Children and porn
Texts, images or movies. Pornography comes in many variations and has always been around, but with the internet it has become easier to access porn. Both when you want it and when you don't.
Children don't have to be very old before they can type "sex" in the search box on Youtube or Google, and thus they have access to pornographic images. It may also be that they enter a page that parents or siblings have forgotten to close. Many children encounter porn for the first time at the age of 10-12.
of boys and 86% of girls aged 15-17 have watched porn before having sex.
Porn is not for children
Porn is not produced for children. It can be a violent and boundary-crossing experience for young children to watch porn because they do not understand what it is they are seeing.
It is important that your child knows that they can always come to you if they have seen or experienced something online that they did not understand or did not think was nice.
And if you discover that your little one has seen porn, make sure to tell them that it's not reality, but a movie for adults, and that they shouldn't be afraid of it
Most young people watch porn
There are a lot of young people who watch or have seen porn. A large survey of young people from the Nordics from 2006 showed that the vast majority have seen porn either on TV, on the internet or in porn magazines before they are 14 years old.
99% of boys and 86% of girls between the ages of 15 and 17 have seen porn.
Most young people – both boys and girls – have seen porn before they have sex for the first time. The boys say they mainly watch porn because they want to. The girls say they mostly watch porn for fun or because they are curious.
Young people distinguish fiction from reality
We know that the vast majority of young people are good at distinguishing the fiction of porn from their own lives and sexuality. They know well that the porn stars are actors who may have had surgery on their genitals and breasts, and that lots of special effects are used.
Nevertheless, it is important that young people talk to each other and to adults about how one can still be influenced by the expectations of sex through pornography.
My child has seen porn - what do I do?
Children are curious by nature and have always been so.
Children are not meant to watch porn. It can be a violent and boundary-crossing experience because children do not understand what it is they are seeing.
As a parent of younger children, it is important that you teach your child to navigate the internet and tell your child that they can come to you if they have seen or experienced something that they did not understand or did not think was nice.
You may be alarmed if your child watches porn, but don't get angry with your child. Be sure to tell them that it is not reality, but a movie for adults, and that they should not be afraid of it.
Is my teenager harmed by watching porn?
There is nothing to suggest that porn is harmful, and most young people can distinguish between fiction and reality, but it can be good for the young person to talk to other young people and adults about how porn affects expectations.
You can become addicted to porn just like you can to drugs and gambling, but it is you rarely hear of children who have become addicted.
Can you remove access to porn sites from the computer?
There are filters that can remove the content you don't want your child to have access to, but the sorting in such filters is not 100 percent accurate. Instead, we therefore recommend that you have a conversation with your children about what they may encounter online.
