“It’s just so common, it’s so normalised and everyone’s just so desensitised to it, but a lot of people just accept it as kind of a normal which is wrong.”
Girl, 16
“Obviously social media messaging apps [...] people get added to random group chats [...] people [get] sent stickers of really explicit stuff.”
“I definitely think that pornography changes people’s outlook on sex, and I think that it can lead to sex being more violent. I think if anything, my biggest worry is that it also affects people’s behaviour in general. I think it can also just make people more violent in general, even if it’s not in a sexual setting.”
Girl, 16
Girl, 16
“People have created basically fake videos of people having sex […] that’s a bit worrying as well because people can, you know for example create child pornography through that.”
[A] reason why some people might go on to it actively is so they can sort of express themselves in that way and find out more about what sex actually looks like. In a way that they can’t do it normally with other people.”
Girl, 16
Children and Pornography Youth Voices:
The rules for the online world are changing
One part of the online world that is particularly concerning is pornography and how easy it is for young people to access. Children should not be able to access this type of harmful content but our research has found many still are, often by accident.
We conducted a survey and spoke to children and young people to understand what their online lives look like, so we can check that the new rules make them safer.
Girl, 16
“I seenhave it at school that boys expect girls to look a certain way, or they are worthless, it’s horrible.”
Boy, 17
August 2025
What has the Commissioner found out?
Most children said they didn’t go looking for porn, but they found it online accidentally. Lots of them reported that it is violent, and makes them think and feel differently about each other.
1. Children’s are seeing pornography online
70% of survey respondents reported seeing it - more than in her last report two years ago.
2. Children are being exposed at a young age
The average age a child first sees pornography online is 13. Some reported seeing it aged 6.
3. Children are most likely to find pornography accidently 59% reported seeing pornography online by accident.
What is the Commissioner going to do?
The Children’s Commissioner has been pushing decision-makers to make children’s safety online a priority. She is working with Ofcom who have produced the new online rules and regulate what tech companies must do to protect children on their sites.
The Commissioner is asking for the government:
• to make pornography that shows acts which are illegal offline illegal online.
• to support schools to teach and talk about pornography sensitively and safely in RHSE lessons
• to make sure the rules preventing children from finding extreme and harmful content are implemented effectively.
Where to find advice and support
If you are living in care, are living away from home, have a social worker or are a care leaver you can contact the Children’s Commissioner’s Help at Hand team
“My report highlights how little has changed in the two years since my first report on children’s exposure to pornography: many children are accidentally seeing it, much of it is violent, often on social media and it is impacting their behaviour and their beliefs about relationships, or each other.
No child should be exposed to porn online. The new rules are a real opportunity to make children’s safety online a non-negotiable priority for everyone: politicians, tech companies and social media sites, schools and parents. Schools also need to implement the new Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RHSE) guidance in a way that focuses on quality and safety.”
Dame Rachel de Souza Children’s Commissioner for England
