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1 in 3 boys heavy porn users, study shows

Boys aged 13 and 14 living in rural areas, are the most likely of their age group to access pornography, and parents need to be more aware of how to monitor their children’s viewing habits, according to a new University of Alberta study.

A total of 429 students aged 13 and 14 from 17 urban and rural schools across Alberta, Canada, were surveyed anonymously about if, how and how often they accessed sexually explicit media content on digital or satellite television, video and DVD and the Internet. Ninety per cent of males and 70 per cent of females reported accessing sexually explicit media content at least once. More than one-third of the boys reported viewing pornographic DVDs or videos “too many times to count”, compared to eight per cent of the girls surveyed.

A majority of the students, 74 per cent, reported viewing pornography on the Internet. Forty-one per cent saw it on video or DVD and 57 per cent reported seeing it on a specialty TV channel. Nine per cent of the tens reported they accessed pornography because someone over 18 had rented it; six per cent had rented it themselves and 20 per cent viewed it at a friend’s house.

The study also revealed different patterns of use between males and females, with boys doing the majority of deliberate viewing, and a significant minority planning social time around viewing porn with male friends.Girls reported more accidental or unwanted exposure online and tend to view porn in same-gender pairs or with mixed groups.

Though being curious about sexually explicit media may seem a ‘natural’ part of early adolescence, porn is a major presence in the lives of youth. The media environment in Alberta homes makes access to porn easy for teens and viewing pornography at a young age can set children up for problems later on, said Sonya Thompson, a masters graduate student at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, and author of the study. “We don’t know how we are changing sexual behaviours, attitudes, values and beliefs by enabling this kind of exposure and not talking with kids about it in any meaningful way,” Thompson said.

Thompson, formerly a sex education teacher, is concerned about the health and social messages pornography sends. Excessive early exposure to pornography may be harmful in terms of expectations going into relationships. “What kinds of expectations will these young people have going into their first sexual relationships? It may be setting up a big disconnect between boys and girls and may be normalizing risky sex practices.”

Almost half of rural youths in the survey reported seeing pornographic videos or DVDs at least once, compared to one-third of the urban participants. Thompson is unsure why rural teens access porn more on video and DVD, but suggests that parents may think distance acts as a buffer. “Maybe they have a false sense of thinking they are far away from unhealthy influences.” Rural boys also reported a lower incidence of parents talking with them about sexual media content. Urban girls were most likely to have had discussions with their parents.

And while the majority of teens surveyed said their parents expressed concern about sexual content, that concern hasn’t led to discussion or supervision, and few parents are using available technology to block sexual content.

“It indicates there is plenty of room for better parenting around pornography use. Parents need to improve dialogue with their children and their own awareness level. They have to be educated enough to be the ones setting the boundaries in the house,” Thompson said. “Families using media together is no longer the norm, so parents need to know what their kids have access to in their alone time,” Thompson said.

Teachers also need to tackle the issue in sex education classes, she added. “Obviously it’s a huge influence on kids and it needs to be talked about. There’s a whole subculture we are not addressing.”

Retailers, government and the media industry regulators also need to work with parents to ensure they are educated about limiting their children’s access to sexually explicit material, have strategies to talk with their teens, and that laws around the sale of porn to minors are enforced, Thompson said.

From University of Alberta



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193 thoughts on “1 in 3 boys heavy porn users, study shows”

  2. everybody masturbates,I do,I’m 15 years old,I do all the time like 2-3 times a day but I’m not the only one out there who does.I’m proud 2 say that because other people think that people who masturbate are sick,weird and ugly.But I think it’s okay at least your not out there getting STD’s and spreading STD’s.I love watching porn and wanking and I get extremely ashamed of myself when family members,relatives and friends say that I “jack off”,masturbate.But I don’t say nothing back I just walk away extremely ashamed and full of hatred for them because why do they have something about it,it ain’t their life it’s mine.But I think someone would agree with me because there is other people out there who are ashamed of masturbating.WHO AGREE’S PLEASE PLEASE REPLY BECAUSE I WANNA HEAR WAT U HAVE TO SAY.SO PLEASE,PLEASE,PLEASE REPLY OR RESPOND

    • i feel you im 15 to but im tryin to get off porn but i got an head injury so i basically have to stay home this summer. But i use the computer alot and when i got bored or something i just have to watch it but after im done i feel ashamed and pissed at myself because i said im done. Ive been readin articles and people say it changes the way you think and live and behaviors what do you think

  3. ima 14 yr old n i saw porn wen i was like 10 n thn i stopd cus i didnt like hiding or wating till my parents leve 2 watch porn n jerkoff but i gt bak 2 it sum how n i jerkoff like twice a day n yea so wat if we do jackoff n watch porn!!! as disgusting as it sounds our parents did it in a point of there lives also…… any girl wana jack off wit me?

  4. heyy im 14years old and i have masturbate since im 9 and yea i look at porn like 4 or 6 times a day it very addicting my dick is 15 inchies and i tink that ur dick grow more while u masrturbate

  5. I am 14 I mastrebate 3 to 6 times a day and I have no problem with it. I do look at porn 1 out of 3 times I mastrebate. I have done this since I was 11 and actually learned to while watching family guy. I think oral and anal sex are morraly wrong and show no respect for wemon, oral and anal sex also spread stds easier than vaginal sex. Some times I “jack” while sexting I would never show the pictures! Shure I would have sex but I always have a condom with me just in case they are so easy to get I just get them from the grocery store bathrooms. I find nothing wrong with what I do but some times when I look at porn I wonder what would god think of this?

    • let me put you at ease. Its not morally wrong. If God didnt want us doing anal sex, oral sex, or wanking, then he wouldnt have made us able, right? Thats assuming there is a god (there isnt) chyeah

  6. im 14 and I masturbate and watch porn all the time, its natural and perfectly normal to watch porn and does it doesn’t influence you to have sex, god sake I hate people that post stuff like that

  9. Porn is addictive and ruins lives forever. Run away from as quickly as possible. It’ll over take your time, your life, your success, your true happiness. It’ll ruin every relationship you have. Just read the article from this women and realize the pain she went thru. Is this what you want for your life? Or you love?
    My husband of 35 years died recently. … he came to me tell me he had been addicted to pornography. He needed me to forgive him [before he died]. He further said that he had grown tired of living a double life “I was stunned, hurt, felt betrayed and violated. I could not promise him forgiveness at that moment but pleaded for time. “For many years in our marriage … he was most cruel in many of his demands. I was never good enough for him. … I felt incredibly beaten down at that time to a point of deep depression. … I know now that I was being compared to the latest ‘porn queen.’ …
    “We went to counseling one time and … my husband proceeded to rip me apart with his criticism and disdain of me. …
    “I could not even get into the car with him after that but walked around the town … for hours, contemplating suicide. [I thought,] ‘Why go on if this is all that my companion feels for me?’
    “I did go on, but zipped a protective shield around myself. I existed for other reasons than my husband and found joy in my children, in projects and accomplishments that I could do totally on my own. …
    “After his ‘deathbed confession’ and [after taking time] to search through my life, I [said] to him, ‘Don’t you know what you have done?’ … I told him I had brought a pure heart into our marriage, kept it pure during that marriage, and intended to keep it pure ever after. Why could he not do the same for me? All I ever wanted was to feel cherished and treated with the smallest of pleasantries … instead of being treated like some kind of chattel. …
    “I am now left to grieve not only for his being gone but also for a relationship that could have been [beautiful, but was not]. …
    “Please warn others, Pornography is not some titillating feast for the eyes that gives a momentary rush of excitement. Rather it has the effect of damaging hearts and souls to their very depths, strangling the life out of relationships that should be sacred, hurting to the very core those you should love the most.”

    • you’re kidding right? thats your husbands problem and he shouldn’t compare you to the pornstars. thats stupid. you should have found someone whos better. i mean who does that? and porn wasnt the reason for his problem but just a source of comparison. if he didnt watch porn he would still compare you with some other women he encountered. porn does not ruin your life. you might if you spend all your time doing it but spending an excessive amount of time on anything can effect your lifestyle. so ya….porn doesnt ruin lives. it was your husbands problem.hope you find someone better.

      • Actually, you should consider researching the subject a bit more…because there are some really negative sides to pornography. Some are very blatant. Others are more subtle. One of the biggest problems is a lack of intimacy between partners due to pornography. (That’s kind of a hidden one. Technical details can be found by researching…there are a couple of studies that have been conducted that I read through about the intimacy issue.) Another one is the addiction. People say that they are not addicted, but have they ever really tried to stop? Because they might just find that although they want to–even if it is only to see/prove that they can do it–they can’t.

        Also, while this is not directly pertaining to the subject, you should really work on the whole empathy thing. Have you no concern for the sorrows of another? Are you really that heartless? I would think better of you.

  11. Ok i’m 14 and i love porn everybody talks about it and your curious but it starts to get addicting how do i stop and i get hot girls which is even harder to stop

  12. Hi I’m 14 and in Jordan in Amman on vocation I actually live in UAE but what I wanna say and want to ask u about why all ages of 14 are viewing this like me and others is it because we are almost teens at this age and curios about this or what? Email me If u are in my area [email protected] or hotmail same user bb;)

  13. I’m a 14 year old girl and I watch porn every time I’m home alone and masturbate to it! it’s great! I have good grades and a healthy social life, I just wish my friends weren’t such prudes about it! only boys ever admit to watch it… god I like boys
    porn rules
    xoxo

    • wow and I thought boys were the only people who masturbate and watch porn,and yeah I wish my friends weren’t such jerks about masturbating,I’m 15 I love watching porn and “jacking off” I do it all the time.I agree with everything you say RANDOM CHICK I do the same thing you do all the time.I have good grades a healthy social life.I’m relieved of my tendency to keep my masturbating a secret.

    • Even I’m a 14 year old girl…and I watch porn and masturbate as well. I thought it was only ok for guys but I’m glad thats not the case.

  15. Iv never watched porn or that but if a hot guy asked me to watch him wank or sumthin i deffo would!!
    Im a girl and 14 btw so its not just guys!
    x

  17. Young girls watch and can get turned on by porn. They don’t publicly talk about it, because they will be judged or looked at as “weird”. It’s only socially acceptable for teenage boys to be sex crazed. People aren’t ready to handle that a girl can have the same feelings.

    When I was 13, I thought it was okay for adults to let kids watch porn.

    I’m 27, and now I say hell no. Sure, porn excites people. But, does it mean it’s acceptable for the young mind? No.

    The person saying that porn can ruin your ability to get aroused by real-life sex is right! If you’re so used to masturbating excessively to porn, real-life sex with someone and falling in love will be hard.

  20. Many teenage boys begin puberty around 12 years, many even earlier. Males are visually stimulated (a fact women have been exploiting for centuries) and pubescent boys are intensely interested in the opposite sex. This is totally instinctive and absolutely natural. Even though conservative forces within our civilization have aribitrarily assumed that ignorance will preserve innocence and that sexual encounters must be deferred as long as possible, pre-teen boys will continue to mature when their biological clock commands. What would Thompson and those like him prefer, that teenager boys use pornography for masturbation, or that they resort to rape when their natural urges overwhelm their self control? Would Thompson prefer boys use prostitutes so their “expectations” are more realistic? It’s time for a reality check. Pornography helps boys manage their instinctive sexual urges while living in a culture of denial that imagines puberty can be deferred until the day they are married.

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