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Sexual health information - Pornography

Pornography can cause serious problems for young people. Schools are being encouraged to use Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) to identify some of the negative effects that pornography can have on viewers.

The key messages delivered through RSE are:

  • pornography can present misleading ideas of sexual behaviours
  • pornography can damage the way people see themselves
  • pornography can negatively affect how people behave towards their sexual partners
  • pornography only shows sex as a physical act, not in the context of a loving relationship

If pornography is watched as a way of learning about sex and understanding sexual behaviour it can give false, unrealistic and often violent expectations of sex. Often, the expectations for men and for women are not accurate demonstrations of how a heterosexual or homosexual couple might act during sex. You should never feel pressured to perform any sexual act or engage in any sexual behaviour that you are not happy with, or makes you uncomfortable.

It also important to remember that in the world of porn the men and women are often unusually beautiful and well endowed, which can give a false image of what a “normal” body looks like, and can cause poor body image.

Adults should be aware of how easy it is for children and young people to access porn and how to protect them from the unrealistic behaviours of pornography. They need to be willing to talk to young people about this and provide the correct information, if young people are confused and/or have questions about sex/sexual behaviour or relationships.

Adults should also be aware that pornography can have negative consequences, including addiction, lower sexual satisfaction, making some sexual practices seem more appealing than they would otherwise be, an increased self objectification and body shame, and can put pressure on a person to perform sexual acts they do not want to.

Most pornographic videos do not show safe sex. In many of the actors are not shown wearing condoms, however these actors test for STIs very regularly. It is very important to know that condoms are the only way to protect yourself from Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs).

Page last reviewed: 5th November 2025