The views expressed herein have not been approved by the House of Delegates or the Board of Governors of the American Bar Association, and accordingly, should not be construed as representing the policy of the American Bar Association.
Easy access to online pornography and the potential harm of consistent exposure raise concerns about children’s health and well-being. The Internet has made children’s access to pornography a more significant issue. Children and youth who use email or surf the Internet are at risk for unwanted exposure to pornography.1
Although blocking and filtering software can prevent access, unwanted and intentional exposure is always possible.2 In 2005, a study of youth aged 10-17 found 42% reported wanted and unwanted exposure to online pornography in the past year. Continued exposure to pornography can have negative effects on children and youth.
Lawyers who represent children and youth should be aware of the possibility of such exposure and prepared to advocate for them.
How Pornography Harms Children
Normalizes Sexual Harm
Research shows that “media has a tremendous capacity to teach.”4 Excessive media use, particularly where the content is violent, gender-stereotyped, and/or sexually explicit, skews children’s world view, increases high-risk behaviors, and alters their capacity for successful and sustained human relationships.5
Dr. Sharon Cooper, a forensic pediatrician and faculty member at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, maintains that “imagery definitely affects children” and that children receive unhealthy sexual images from adult pornography.6 According to Dr. Cooper, pornography normalizes sexual harm by portraying a lack of emotional relationship between consensual partners, unprotected sexual contact, and, in some instances, violence and rape.
