Exposure to Internet pornography can lead teenagers to have sex at a younger age, according to a study published in the journal CyberPsychology and Behavior.
Researchers found that 12- to 17-year-old boys who regularly viewed pornography became sexually active as much as four years earlier than their peers. Girls in that age group who viewed porn became sexually active slightly earlier than their peers. Researchers also found that these teens were more likely to initiate oral sex.
Daniel Weiss, media and sexuality analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said exposure to pornography is damaging at any age, but much more so for teens and young children.
“Their brains are not developed enough to filter out the lies and degradation inherent to this material,” he said. “Instead, they believe these lies and incorporate them into their behavior, with tragic results. Our culture must explode the lie that pornography isn’t extremely harmful and use every available means to reduce its influence in society.”
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