Almost one in three children aged just ten or under have seen sexual images online, according to figures highlighted in a parliamentary inquiry.
The inquiry found that the “majority of children access the internet alone” and the average age when a child first uses the internet in the UK is eight-years-old.
Studies also noted in the inquiry’s report suggested four out of five children aged 14-16 access online pornography at home.
Help
Claire Perry MP, who chaired the inquiry into online child protection, said its results were “hugely worrying”.
One of the witnesses to the inquiry, Justine Roberts of the Mumsnet online forum, spoke of how prevalent the problem was.
She gave examples of some Mumsnet users’ concerns: “My 6 year old searched for Disney fairies and got hard-core porn”. “My 10 year old son has found porn on the net help, help, help”. “My 7 year old son has just been looking at internet porn, what do I do?”
The report also said there were concerns about “young children stumbling across material in response to innocent search terms, and older children, especially teenage boys, seeking out more hard-core or violent material”.
Safety
Miss Perry, the Conservative MP for Devizes, Wiltshire, said while “parents should be responsible for their children’s online safety”, people find it difficult to put filters on the many internet-enabled devices in their homes.
In 2010 an analysis of many different studies on the effect of pornography on children was published by the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society.
It highlighted “compelling evidence” of the negative effects of pornography.
Dr Michael Flood’s report showed that, for boys in particular, the use of pornography may “encourage their participation in sexual abuse”.