Prevalence of online porn, sexting & social-media-social-lives are "the new norms"

Accidently seeing online porn, sending and requesting naked pictures and living out break-ups and make-ups in "social media social lives" is putting unprecedented pressure on today's teenagers and children, according to a new report from the think tank IPPR, published today.

The report argues that it no longer makes sense to separate online and offline activities and that digital activity is part of modern relationships. It argues that young people have access to a far less adult moderated world than previously and that much of their social lives are now conducted online. It shows that young people reveal ever more information about themselves, and that bullying, breakups and social pressures are magnified and recorded for longer online. As well as coming into contact with inappropriate content, they are also creating and distributing it themselves, using smart phones and social media.

The report argues that these new norms leave a gap between those who have a responsibility to educate and guide young people and the behaviours and norms created by rapidly evolving technology. It argues that because parents and teachers did not grow up with the technologies that have become part of young people's everyday lives they often lack the guidance and structural support to teach these issues.

Just 15% of girls aged 11-21 say that sex education at school gives enough focus on relationships, according to GirlGuiding UK. Almost half of young people say their Sex and Relationship Education did not cover what they really needed to know, and one in four received no Sex and Relationship Education of any kind, according to Brook.

Over one third of secondary schools are judged by Ofsted to require improvement in these areas, and in one in five of the schools Ofsted inspected, staff had received no training or support to teach Personal Social and Health Education. Ofsted found that too many teachers lacked expertise in teaching sensitive and controversial issues which resulted in topics including puberty, domestic violence and sexuality being avoided.

Dalia Ben-Galim, IPPR Associate Director, said:

"On the positive side easy access to digital technologies allows young people to socialise with their friends, find like-minded peers, access supportive and diverse information and networks in an empowering way independently from parents and adults.

"But on the negative side, access to adult or extreme content is now more routine and often impossible to avoid. Young people reveal ever more information about themselves, and bullying, breakups and social pressures are magnified and recorded online. Relationships can be more intensive, with more opportunities for contact, less visibility or moderation by adults, and they are recorded in digital archive and stored online forever. Today's teenagers live 'social media social lives'. These are the new norms.

"As a result, adults responsible for young people – parents, teachers, youth workers - have been increasingly left behind. Teenagers we asked said these issues are best addressed at school, by trained experts. Schools Sex and Relationship Education should better reflect the reality of young people's life: by covering LGBT issues, digital content, bullying, access to pornography and expectations of sex."

Puberty:

IPPR's report shows almost a quarter (24%) of 11 to 13 year old girls say they wax their bikini line and more than a third (39%) say they wear a padded bra. One in four girls of primary school age (7 to 11) claims to use Facebook despite the fact that the minimum age limit is 13.

Violence:

IPPR's report shows more than one in five young people who had been in relationships have experienced partners using physical force (such as 'pushing, slapping, hitting or holding you down'), while more than one in ten young women had experienced more severe physical force (such as 'punching, strangling, beating you up or hitting you with an object'), according to the NSPCC. Almost a third of girls told the NSPCC they had been pressured or physically forced to do something sexual.

Harassment:

Seven out of ten 11 to 21 year old girls reported experiencing sexual harassment at school or college and over a quarter of 13-21 year old girls reported groping or unwanted touching in schools, according to Girlguiding UK.

Sexuality:

IPPR's report shows that more than eight out of ten young people are never taught anything about the biological or physical aspects of same-sex relationships, despite the fact that the UK now legally validates same-sex relationships through marriage acts and non-discrimination law. According to Stonewall, more than half of lesbian, gay or bisexual young people are never taught about gay and bisexual issues at school. IPPR's polling of 18 year olds found that almost one in ten (8%) of young men teenagers identified themselves as homosexual and more than one in ten (15%) of young women identified themselves as bisexual.

The report recommends:

• Sex and Relationships Education should be broader in scope and taught in every school, by specialists
• A single point for advice and support for parents, educators and young people is needed
• Local Authorities should have their Sexual Health Responsibility for young people broadened

Polling of 18 year olds by Opinium for IPPR showed more than eight out of ten (86%) agree that sex and relationship advice should be taught in schools. More than a third (37%) say sex and relationship advice should be taught from the beginning of primary school and almost half (49%) from the beginning of secondary school. It also shows that seven out of ten (68%) 18 year olds want sex and relationship education taught by a trained expert and four out of ten (40%) want it taught by an external visitor who doesn't usually teach at the school, while just two out of ten (19%) want it taught by a teacher from the school.

Polling of 18 year olds by Opinium for IPPR also showed:

• Eight out of ten 18 year olds say it is too easy for young people to accidentally see pornography online, while seven out of ten say "accessing pornography was seen as typical" while they were at school. They say it became common when they were typically 13-15 years old.

• Almost half (46%) say "sending sexual or naked photos or videos is part of everyday life for teenagers nowadays."
• Seven out of ten (72%) 18 year olds say "pornography leads to unrealistic attitudes to sex" and that "pornography can have a damaging impact on young people's views of sex or relationships" (70%).
• Two thirds of young women (66%) and almost half of young men (49%) agree that "it would be easier growing up if pornography was less easy to access for young people." Two thirds (66%) say "people are too casual abut sex and relationships."

• Almost eight out of ten young women (77%) say "pornography has led to pressure on girls or young women to look a certain way," while almost as many (75%) say "pornography has led to pressure on girls and young women to act a certain way."
• Far more young men agree (45%) that "pornography helps young people learn about sex," compared to young women (29%). While young women are far more likely to disagree (49%) that "pornography helps young people learn about sex," compared to young men (28%).
• Half as many young men (21%) as young women (40%) strongly agree that "pornography leads to unrealistic attitudes to sex". Half as many young men (18%) as young women (37%) strongly agree that "pornography encourages society to view women as sex objects".
  

Notes to Editors

IPPR's new report – Young people, sex and relationships: the new norms – will be published on Wednesday and available from: http://www.ippr.org/publications/young-people-sex-and-relationships-the-new-norms

Contacts

Richard Darlington, 07525 481 602, r.darlington@ippr.org

Sofie Jenkinson, 07981 023 031, s.jenkinson@ippr.org