Digital natives’ experience of early and continuous exposure to pornography

Abstract

With the technological advancements of the 21st century, online pornography has become
increasingly available to children and adolescents, and this research aims to investigate how
individuals who started watching pornography at an early age experience pornography. The
study implements a phenomenological approach and is based on 13 qualitative interviews
with participants who started watching pornography before the age of 15. In doing so, this
research utilised Simon and Gagnon’s (1973) sexual script theory and Porn Literacy theory as
the theoretical framework through which to analyse the data. The results indicate that the
participants´ sexual scripts evolved over time through their consumption of pornography and
sexual interactions and incorporated various aspects of pornography that had an influence on
such things as their expectations of sexual encounters, gendered perspectives, body image,
and amount and type of pornography sought out. Porn literacy seemed to be an ability that the
participants developed over time, which allowed them to critically engage with pornography
and observe how it had affected them.

Popular Abstract

Popular science summary
Pornography has become increasingly accessible to anyone with a device that can access the
internet, and studies show that since the normalisation of personal computers and high-speed
internet in homes, children and adolescents are watching it at an increasingly early age.
People who have grown up with access to the internet have always had pornography at their
fingertips whether they choose to access it or not, and it seems to be increasingly common for
young people to be exposed to pornography by peers, or to stumble upon it by accident.
Through in-depth interviews with 13 participants who started watching pornography at an
early age, I set out to investigate how they experienced and thought about pornography. This
inquiry covered themes such as early experiences of pornography, long term experiences of
pornography, sexual attitudes and behaviours, education, body image, gender, and trends.
The theoretical framework used for this research is Sexual Script theory, conceptualized by
Simon and Gagnon in 1973, by which the way people learn to have sex from their cultural
context, media, and sexual interactions can be understood, and Porn Literacy which is the
ability to critically analyse what is seen in pornography. The interviews provided varied
results as no one’s experience with pornography is like another’s, although some shared
similar thoughts and experiences. The general opinion of the participants was that porn
presents an inaccurate picture of sex, and that children should not be watching it, although
that when they started watching pornography they more or less understood that it was not
really the same as sex, although as the participants had started watching pornography at an
early age, most of them had used it as an educational tool for sex to some extent. It was also
found that mainstream pornography usually uses a gender dynamic that puts the male actor in
the dominant role and the female actor in the submissive role, and that some of the
participants had copied that dynamic in their own sex lives, even though they preferred not
to. In terms of body image, the difference in genital appearance was a concern for some
participants, but they knew it was an unrealistic standard to compare themselves to. It seems
as though the participants´ sexual scripts, the guidelines they follow in sexual interactions and
their thoughts and expectations about sex, were somewhat affected by their pornography
consumption. Some of the participants reported a positive relationship to pornography by
which they had been able to explore their sexuality, and some had more complicated
relationships to it. Although some participants had internalised aspects of pornography, they
were all able to critically engage with what they were watching in pornography, and it seems
as though this ability evolved over time as they became more experienced.

• author: Hedberg, Fredrika
• supervisor: Bo Isenberg
• organization: Department of Sociology; Sociology
• course: SOCM04 20221
• year: 2022
• type: H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
• subject: Social Sciences
• keywords: Pornography, Sexual Script, Porn Literacy
• language: English
• id: 9092102
• date added to LUP: 2022-06-22 14:01:50
• date last changed: 2022-06-22 14:01:50