Pornography has become so normalised among Kiwi teenagers that it's now become the "default learning tool" for young people curious about sex, a new report has found.
The qualitative research report Growing up with porn - Insights from young New Zealanders was released on Saturday and is the culmination of three years' work at the Classification Office.
It's based on in-depth interviews with 52 diverse 14-17-year-olds from all over the country, and comes after 2018's nationally representative survey 'NZ Youth and Porn' and last year's analysis of the content of mainstream porn, entitled Breaking Down Porn.
This year's report - which focuses on "why young people view porn, why it matters, and why we need to rethink our approach to it" - notes porn is having a negative impact on both the body confidence and sex lives of young Kiwis.
It also notes that porn is highly accessible for young people, with many viewing it for the first time as young children. When their curiosity around sex is piqued, porn is the primary way many of them learn more about it.
"It will be a surprise to no one that young people use porn for sexual arousal," Chief Censor David Shanks said of the report's findings.
"But it may be news for some that they also commonly use it to learn about sex, sexuality and gender - even when they know it presents an unrealistic and at times unhealthy view of all those things."
The report found adults are not speaking about porn to teenagers, who are eager for sex education that covers its impacts more comprehensively.
"The young people told us that when it came to porn… they were less concerned about issues that are often raised like addiction or aggression," Shanks said.
"Issues around consent, body image, gender and sex education were what mattered most to them."
While it notes that porn is highly accessible and a normalised part of life for many young teenagers, the report also offers advice on what can be done to help them.
This includes the provision of effective and consistent relationship and sex education that includes porn literacy, tools and support for parents and family, and protection for children through the use of filters and age verification technology.
The Classification Office says the report, released during New Zealand's alert level 4 coronavirus lockdown, comes at a good time given young people have more time to spend online at the moment.
"This report and the resources we are launching alongside it will support parents and whānau to help their children and teens during the lockdown," Shanks said.
The report's key findings:
- Porn is normalised for young people, whether they watch it or not.
- Young people are curious about sex and porn is a default learning tool.
- Girls watch porn too, for similar reasons as boys, but see a double standard.
- Porn can have a negative impact on body image/confidence.
- They think it can negatively influence sex.
- Young people and adults are not talking about porn.
- Young people want comprehensive sexuality education which includes information about porn.
- Young people had varying views about filters or age verification, but agreed that children shouldn’t have access to porn.
You can read the full report here.
