Nowadays, access to pornographic content from channels as massive as social networks is simple enough that anyone can enter one of these websites. Any person is any person, which includes minors. Experts do not recommend that X content be as accessible to young people as young as it is being verified.
The truth is that the Internet (and social networks) is a window open to a world full of possibilities with a simple click and has become the main place for consultation, communication, work, study and entertainment. In fact, in recent years, digital consumption has increased notably, especially among minors, reaching an average of 730 hours a year, according to the latest report presented by the leading online security and digital well-being platform for families, Qustodio .
In addition, the average age at which people start to use technology and the Internet is getting younger, which increases the risk of accessing inappropriate content, including pornography.
Facts about pornography and its impact on minors
Despite the fact that it is an uncomfortable topic for families and that many believe that their children do not consume this type of content, the most recent data from the Foundation for Help Against Drug Addiction (FAD) reveals that minors begin to see this type of content between 8 and 12 years old and consumption is constant between 13 and 17 years old. And it is that, according to the report (Mis) sexual information: pornography and adolescence published by Save the Children , almost 10% of minors have accessed pornography before the age of 10 and 53.8% before the age of 13 years.
In addition to this, the FAD has data from other investigations in which it is concluded that only a third of parents regularly supervise their children when they play, browse or use social networks. Only 11% take action in this regard.
“The danger is not so much that they see pornography but that their sexuality, which is being formed at these ages, assumes aggressive, violent, risky or degrading behavior for women as normal. If we do not begin to incorporate affective-sexual education in the family or in the school curriculum more decisively, we are leaving them at the mercy of pornhub”, Beatriz Martín Padura , general director of the FAD, stated at the time.
On the other hand, in many cases, the main reason that leads them to seek and consume this type of content is usually the lack of information and sexual education on the part of the parents, which has meant that for 3 out of 10 minors, pornography be your single resource for learning about sexuality, according to Save The Children. But, on other occasions, consumption or access comes accidentally through social networks.
Hashtags on TikTok
Different hashtags are created, used and disseminated on social networks with the aim of promoting content, promoting initiatives, creating trends or increasing the number of followers, but they are not always harmless. In fact, a new trend has been born on Tik Tok , a platform on which minors spend an average of 75 minutes a day, according to the latest Qustodio Annual Data Report, which allows, through the use of language codes, that any person can access, share and spread pornographic content regardless of their age.
The tags used are #youtube orange and #youtubeblue and, although at first glance they do not seem to indicate an alarm signal, behind each of them two large pages of pornographic content are hidden. #youtube Naranja has a total of 121.3 million views on the platform and refers to Pornhub, one of the largest porn sites in existence. For its part, #youtubeazul has 118 million views and refers to XXNX videos, another sexual content platform.
This does not mean that TikTok has pornographic content, but rather that many people use this platform to reach a larger audience or to advertise themselves through the use of those hashtags. The problem is that this is something very complicated to moderate within the application, since these labels are created to bypass the control algorithms and can be modified over time in order to continue disseminating this type of content without raising suspicions around a label.
“These types of trends within social networks further reaffirm the idea of the need for urgent digital education for families, educational centers and minors,” says Eduardo Cruz, CEO of Qustodio. “Fathers and mothers must know the digital environment and encourage responsible use with their children without ever forgetting the initial accompaniment, open communication and support in tools that allow us to create balanced, safe and healthy digital routines that avoid exposure as much as possible. to inappropriate content and the risks that these entail”.
What to do if a child sees pornography?
Although the subject is not strictly technological, it is worth remembering the advice recommended by the FAD in its latest in case you know that a child is viewing porn content:
- Find the moment and speak from the tranquility and calm, trying not to make judgments about your person and not condemn the fact itself.
- We must show empathy, trying to understand the reasons that have led him to see him, and showing an attitude of open listening.
- Talk to them about conventional pornography and explain that the one that is usually freely accessible is violent, sexist, etc.; It’s not something real and it doesn’t show what relationships are like (respect and consent are essential in an affective relationship, and porn doesn’t usually show that).