Are some young people more vulnerable to problematic porn usage?

Young people in general may be more vulnerable due to their developmental stage, and young males are more likely to struggle than females; however, more research in this area is needed.

In Aotearoa, struggling to cut down on porn is common amongst ‘regular’ young porn-users, with 42% stating they want to watch less porn but find it hard not to, and nearly two thirds of daily viewers wanting to spend less time viewing porn (41).

Faith based young people may be more likely to experience shame and distress associated with porn due to moral incongruence around porn usage, and to self-report as ‘feeling addicted to porn’ (52).

Some groups, such as Rainbow young people, are more likely to view porn in order to learn or to explore non-heteronormative sexual practices and feel affirmed in their sexual identity. Young people with long-term health issues and disabilities are also more likely to view porn for stress relief and sleep and to help with sadness or depression (41).

These groups are more likely to try things seen in porn (41), however there is currently no evidence suggesting there is an increased likelihood of these young people developing problematic usage.

“I have seen quite a lot of it (porn). I guess because learning about sex for gay men in school was never an option… So I watched it because I thought I guess this is all I’m ever going to get. But I think back on it now and see how aggressive all the stuff I watched was… I kind of wish I never have to think about that stuff because it raised a lot of questions for me personally about sex.”

Gay male, 19 years

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