The exposure of adolescents to pornographic content is on the rise on the internet, according to a study by Médiamétrie for Arcom.
- Every month, 2.3 million minors watch pornographic content.
- From the age of 12, 51% of boys aged 12-17 go to sites intended for adults.
- They spend an average of 50 minutes a month there.
Since 2017, pornography consumption among minors has increased by 36%. Every month, 2.3 million teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17 visit porn sites, according to a study of Médiamétrie for Arcom, charged by law with protecting young people from these images. “On average, 12% of the audience of adult sites is made by minors”, can we read in the results. Every day, nearly one in ten teenagers visits adult-oriented porn sites.
12-17 year olds spend less than an hour a month on porn sites
From the age of 12, more than half of boys (51%) go to adult sites every month. Three-quarters of them do it exclusively from a mobile phone, a practice that only concerns half of adults. According to the report, the time spent by miners is 50 minutes per month. In comparison, adults spend an average of 2 hours per month on porn sites. Pornhub brings together 1.4 million minors every month. For several sites, teenagers represent more than 10% of the audience.
“We are really on a mass consultation of pornographic sites by minors, which is done mainly on smartphones, that is to say out of the parental eye. These minors are even younger than we thought”, signal, to AFP, Laurence Pécaut-Rivolier, from Arcom. This massive and early consumption could have consequences on the future behavior of minors, and even on their mental health.
Pornographic content: young people call “to tell us that they have been disturbed”
According to Samuel Comblez, psychologist of the e-Enfance association which manages the 3018 hotline on violence and digital uses, children who “out of primary school do not have the maturity to see these images, designed for adults. Some sites show scatophilic, zoophilic images, promote incest, aggressive images vis-à-vis women . And all this is now accessible in three clicks”. On line 3018, “we have young people who call us to tell us that they have been disturbed”, and that “are silent”, because it is theirs “difficult to tell their parents that they went to see pornographic sites”.
Seized by associations, the Arcom has given notice to 15 pornographic sites to put in place measures to control the age of visitors. The authority also took legal action to obtain the blocking of seven of them, including Pornhub. On July 7, the Paris court must make a decision.
