While curiosity is natural among children, it’s important to protect children from the “extreme, hardcore” material that pornography has now become, a psychologist has warned. 

Surveys released in recent years have suggested most children have watched pornography by the age of 13, with a 2018 study suggesting more than half of children watch it by this age. 

University of Galway sexologist Dr Siobhan O’Higgins said most parents don’t want to believe their young children watch porn. 

“They're aware that [children] have access to everything on phone,” she told The Pat Kenny Show. 

“Parents are in denial that their children would actually look at porn. 

“The thing is that we know that 95% of eight- to 12-year-olds own a smartphone, and accessing porn is not just looking at porn sites. 

“There’s pornographic imagery and ideas and all sorts on social media."

Curiosity

Dr O’Higgins said children are “trying to work out how they're going to explore and express their sexuality”. 

“Their curiosity is going to take them to places that we have no idea about as adults... we didn’t have phones growing up.” 

Psychotherapist Richard Hogan said he met a child in Senior Infants who had watched pornography. 

“The thing that's really important is pornography isn’t what pornography used to be,” he said. 

“We normalised pornography before – if you ever watched Friends, Joey and Chandler are sitting there watching pornography and it's all a bit of a joke. 

“But pornography today is extreme, hardcore material. 

“It's normal to be curious - we don't want to shame children around the curiosity - but it's what they're satiating that curiosity with that I’m troubled by.” 

'Porn is not realistic'

Dr O’Higgins agreed with Mr Hogan and said it’s important children know pornography doesn’t show “realistic relationships”. 

“It’s not about equal relationships – it's misogynistic and often very violent,” she said. 

Mr Hogan said many of the young people he works with feel pressured as a result of porn. 

“I work with teenage girls every day in my clinic... I would sit there with these fantastic young adults who tell me what they were asked for in the relationship,” he said. 

“It's incredibly distressing to sit there and hear really hardcore things that you would not expect a 14-year-old boy to be engaged with.” 

Supporting children

Dr O’Higgins said parents need to be aware of their children activity online and talk to them about the dangers of pornography without being invasive. 

“it's about creating a space for them to come to you,” she said. 

Mr Hogan also said we need legislation to protect children from being exposed to harmful videos. 

“We brought in legislation to stop vaping or children trying to buy alcohol, and pornography is very disruptive,” he said.