MONDAY, Feb. 5 (HealthDay News) -- About 42 percent of U.S. children aged 10 to 17 who use the Internet say they have been exposed to online pornography, the majority of which is unwanted, according to the results of a survey published in the February issue of Pediatrics.
Janis Wolak, J.D., of the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, N.H., and colleagues conducted a telephone survey of a nationally representative sample of 1,500 youth Internet users, aged 10 to 17 years, to assess the extent of unwanted and wanted exposure to online pornography.
The investigators found that 42 percent of youth Internet users reported being exposed to online pornography within the past year, with 66 percent of those saying the exposure was unwanted. All unwanted exposure was related to one type of online activity, downloading images with file-sharing programs. Filtering and blocking software, as well as live safety training, help reduce exposure.
"More research concerning the potential impact of Internet pornography on youth is warranted, given the high rate of exposure, the fact that much exposure is unwanted, and the fact that youth with certain vulnerabilities, such as depression, interpersonal victimization and delinquent tendencies, have more exposure," the authors conclude.
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