One in three children is accessing a ‘tsunami’ of explicit pornographic images on the internet by the age of ten, a study has revealed.
Four in five teenagers regularly look up unsuitable photographs or film on their computers or mobile phones, it also suggested.
Campaigners warned that exposure to these images inflicts ‘serious mental harm’ on children and prevents them forming healthy adult relationships in later life.
Loss of innocence: A new study has revealed one in three children is able to access pornography online by the age of ten
The average age of a child first exposed to pornography is just 11.
At a conference in Parliament yesterday, campaigners called on ministers to force websites to carry cigarette-style health warnings.
A large ‘R18’ banner would pop up on targeted websites, alerting children and parents to the nature of the site, they said.
The British Board of Film Classification, which censors films, should also be called in to classify website content.
Miranda Suit, director of SaferMedia, said pornography was getting more extreme and easier to access.
Concern: Parenting expert Tanya Byron provided data for the study
She said: ‘The new generation of mobile phones is making accessing pornography easier with two-thirds of children admitting they had accessed explicit material on their handsets.
'Worryingly most parents are oblivious to how easy it is for children to download images.’
She added: ‘Children are simply incapable of processing the tsunami of explicit images that are now on the internet.
'Many who see these images think that hard core pornography is a true depiction of sex, or they become desensitised to the brutality of the films.’
This exposure would damage their ability to have normal relationships and leave them with the impression that women are ‘objects who do not mind being abused’.
The figures were compiled from polls by YouGov, research in America and a study by child behavioural expert Tanya Byron.
Miss Suit said the easy availability of adult material meant ‘a third of children aged ten have seen extremely explicit material, which should carry a R18 rating’.
‘The Government must act now to protect our children and must clamp down on this £60billion industry, which has been allowed to circumvent the restrictions placed on traditional broadcasters,’ she said.
Tory MP David Burrowes, who sponsored the conference, said parents had to be more aware of what their children were getting up to.
Dr John Wood, a psychotherapist with the Portland Clinic, said sexual imagery was ‘getting youngsters into serious hot water’.
He said there was an ‘escalation of extremism’ and he had spoken to teenagers who had disturbing reactions to adult images and who had become addicted.
Tory MP Claire Perry will today lead a debate on regulating the internet to stop easy access to pornography.
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