Why do children watch pornography?

One in 10 children has viewed pornography before the age of nine, and half of the children have seen pornography before the age of 13 – according to a report by the Children’s Commissioner for England. Four in five (79%) of those surveyed had encountered violent pornography before age 18, and a third of young people had actively sought images of sexual violence, such as physical aggression, coercion and humiliation. The survey was conducted in England among 1,000 young people between 16 and 21.

In contrast, according to a Common Sense Media survey of over 1,300 teenagers aged 13 to 17, 15% per cent of them first saw pornography when they were ten or younger, and around 73 per cent said they had seen pornographic content online before the age of 17. More than half of them reported that this happened by accident, e.g., by clicking on an unknown link, coming across a pornographic advertisement or being shown this type of content by a classmate.

To access erotic websites in France, a Pornographic Passport will be required, proving that the user is 18 years old. Those who wish to access adult content must download a government app that will provide them with the digital certificate and code necessary to open the site. This is primarily to prevent children from viewing adult materials. The plan by Jean-Noël Barrot, the French Minister of Digitalisation, will be implemented by September this year.