Survey: Prepubescent porn exposure has doubled in a generation

A new study shows childhood exposure to pornography has doubled in a generation, and porn usage and addiction reaches far into Christian churches.

“Pornography is not relegated to any particular community, socio-economic class, or religion,” said Haley Halverson, director of communications for the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE). “Thanks to the internet, it’s really everywhere,”.

On Tuesday, Barna Group released preliminary findings from comprehensive research on American pornography consumption. Barna’s research revealed 27 percent of millennials ages 25-30 reported seeing porn before reaching puberty. Compared with the Generation X cohort, early porn exposure has doubled in a generation.

NCOSE officials said early exposure to porn is particularly harmful because it shapes the sexual template of young people as they learn about sex.

The study used a wide-ranging, nationally representative sample of nearly 3,000 participants in four online studies. Barna also conducted in-depth surveys looking at American teenagers, Christian pastors, and churches.

In the report, seven in 10 youth pastors said a teen had come to them in the last 12 months seeking help with porn. With that said, 21 percent of youth pastors and 14 percent of all Christian pastors reported currently struggling with porn themselves. More than 66 percent of teens and young adults reported sending or receiving sexually explicit images.

Barna’s research also looked into thoughts and attitudes surrounding porn consumption. Many Americans viewed “not recycling” as more immoral than viewing porn. And most Americans had become desensitized to adult content: Only 10 percent of teens and 5 percent of young adults had a negative view of pornography, according to the survey.

“This research is confirming the fact that the vast majority of Americans are being affected by pornography, and it is something that needs to be addressed on a public level,” Halverson said.

Covenant Eyes, one of America’s largest internet accountability and filtering providers, helped fund the research. Ron DeHaas, the president of Covenant Eyes said that after 16 years of combatting porn, nothing in the report caught him by surprise. But putting hard numbers to the problem is an important step.

DeHaas explained many people do not realize how widespread the usage of porn is in the United States, and those who do don’t view it as a harmful activity. The survey included more than 800 pastors across many different Christian denominations. Of those surveyed, 73 percent of pastors said they felt somewhat prepared to help someone deal with a porn addiction. But only 7 percent of churches actually had a program dedicated to the ministry.

“The churches themselves need to have awareness and then the understanding so we can have more programs dedicated to fighting pornography,” DeHaas said.