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Please refresh the page and retry. More than half of children have encountered porn by the age of 11 to 13 and almost a fifth 18 per cent of them told researchers they intentionally sought it out, according to the biggest study of its kind by the British Board of Film Classification BBFC. Children said porn had changed their attitude towards sex and distorted their attitudes to consent so they did not believe it was necessary to ask or discuss whether to have sex. More than 40 per cent agreed that watching porn made people less respectful of the opposite sex. Parents are, however, in the dark.
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The exposure of young girls and boys to pornography has been dubbed Australia's latest 'national crisis'. Experts say the increasing exposure should be a Federal election issue and have advised the government to follow Britain's lead and look at implementing a proof-of-age requirement for porn websites. The national crisis saw a number of girls claim they've had sexual jokes made about their bodies, were compared to the bodies of porn stars and were asked for sexual favours, The West Australian reported. Widespread pornography and sexual content in advertising and pop culture was 'visual and conceptual assault' as 'children are shown porn when they aren't looking for it or expecting it', according to Edith Cowan University Professor Lelia Green. Children and young teenagers exposed to porn is labelled as Australia's latest national crisis stock image. Pornography was an 'unprecedented assault on children's healthy sexual development' according to Melinda Tankard Reist, co-founder of the Collective Shout lobby group against the sexualisation and objectification of girls. Ms Tankard Reist said a child's exposure to pornography could lead to unhealthy and unrealistic views about sex and could potentially make it harder for young people to establish respectful relationships. It is too big for just parents and schools to deal with.
The Internet has revolutionized communication, especially among teen girls. But, the very media platform that helps us connect also has allowed the pornography industry to explode. Thanks to the Internet, tweens and teens have an infinite catalog of pornographic images available with just the click of a mouse. Although stereotypes typically pin porn addiction on boys, a surprising number of young girls are also exposed and find themselves pulled into the dark world of pornography. In the earlier days of widespread Internet use by young girls, exposure to porn most often occurred through a pop-up ad that was innocently clicked or some curiosity that was carried out through a search engine. This conclusion is supported by a study titled, The Nature and Dynamics of Pornography Use Among Children , which surveyed more than college students and explored pornography exposure before age In this study, almost half of all surveyed girls