Young Children & The Impact of Porn

I’ve seen several young adults that were exposed to porn at ages as young as 7 and 8 lately. Their developing brains just don’t know what to do with this information. At the time, these youngsters experience a thrill of breaking the rules and seeing taboo subject matter. The rush is overwhelming. Coupled with a cat and mouse game of hiding it from parents and others and they have a mental health mess on their hands.

Sadly, young children see little wrong with viewing porn these days. They know their parents disapprove, but sexual images bombard them constantly. As a result, porn is just another sexual image for them to view that in their mind explains how sex works (poorly and unhealthily though).

Another component is the number of adults who take advantage of young children online. I’ve heard stories of adults befriending children and seeking pictures from them. As their “relationship” develops, the adults seek more and more online sexual interaction with the children perverting how these children view sex. When asked about these relationships, children will often say they are friends and do not view themselves as being exploited.

As a therapist, these young adults find themselves in therapy often at the hands of their parents. They often are resistant to the process, but with work can reframe their experience. In the process, these young adults can begin to see porn in a new way, understand how adults may have taken advantage of them, and learn to set their own boundaries moving forward.

In a recent article, singer Billie Eilish stated that watching porn from the age of 11 “really destroyed her brain”. I wish her story was unique, but I hear these stories far too often in my counseling office.