The consumption of pornography in adolescents and young people: a gender perspective analysis of the characteristics and profiles of consumers

Abstract

The concept of new pornography refers to those pornographic contents easily available on the Internet, free and unlimited. The general objective of this article is to analyze the consumption of new pornography by young people and adolescents, determining the profile and analyzing the characteristics of the people who consume it. For this, it is based on a study carried out during the year 2020 in Tenerife (Spain) to a total of 2,432 young people and adolescents, of which 49.6% were women and 50.4% were men aged between 15 and 30 years. The methodology used replicated that of the research carried out by Dr. Ballester, professor of the University of the Balearic Islands, based on a questionnaire that collected sociodemographic data, the affective sexual education received and the consumption of pornography in the last month. The results show, on the one hand, that consumption is carried out mainly by young men (70.3% compared to 24.7% of women) who solve their sexual doubts through the Internet and share it with their friends. On the other hand, regarding the characteristics of the consumers, it is mostly a weekly or daily consumption and that they share it with friends. Both in Dr. Ballester's work and in this one, as well as in other national and international studies, there are coincidences in the results. The consumption of pornography by young people has consequences that must be analyzed in depth, although studies already point out the repercussion it has on the increase in sexual violence and the demand for prostitution. So, pornography is a school of inequality where young men and adolescents are socialized into violent attitudes towards women.