New Zealand's Chief Censor believes there is a clear problem with kids accessing pornography in NZ, but blocking it from them isn't the entire solution.
A new report released on Wednesday revealed two-thirds of 14-17 year olds have been exposed to porn, with some admitting to seeing it before the age of 12.
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Crucially, 72 percent of those who viewed porn said they saw things that made them uncomfortable.
Sixty-nine percent said they have seen violence or aggression. Seventy-two percent had seen non-consensual activity.
Chief Censor David Shanks told The AM Show regulating porn away from children may not actually be that achievable.
"I think we need look at regulation, restrictions and blocks and kids are telling us in our research that they're up for that," he said.
"I believe it's quite complex to do but not impossible, the UK is leading the way in terms of regulation in this space and we're tracking that quite closely.
"But whether that is actually fully effective and workable still remains to be seen, let's see where that goes."
Mr Shanks instead believes people should focus on educating their children and letting them know if they've seen pornography it's often not representative of a healthy relationship.
"I think you mentioned education before," he told host Duncan Garner.
"That's really key in this space, we need to provide young people with a counter narrative to the narrative that porn is providing to them about what sex is."
He said parents need to work out how much their kids actually know about sex, and then discuss things from there.
Sometimes this may include teaching children what sex is before moving on to the effects of pornography.
Principals' spokesperson Vaughan Couillault told Newshub educators are aware of the problem in schools.
"We've become aware that students have got an addiction and it's incredibly unhealthy," he said.
"There's all sorts of support services that you can access."
Mr Couillault said his school discusses the effects of porn and the harm that comes from it in its health classes.
Newshub.
