The current generation of children are exposed to illicit sexual media more than any other generation in the world’s history. There was a recent study that came out that said that eighty percent of all eleven year old boys have experienced some form of illicit pornography. The availability of internet and technology has increased the likelihood that kids are being exposed to porn at a younger age. Parents also play a huge role in this problem because they allow free reign on the internet, don’t check out what their kids are looking at, and give them laptops or other mobile devices that they don’t monitor.
Pornography has been deemed, “the new drug”, by mental health professionals because of the damage it causes to the child’s understanding of sexuality. At such a young age, mental health problems concerning sex, especially obsessive compulsive disorders, are becoming more and more prevalent. With the lewd acts being available at the touch of the button, what they see in porn shapes what the child expects in all real-life sexual experiences. It becomes a normative experience for them that what they see in porn is what to expect, and how to act. This correlates with why one in four girls will be sexually abused, and one in six boys will be sexually abused sometime in their lifetime. It is important for parents to be available and take a proactive approach in talking to their kids about sex. Not only does this allow for a safe learning environment when it comes to talking about sex, but it is also empirically supported that children who are more comfortable talking with their parents about sex, are more likely to discuss drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and other potential problematic situations that they can be faced with while growing up, with their parents.