One in ten 12-13 year olds are worried they are addicted to porn, a charity report reveals.
The NSPCC’s ChildLine service has launched a campaign to raise awareness and provide advice to young people about the harmful implications of an over exposure to porn.
The poll of nearly 700 12-13 year-olds in the UK also reveals that that around one in five of those surveyed said they’d seen pornographic images that had shocked or upset them and 12% cent admitted to making or been part of a sexually explicit video.
ChildLine Service manager at the south east ChildLine base, Helen Beattie, said: “Children of all ages today have easy access to a wide range of pornography and if we as a society shy away from talking about this issue, then we are failing the thousands of young people it is affecting.
“We know from the young people who contact ChildLine that viewing porn is a part of every-day life, and our poll shows that one in five 12-13 year-olds think that watching porn is normal behaviour.
“However, even more worryingly, they also tell ChildLine that watching porn is making them feel depressed, giving them body image issues, making them feel pressured to engage in sexual acts they’re not ready for and some even feel they are addicted to porn.”
The ChildLine FAPZ campaign (the Fight Against Porn Zombies) will use a series of animations looking at the implications of over exposure to porn on both boys and girls.
The animations then link to a range of information and advice, to help young people understand the implications associated with replicating pornographic content in real-life situations and to protect them from putting themselves in potentially risky situations.
The campaign is designed for young people, by young people, who have been at the heart of the creative development throughout.
Ms Beattie added: “Recently, the government announced plans for children aged 11 upwards to be taught about rape and sexual consent as part of PSHE in schools.
“This would include discussion around what they have learnt from watching pornography.”
“Our campaign clearly compliments this proposal. Across society, we need to remove the embarrassment and shame that exists around talking about porn – which is why we are launching this activity and helping young people to make more informed choices.”
One boy, aged under 11, called ChildLine expressing concern about material he had watched.
He said: “I’m always watching porn and some of it is quite aggressive.
“I didn’t think it was affecting me at first but I’ve started to view girls a bit differently recently and it’s making me worried.
“I would like to get married in the future but I’m scared it might never happen if I carry on thinking about girls the way I do.”
For more information about the campaign visit www.childline.org.uk/fapz
Picture courtesy of Amancay Maahs, with thanks
