It is not exactly a conversation
that any parent really wants to have
with their kids.
But experts say
that if you haven't talked to yo
about pornography,
you probably need to
maybe sooner than you think
A new study found
that most kids are seeing adult
material online
by the age of 12,
but many of them are actually te
or even younger.
CNN's Athena Jones
is here to talk about the talk
that parents don't really want t
But it is an important discussio
for parents to have with their k
So what is this new study
showing about the ages of
just how soon kids are seeing
this kind of stuff?
Well, it's pretty remarkable.
It starts early.
I think the biggest takeaway
is how common this is.
You know, a lot of parents think
well, sure,
some teenagers are accessing
porn online watching porn online
but not my teenager.
These numbers
share a very different story,
suggesting it's a lot more commo
than a lot of parents think.
Pornography
nowadays is
easier for kids to access than e
They do see little bits of thing
popping up on kids computers at
even in elementary school, so ea
It is now
a regular part of many
teens everyday lives.
The numbers are mind boggling.
They're just mind boggling.
That's according to a groundbrea
new report by Common Sense,
a nonprofit media company
focused on kids and families
that found the majority of teens
to 17
have seen pornography online
either intentionally or accident
I was pretty shocked to know
that 73% of all teenagers
in the United States
are exposed
to pornography
online pornography is everywhere
and kids are accessing it early.
The report on teens and pornogra
based on a national survey
of more than 1300 teens
finding the average age kids
first saw online
pornography was 12 years old,
with some 15% seeing it by age
ten or younger.
About eight
in ten teens
who watched porn said they did
so to learn how to have sex,
with many saying they thought
online porn provided
helpful information about sex.
But more than half
said they had seen porn that inc
depictions of rape, choking,
or someone in pain making porn.
A growing concern for parents.
The obvious link would be
they're using this
to determine
their sexual identity
to determine what's acceptable.
How you
how you become a sexual human be
And if that becomes
what they think is okay,
then, you know,
this is what this is
what they're learning from watch
Michelle Walters
says she monitors her teens Inte
searches and his text messages.
Another issue is
just how much porn teens are wat
Of the 44%
who said they intentionally watc
porn,
71% reported viewing it in the l
and nearly six in ten
said they watched porn
once a week or more.
And it's not just happening at h
kids spare time.
30% of teens who consumed porn
reported being exposed to it
during the school day,
whether at school or while
attending school remotely,
sometimes even on a school issue
Jack West,
a high school science
teacher in the Bay Area,
says schools have a role to play
It's a multifaceted problem
that requires a multifaceted app
so there's there's parents,
there's teachers, there's a comm
And, yes, in schools,
I think we should be addressing
And health education or sex educ
seems like a good place
for that to happen.
Beyond concerns about violent
or aggressive portrayals of sex.
Only a third of teens reported
seeing porn
that include someone asking for
before engaging in sexual activi
We all have to be part of the so
here. James Steyer, Common Sense
The CEO hopes the report sparks
a national conversation
Parents have to be more involved
and more knowledgeable.
Schools have to recognize that
this is actually happening in sc
and that it's part of sex educat
And behavioral education
for young people.
And quite frankly,
the industry has got
to be held accountable
for the fact
that they are the gateway platfo
for all of this pornography
to young people.
And one more interesting
point in this report.
The vast majority of teens
say they're watching porn,
at least in part,
to learn how to have sex.
Here's the problem.
Teens who watch porn a lot
see a lot more violence.
And of those teens who watch por
three or more days.
In the past week,
80% said they've seen porn
depicting raping,
choking or someone in pain.
And those teens
are much more likely
than other teens
to believe that most people
like to be hit during sex
and that it's okay,
that it's safe
to put one's hands
around another's throat during s
So this is a problem
that's their first exposure to i
I'm so glad. I know it's uncomfo
Right.
But it's so glad you did this
because parents need to know
what their kids are seeing.
Parents need to wake up and wake
have these conversations.
Yeah. Athena Jones, thank you