The Growing Concern of Pornography Use Among Young People
The accessibility of online pornography has become a significant issue, with personal stories and expert insights revealing the potential negative impacts of early and excessive porn consumption.
Shaun Flores, now 30, first encountered porn at 11 and quickly became addicted, watching it constantly and feeling powerless to stop. His experience is not unique. Ofcom’s Online Nation 2024 report suggests 29% of UK adults accessed online porn in May 2024, with 1.8 million Britons viewing pornography daily.
Treatment providers are seeing a notable increase in people seeking help for problematic porn use. Dr. Paula Hall from The Laurel Centre reports that their client numbers have doubled in recent years, with a shift towards younger clients. Previously, their clients were mostly married men in their 40s and 50s, but now they’re seeing more individuals in their 20s and 30s struggling with porn’s impact on their relationships.
The ease of accessing pornography, particularly through technology, is a growing concern. Lee Fernandes from UKAT notes that before 2020, they received only one or two enquiries weekly about porn use, but now they get multiple daily inquiries. The dopamine reward system makes porn highly addictive, making it difficult to stop once started.
Children’s exposure to pornography is particularly alarming. The Children’s Commissioner for England found that in 2023, 10% of children had seen porn by age nine, and 27% by age 11. Dame Rachel de Souza emphasizes that pornography is no longer confined to adult sites, with violent and degrading sexual content now accessible on social media.
Experts like Silva Neves argue that the lack of comprehensive sex education drives young people to seek information through pornography. This leads to unrealistic expectations about sex, body image, and sexual interactions.
Courtney Daniella Boateng shared her personal journey, starting porn consumption in primary school due to inadequate sex education. She eventually recognized her unhealthy dependency and chose to stop watching porn, even committing to celibacy with her fiancé.
While the article highlights the potential negative impacts, experts also note that not everyone develops an unhealthy relationship with porn. Some research suggests that for some individuals, porn can help them understand their sexuality.
However, the key message is recognizing when porn use becomes problematic. Fernandes emphasizes that an unhealthy relationship occurs when an individual loses the power of choice and cannot function normally without watching porn.
Both Shaun and Courtney stress the importance of unlearning harmful perspectives gained from pornography, including objectification and unrealistic body standards.
The article concludes by urging anyone struggling with porn use to seek professional help and highlighting the need for comprehensive, high-quality sex education to provide realistic information and context.
