How Harmful Is Pornography for Children?

 How Harmful is Pornography for Children?

Pornography is printed or visual material containing explicit description or display of sexual activities. Exposure to explicit online content can cause children and young people to develop different sexual literacies. Pornography exists within a broader sociocultural context in which stereotypes about gender, sexism, sexual objectification and violence-supportive attitudes are also at play. Nearly half of the children between the ages of 9-16 experience regular exposure to sexual images. Young males are more likely than females to deliberately seek out pornography and to do so frequently. Pornography use can shape sexual practices and is associated with unsafe sexual health practices . It may strengthen attitudes supportive of sexual violence and violence against women. 

The best approach for parents, caregivers and teachers responding to children's exposure to pornography is to encourage open communication, discussion and critical thinking on the part of children, while educating themselves about the internet and social media. Parents and caregivers are less likely to be intimidated by online risks if they are informed and take an active role in their children's digital lives. Gaps between expectations and reality can produce "sexual uncertainty" about sexual beliefs and values and may also be related sexual dissatisfaction, anxiety and passive female receptacle. 

Researches shows that media has tremendous capacity to teach. Excessive media use especially when the content is harmful like pornographies skews children's world view, increases high risk behaviors, and alters their capacity for sustained and successful human relationships. One of the major risk is the violent and objectifying attitude towards women which can highly destroy the basic love and trust in family. 

Following are few tips to manage the threat of pornography:

1. Open communication: It is very important to provide open space for children to share their experience at schools and relations. Make them feel free to speak out everything to parents. 

2. Critical thinking: Children should be encouraged to react to what ever they see in media, and just mere consumers.

3. Digital literacy:  Parents and caregivers should be educated about the consequences and dangers of the use internet in this era. 

Our hearts are directly affected by our minds. Whatever we decide to put into our minds penetrates our core being and comes out in our behaviors. Protecting your heart is like protecting a military base when the security threat is heightened. At the gate, security forces thoroughly check what and who is coming onto base. Many times sex has replaced love instead of it being an enhancement of a steadfast loving relationship. Sex should be picturized as added glue to steadfast love. If parents are able to create such an image in hearts of children, then children will get a better image and concept about sex right from their childhood.