagement in risky behaviours, late adolescence and emerging adulthood are periods of particular vulnerability to dysregulated behaviours. One such behaviour less well explored is that of problematic Internet pornography (IP) viewing, despite viewing explicit online material becoming increasingly pervasive and normative.
Method
In 2020, 385 (270 females, 110 males) Australian undergraduate students (aged 17–25 years) completed an online survey assessing exposure to IP, affective and cognitive responses to IP, IP-related sexual beliefs, self-assessed problematic IP viewing and key psychological vulnerability factors. Correlational and regression analyses were utilised to assess the relationships between variables.
Results
Most male (57.3%) and female (33.7%) respondents recalled their first exposure to IP as occurring between 12 and 14 years; however, 28.2% of males and 23.7% females recalled their exposure as occurring between 9 and 11 years, and a small proportion were exposed even earlier. Higher IP viewing frequency, positive affective responses to IP at current exposure, elevated sexual impulsivity and the endorsement of IP-related sexual beliefs were all found to be associated with self-assessed problematic IP viewing.
Conclusions
Findings suggest that both person and situational factors may contribute to problematic IP viewing patterns. IP viewing may also be shaping the sexual beliefs and behaviours of some viewers.
Policy Implications
There is little consensus on the factors that may lead IP viewing to become problematic, which limits the ability of clinicians to identify more susceptible individuals. These findings suggest that in addition to dysregulation factors such as sexual impulsivity, dissociation and depression, affective responses to IP and IP-related beliefs may also be important to consider when assessing for whom IP viewing may become problematic.
... Rates of pornography use across early, middle, and late emerging adults tend to be relatively stable, suggesting consumption patterns are either established during adolescence or are rapidly developed in emerging adulthood (Carroll et al., 2008). A UK study of more than 1,000 children (11-16 years) found that almost all (94%) had seen IP by age 14 (Martellozzo et al., 2016), while an Australian study indicated the median age of first exposure was 13 years for males and 16 years for females (Lim et al., 2017), and in the United States, the average age of first exposure to IP was 11 years (Horvath et al., 2013). Gender has consistently been demonstrated to predict both the consumption of IP and its impact, with males more likely to use it more, to find it more exciting and enriching, and to acknowledge fewer negative effects (Flood, 2007;Hald & Malamuth, 2008;Paul & Shim, 2008). ...
... In addition to being asked the age at which they were first exposed to IP, respondents were also asked to reflect on the context of their exposure. A modified version of a measure from a UK study (Martellozzo et al., 2016) of secondary students exploring their attitudes and feelings about IP was utilised. Each item had a range of unique responses. ...
... Nine items assessed the influence of IP on respondent sexual beliefs on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree). These were partially based on a scale by Martellozzo et al. (2016) with novel additional items to provide further detail. An example of an item was "Seeing online pornography has led me to believe that the things people do in IP are the kinds of sexual behaviors that are normal in most sexual relationships." ...
... Viewing and engaging with IP is common and even normative [1,27,28], with recent statistics from just one popular IP website, Pornhub, indicating that there were over 42 billion visits to their website in 2019 [29]. Consumption of IP is also not limited to adults, with 94% of UK adolescents surveyed indicating they had seen IP by 14 years of age [30], US research finding the average age of first exposure was 11 years of age [31], and Australian research showing the median age of first exposure was 13 years of age for men and 16 years of age for women [3]. It is clear that there are many genres of sexually explicit material online, and some studies find that viewing some content may assist to diminish sexual anxiety and dysfunction, encourage sexual expression, and provide entertainment and satisfaction [32,33]. ...
This theoretical review explores the possibility that the consumption of internet pornography (IP) represents a credible risk factor in the perpetration of aggression and violence against women. Sexual violence, abuse, and degradation of women is commonly depicted in mainstream heterosexual IP. Despite the violent tenor, the effect this material may have on beliefs, attitudes and behaviors is understudied, as are the reasons why violent and degrading IP is so widely viewed, enjoyed, and accepted. Both theory and empirical findings support the contention that depictions of violence in IP may contribute to real world aggression and violence against women, with two relevant spheres of inquiry proposed in this theoretical review. The first considers IP as a ‘zone of cultural exception’, in which the perpetration of violent and degrading acts against women are eroticized and celebrated, despite such behaviors being considered antisocial in wider society. It is suggested that this excepted status is enabled by the operation of the third person effect to negate the detrimental effects of IP. The second explores the objectification and dehumanization of women in IP and the use of moral disengagement by viewers to enable their disavowal of any harm in the depicted violence.
