A survey study on pornography consumption among young Spaniards and its impact on interpersonal relationships

Abstract

The rise in the use of new pornography and widespread increase in Internet access represents an unprecedented scenario in interpersonal relationships in young people. This study is pioneering as it focuses on a large scale of perceptions, attitudes, and behaviours in relation to new pornography use and its impact on interpersonal relationships. The main objective was to explore and describe – with a web-based survey – perceptions, opinions, and profiles regarding pornography use and interpersonal relationships. The survey was administered to 2,457 young people aged between 16 and 29 years from representative areas of Spain. The results obtained reveal that the first accesses to pornography occur at an early age (eight years), and the Internet and pornography were shown to be substitutes for affective sexual education, clearly influencing perceptions, attitudes, and behaviours of adolescents and young people and increasing risk behaviours. It is concluded that affective sexual education should be improved, and the involvement of different agents of socialisation must be monitored.

Keywords: New pornography, youth, interpersonal relationships, sex education, consumption.