According to research, adolescents as young as 12 are already exposed
Whether you like it or not, your son or daughter will come into contact with or consume pornography. A study published last year shows that North Americans have access to this type of content for the first time at age 12, according to the organization Common sense media.
No matter how much parents keep an eye on what their children watch on the Internet or use blocking tools, it is impossible to control what they see anytime, anywhere.
The content is different now
And there’s more: the pornography they have access to is much more “hardcore” than the old photo shoots from Playboy or other similar magazines that young Gen Xers secretly bought.
Research conducted by Common Sense Media, for example, indicates that more than half of teenagers who access pornographic videos, accidentally or intentionally, find themselves faced with images of rape, suffocation or someone in pain.
For all this, the problem cannot be ignored. It is better to accept reality and talk to teenagers about what is on the Internet, as explained by researcher and sociologist Brian Willoughby, from Brigham Young University, in the USA, in a report The New York Times.
Main message: not reality
What Brian and other experts advocate is teaching teens what they call “porn literacy.” In other words: explain that the pornographic videos in circulation are like films, not documentaries. They only reflect fantasies.
“Pornography is a film, what we see is not reality”, comments psychologist Beata Bothe, from the University of Montreal, Canada, also a scholar of the topic. “Even if people seem to enjoy what they do, they may actually not like it or it may be painful.”
This may be obvious to some older teens, she believes, but not to younger porn consumers who have no real-life sexual experience.
Pornography and sexual satisfaction
A recent study conducted by the psychologist, involving 827 young adults, showed that some types of pornography can affect the sexual well-being of viewers. People who view sexual images associated with passion or romance tend to have greater sexual satisfaction in their intimate relationships. Those who watch sex scenes involving power and control tend to have less sexual satisfaction.
There is evidence that adolescents who consume pornography engage in more advanced sexual behaviors at a younger age. But it is not possible to know whether the content watched is what drives these practices, or whether young people are simply attracted to this type of content because they already had a prior interest.
What is important to explain
Therefore it is important to explain to adolescents, especially younger ones, some important issues, such as the fact that consent is fundamental in sex. Even though some people may fantasize about being forced to do certain things, that doesn’t mean they actually enjoy it.
“The vast majority of pornographic films are misogynistic and sexist,” he comments Jairo Bouer. Therefore, much of what is established in the relationship between men and women in bed is not only a reflection of the structural machismo of the society in which we live, but also a reflection of these videos (which, in turn, also reflect society) . . There are women who don’t like anal sex, for example, and many of them can’t reach orgasm even with penetration alone or in a few seconds.
It is also important to warn young people that appearances can be deceiving. In videos, it is common to see muscular men with large penises, large amounts of sperm, thin women with large breasts and buttocks, and so on. All of this can create unrealistic expectations and end up making some teenagers feel different or strange when they have their first intimate experiences.
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
