Opinions

Since the very early stages of the introduction of the internet, parents have been worried about how the ubiquity of pornography will impact their children. Though the idea is not supported by data (estimate suggests that only about 4% of the 1 million most visited sites are sex-related), it is not difficult to understand where this worry originated from. After all, with a 2020 report finding that 51% of UK children between 11 and 13 and 79% of those between 16 and 17 have been exposed to pornography, concerns should rightly be raised with regards to the availability of sex-related materials to young people.

The personal impact of pornography on young people has been well-documented, with its consumption linked to lower levels of self-esteem and higher rates of sexually risky behaviour. Its effects on future relationships are potentially devastating as well: multiple researches have found that adolescent exposure to sexually explicit materials is linked to the objectification of women and earlier onset of sexual intercourse. 

Given the devastating impacts of pornography, the proliferation of such material amongst secondary school students in Hong Kong is especially worrying. According to a recent survey carried out by MWYO, 53.5% of 5,516 Hong Kong secondary students said that it is acceptable to browse pornography whilst 19.8% admitted to having done so. Such statistics is in itself a cause for concern, but what is more alarming is the fact that 16% and 10% of F4 to F6 boys credited pornographic material as their main source of sexual knowledge and relationship advice respectively. 

It is therefore imperative that more is done to mitigate the damage of pornography to secondary school students. With pornographic material so easily accessible in the internet age, it would be exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to prevent young people from coming across it entirely. Where a difference could be made, however, is ensuring that students are able to distinguish the fantasies portrayed in sexually explicit material from the realities of real-life interactions. This means increased media literacy education to help students separate correct and incorrect online information and sex education emphasising the role of consent in intimate relationships and the possible legal consequences of circulating pornographic materials. 

All this talk about ‘education’ suggests that talking about pornography should be a job for teachers, but this is not the case. Indeed, for subjects such as sex and relationship, the best location for education is arguably at home. With the Covid pandemic keeping students and parents home for extended periods of time, now seems an apt time for such discussions to take place. Naturally, parents will require support if they are to broach such sensitive topics. In the UK, this support came in the form of online guidelines, it would perhaps be prudent for schools and sex education providers in Hong Kong to consider something along those lines.

Originally published in China Daily on April 12, 2022