The Risks Young People Face as Porn Consumers*

Adolescents are now significant users of internet pornography. Samples of voluntary consumption were identified from 14 countries. Considered collectively they demonstrate that boys are much more interested in viewing pornography than girls and that both genders watch more pornography as they get older. By age 18 most boys are consumers. From a risk management point of view, internet pornography has not been proven to be a safe product. It poses dangers similar to any activity that has a high potential for the development of problematic behaviors or addiction through sustained overconsumption. Until causality linking pornography consumption to harm is either disproven or demonstrated to be very low, there is a strong case for governments and policy makers to intervene in the unrestricted supply of internet pornography to all consumers, particularly adolescents. The precautionary principle should be invoked to minimize the likelihood that internet pornography consumption will become a global public health crisis. Prevention of harm is always preferable to treating it. Reducing risk from internet pornography by discouraging its consumption is relatively inexpensive and easy to do.  

Citation: Mead, D. (2016). The risks young people face as porn consumers. Addicta: The Turkish Journal on Addictions, 3, 387–400. http://dx.doi.org/10.15805/addicta.2016.3.0109