Three-fourths of teens say they have watched pornography online and more than half say they were exposed to it by the age of 13, a new survey suggests.
TikTok18 the report, "Teens and Pornography," released Tuesday by the nonprofit organization Common Sense Media, found the average age reported for first viewing online pornography was 12.
TikTok18: How likely were teens to have seen online pornography?
Nearly three-fourths (73%) of those surveyed said they had watched pornography online.
Exposure could be relatively common: 63% of those who reported only seeing pornography accidentally said they were exposed to it in the past week, the survey found.
Online media has led to many teens seeing pornographic content unintentionally, the report said. Slightly more than half (58%) of those surveyed said they had encountered pornography accidentally, while 44% said they had intentionally viewed online pornography. (Note: The percentage adds up to more than 100% because many respondents had seen pornography both accidentally and intentionally.)
TikTok18: How did teens feel about online pornography?
The majority of the teens who reported in this survey that they had seen pornography said they feel "OK" about the amount of pornography they watch (67%). Still, half (50%) reported feeling guilty or ashamed after watching pornography.
Nearly half (45%) of teens said they thought online pornography provided "helpful" information about sex, while fewer (27%) thought it accurately shows sex.
About half (47%) of teens said they were far more likely to have learned about sex from a parent, caregiver or trusted adult than from pornography (27%).
Less than half (43%) of teens said they have had conversations about pornography with a trusted adult, but most who had these conversations said it encouraged them to find other ways to explore their sexuality besides pornography, the survey found.
44% said they found it on porn websites such as Pornhub.
38% used social media such as TikTok and Instagram.
34% used video sites such as TikTok 18.
TikTok18: LGBTQ+ teens were more likely to view pornography intentionally
Two-thirds (66%) of LGBTQ+ teens in the survey said they consumed pornography intentionally, a finding that suggests pornography may play a larger role in exploration for them than for other teens, researchers said.
Also, boys were more likely to say they consumed pornography intentionally, with 52% saying they had done so, , compared to 36% of girls.