Pornography
Also known as:
- porn
- internet porn
- online porn
- online pornography
- pornographic content
What is Risk ?
Digital risk factors associated with their interests and activities
Pornographic content makes up a large amount of all online content. It can range from professionally created studio quality video to livestreams made by amateurs and non-professionals. Popular pornographic sites include:
- Pornhub
- Xvideos
- XHamster
- Xnxx
- Spankbang
- Stripchat
- Chaturbate
Content subscription services like OnlyFans, offer pre-recorded and live streamed pornographic content.
Pornographic material, such as images, video files and GIFs, can also be shared online through:
- messenger apps
- social media
- file sharing sites
Under UK law, online platforms that display or publish pornographic content must ensure that children are not normally able to access it. Age verification on many sites is simply limited to asking a user to confirm they are over 18. It is not illegal for someone under the age of 18 to view pornography. It is illegal to show pornographic material to someone under the age of 18.
Where this can happen
Risks and motivations
Risks
Harmful views and beliefs
Pornographic content can be violent or misogynistic A child or young person watching this content might believe unrealistic things about the world and other people. They might come to have harmful views on:
- body image or sexual performance
- personal boundaries and consent
- healthy sexual behaviours and relationships
Harmful views and beliefs could impact a young person’s relationships with others. For example, normalising aggressive sexual behaviours in romantic relationships.
Pressure to spend
Many mainstream pornographic websites are free to use. However, these websites make money by recommending content that requires payment or a subscription. They are designed to get users to spend money on content and advertised goods.
On content subscription platforms like OnlyFans, pornographic content creators often interact with their audience. They make personalised content for top donors and allow subscribers to directly message them. Subscribers can develop dependent relationships with creators, which can also be an incentive to spend money.
Breaking the law
Some forms of extreme pornography are illegal. This includes pornographic material which shows:
- serious injury
- rape
- bestiality, or sexual activity with an animal
Someone who commits a criminal offence, for example by sharing or saving this material, could face consequences. These might be receiving a criminal record, a fine, or being sent to prison. It is illegal for anyone to take, make, show, distribute, or possess child sexual abuse material.
Upsetting content
A child or young person may be upset or frightened after seeing pornographic material. Depending on their age and experiences, this could be mild or more extreme types of content.
A child or young person might also be embarrassed or worried that they will get in trouble for accessing pornography.
Addiction
In some cases, a young person can become addicted to watching pornographic material. Someone who feels they are addicted to porn may be embarrassed or frightened, and not sure who to ask for help.
Cyberflashing
When someone shares sexual or pornographic material with another without their consent, they may be cyberflashing, which is illegal.
Motivations
Reasons a child or young person may access pornography include:
- curiosity
- sexual gratification
- by accident
- to learn more about sex
- because their peers do
- for attention from someone else
- it has been sent to them
- it has been normalised
Young people’s voice
All these people were commenting [on influencers social media post] I wanted to see what it was about… so I was like, you know, let me follow him on social media. I think that was the worst mistake I made…It was literally pornographic; everything is just there.
13 year old
Risk factors that may lead to harm online, Revealing reality, 2022.
Pornography is choreographed and edited and not at all what sex is in reality. It sets up young people to have wild expectations of their own sexual performance and body image as well as normalising dangerous sexual practices and views towards women
20-year-old who first saw pornography at age 15.
Pornography and young people: Children's commissioner 2023
What you can do
You may be working with a child or young person who has engaged with pornographic material. It can be helpful to know about sexual development and behaviours in children to determine how to respond.
Your response, for example, may depend on the material they are engaging with. It can also depend on other things, like where or how often they access pornography or their age.
Talking with a child or young person can also be one way to respond. You could discuss some general points. These might include:2
- that it’s ok to be curious about sex as they get older
- how lots of pornography is unrealistic
- the importance of trust and respect in a healthy relationship
- the importance of consent and personal boundaries
- that they don’t have to watch pornography just because friends or peers do
- always to speak to a trusted adult if unsure or worried about anything
If you are concerned that a young person has been watching, accessing, or sharing illegal material you should seek legal advice.
GOV.UK has clear guidance for any situation which involves nude imagery of someone under the age of 18. You may also need to contact the police or an organisation like the Internet Watch Foundation.
If you think that a young person is at risk, follow your safeguarding procedure and read our safeguarding guidance.
Support
Recovery can also involve steps to minimise the impact or likelihood of future risks and harms. For example, you might decide to look at settings or safety tools which restrict adult content. These can be applied on some devices or search engines, or set up on home WiFi.
A child or young person might also be concerned about the amount of pornography they watch.
The recovery process of each child or young person will be different. This process can require advice and support from one or multiple specialist organisations. You could also signpost a child or young person to organisations that they might find helpful. For example, Brook is a young person’s sexual health charity that offers free advice and support, as well as lists of local sexual health services. Childline also offers a free, online 1 to 1 counselling service which children and young people can access to get advice and information.
- Inappropriate or explicit content: Online porn (NSPCC) – Website
- Practical resources addressing online pornography (Childnet) – Website
- Free, confidential sexual health and wellbeing experts (Brook) – Website
- Report remove (Childline) – Website
- Advice and information about pornography (Metropolitan Police) – Website
Read more about pornography
- What's the problem: a guide for parents of children and young people who have got in trouble online (The Lucy Faithfull Foundation) – File
- Young people and pornography (The Children's Commissioner) – Website
- Expose big porn (Centre to End All Child Exploitation (CEASE)) – File
- OnlyFans and young people: exploitation or empowerment? (VoiceBox) – File
- Submission of evidence for the Online Safety Bill (UK Parliament) – Website
Share your experience of pornography
You can tell us about:
- other terms you might have heard
- conversations you’ve had with young people
- a related platform or app
- another related risk or harm