Pornography is having a negative impact on children's behavior

Dame Rachel De Souza, who serves as the children's commissioner for England, has expressed worry over the impact of pornography on children starting from merely eight years of age. A report published by the commissioner highlights the negative impact of porn on the behavior of children and its influence causing harmful explicit behavior. The report calls for technology companies to take more responsibility and remove harmful images from their platforms. The commissioner emphasized that most children are exposed to pornography by the age of 13, while some as young as eight or nine have seen it.

Dame Rachel De Souza, the Children’s Commissioner for England, has pointed out that social media platforms are the main channel for children to access pornographic content. She has further suggested that schools must enhance their education system, and parents must set effective boundaries to prevent children from exposure to salacious content. The report also highlights that the language of violent pornography is being adopted by some children, and this has a concerning impact on their behavior. Dame Rachel strongly advocates that pornographic content should be inaccessible to young children, and tech companies must implement better measures to keep children safe from such inappropriate images.

Despite the 13-plus age limit on both Twitter and Snapchat, children are still managing to access pornographic content on these platforms. Snapchat officials have stated that their community guidelines strictly prohibit the promotion and distribution of inappropriate pornographic content. They have implemented mechanisms to detect and immediately remove such content from their platform. On the other hand, Twitter has yet to respond to concerns regarding the accessibility of salacious behavior and adult nudity on its platform. According to Twitter's guidelines, such content is not allowed in highly visible areas and is restricted to viewers under the age of 18.

The Online Safety Bill, currently under review by the Lords, aims to provide more responsibility for companies to take measures to ensure the safety of the users on their social media platforms. The bill will allow regulator Ofcom to fine companies or block access to social media sites that fail to take the necessary precautions.

Michael Conroy, the founder of Men at Work, has been training numerous professionals in order to initiate safe conversations with boys and young men. According to him, he has worked with approximately 1,000 teachers, youth and social workers over the past year. During these sessions, he has asked whether the young individuals they work with are influenced by pornography, to which the majority of respondents have answered yes. Conroy also emphasized that this is the first generation to have unrestricted access to a vast range of content, and the implications of this warrant serious consideration, as children have been exposed to content that was previously unavailable to them.

In conclusion, the Children's Commissioner for England's report highlights the impact of pornography on children's behavior, particularly when they view it at a young age. The report emphasizes the need for tech companies to take more responsibility and remove harmful images from their platforms. The Online Safety Bill will provide more authority to the regulator to prevent companies from failing to take the necessary precautions. Parents and schools must also take appropriate steps to educate children and set boundaries to prevent them from accessing harmful content.

Read next: 70% of Adolescents Are Sleep Deprived Because of Social Media
by Ayesha Hasnain via Digital Information World