New research highlight looks at the impact of online pornography on children and young people

07 Jul 2017 Becca Cawthorne

The highlight looks at research commissioned by the NSPCC and Children’s Commissioner (OCC) for England. This research explores the feelings and experiences of children and young people aged 11-16 relating to online pornography.

The research looked at who had seen online pornography, how seeing this content had made them feel, and the relation this has to their opinions towards relationships and sexting. This research found that:

  • 65% of 15-16 year olds have seen online pornography
  • 53% of boys who had seen pornography thought it was ‘realistic’
  • 36% of children who had taken nude or semi-naked self-photographs reported that they had been asked to show these images to someone online.

This research is summarised in Research Highlight 114, the latest highlight to be released by the Evidence Group of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety.

The Evidence Group provides the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) with helpful summaries of relevant and new research and includes representatives from NGO’s, academia and the Police.

The Series aims to keep UKCCIS, and the wider public up to date with current research.