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Pornography, or porn, is any material, like videos, pictures, or writings, that shows or talks about human bodies and sexual activity with the clear aim of causing sexual excitement (leaving viewers "turned on"). Many people have different views on pornography. Some see it as a normal part of sexuality, while others believe it can have negative effects, especially on young people and relationships.

The Legal Aspects

In the UK, it's illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to view or possess pornography. This law is in place to protect young people from exposure to content that's considered inappropriate for their age. The internet has made access to porn easier, which is why there are also laws and regulations online to try to prevent minors from accessing it.

How It Affects Teens

For teens like you, coming across pornography can be quite common, especially with easy access through the internet and social media. It's important to understand how viewing this type of content can affect you. For starters, it can create unrealistic expectations about bodies and sexual relationships. Porn often shows a very distorted image of what bodies should look like and what sex involves, which might not be true to real life - in fact it rarely is! Moreover, regular exposure to pornography can also impact your behaviour and thoughts, leading to misunderstandings about consent, respect and healthy sexual behaviour. It can also influence your self-esteem and body image, making you feel insecure if you don't match the unrealistic standards often depicted.

Emotional Impact

Viewing pornography can also have emotional effects. It might make you feel uncomfortable, confused, or uneasy if you encounter it without seeking it out. Sometimes, it leads to feelings of guilt or shame, stemming from the secretive nature of how people often access these materials. There is nothing to be ashamed of, however you react to what you may stumble upon. Understanding how your body and mind reacts to different things is all part of puberty and growing up, there is nothing to be ashamed of.

Potential for Addiction

Like many other activities that can stimulate the reward centres of the brain, watching pornography excessively can lead to a form of addiction. This means you might find yourself spending a lot of time thinking about it or engaging with it, which can distract you from other important activities like studying, hanging out with friends, or pursuing hobbies.

Discussing the Topic

Talking about pornography can be awkward, but it's an important conversation to have with someone you trust. This could be a parent, older sibling, teacher, close friend or counsellor. They can provide guidance, support, and factual information to help you understand and deal with any confusion or curiosity you might have.

Strategies to Manage Exposure and Effects

• Stay Informed: Educate yourself about the effects of pornography and understand why it's restricted for under-18s.
• Be Critical: If you do encounter pornography, think critically about what you're seeing. Remember that these are not realistic portrayals of bodies or relationships. Any adult who has watched porn would agree that 99% of what you see is nothing like real life. People's bodies look different and the sex that is shown is not real. Most importantly - the majority of adults would agree that they have never done most of the things that you see in porn.
• Use Technology Wisely: Use filters and parental control settings to help avoid accidentally coming across pornographic material online if the thought of stumbling across it worries you. Feel comfortable to speak to your parents and ask them to set up blocks if you want. You don't need to mention porn specifically, you could just say, "Could you put some blocks on our internet or on my devices so that I don't see anything inappropriate for my age". Parents and carers will know what you mean and will respect your maturity in asking them for help.
• Engage in Open Conversations: Talk openly with adults you trust about any encounters with pornography to get a clearer, healthier understanding of sexual health and relationships. Ask them to help protect you from accidentally finding content that you don't want to see.
• Focus on Healthy Relationships: Learn about healthy, respectful relationships that don't rely on unrealistic expectations set by pornography.
• Seek Help if Needed: If you feel that pornography is affecting your life negatively, don't hesitate to seek help from a counsellor or a mental health professional.

Keeping a Balanced Outlook

Understanding that pornography is a part of the world we live in is important, but knowing how to manage your interaction with it is even more crucial. It's perfectly okay to be curious about many aspects of life, including sexuality, but it's vital to seek information from reliable and healthy sources. Always be aware of the laws and why they exist - they're there to protect you while you're still growing up and figuring things out. Remember, everyone has their own views about pornography, and developing your own informed opinion, based on facts and personal beliefs, is a part of growing up. As with everything else, balance is key. Ensuring that your sources of information and the way you spend your time are diversified and healthy is a good way to maintain that balance. Remember - porn is not real and so don't attempt to "learn" from it, it's far better to ask people you trust if you have questions about sex.

How are you feeling?

It is really important that when we need help, we feel able to ask for it. This could be speaking to a parent, a close friend, a teacher or someone else you trust. Sometimes it can be really hard to share our feelings with other people but if we are feeling low or don't know where to turn, sharing with others is really important. Teachers will always take you seriously and listen to your problems in confidence if you approach them for help. Likewise, parents, siblings or friends will help you if you reach out to them.

If you feel like you can't speak to anyone you know, there are people and organisations that can help support you:

• Childline - Call them on 0800 1111 any time of the day or night, every day of the week
• NSPCC - Call them on 0808 800 5000 between 10am and 4pm Monday to Friday or email them on help@NSPCC.org.uk
• The Samaritans – Call them on 116 123 any time of the day or night, every day of the week
• SANE – Call 0300 304 7000 for support (4:30pm - 10:30pm every day)
• Mind – Call 0300 123 3393 (9:00am - 6:00pm Monday to Friday)

*Sometimes we will use real life examples in our articles to aid understanding. When we do, names and ages will be changed.