Introduction:
The proliferation of pornographic materials and their ease of access are such that it is not a matter of whether a young person will be exposed to pornography but when. Exposure may be inadvertent (such as through unsolicited e-mails or an accidental encounter with pornography online) or intentional. Concern exists that young people are being inundated with sexual information before they are developmentally capable of integrating it into a healthy sexual identity, with ramifications for both individual and society. Drawing on recent Australian and international research, this paper examines social factors that place young people at increased risk of exposure, or of experiencing potentially negative outcomes from early exposure, to pornography. In this paper, the term pornography refers to materials that are, or would be, classified as X18+ rated (movies on DVD, video, film) or Category 1 and Category 2 Restricted (magazines, books and publications with differing levels of sexual explicitness) or that would be refused classification based on their sexual content under the National Classification Code (May 2005). As such, it includes sexual content ranging from nudity to explicit sexual activity and includes sexual content involving violence or extreme sexual practices

Find Full Article Here: http://www.ssaa.org.au/research/2009/2009-03-02_trends-issues-adolescence-pornography-harm.pdf
By: Colleen Bryant
Date: February, 2009