Almost half of US children aged between 10 to 17 said they saw pornography online, says a study quoted by Bloomberg News.

Boys accounted for 80% of "wanted exposure" and more than a third of male Net users aged between 16 and 17 said they visited pornographic sites on purpose, says the story.

"About 80 percent of those exposed said pornography was displayed during unrelated searches, sometimes as the result of a misspelled word, or during downloads, the study said," it also states. "One in five intentionally entered an X-rated site without realizing they would be disturbed by its contents, the researchers said."

Children who "sought pornography were significantly more likely to engage in rule-breaking, and to be withdrawn or depressed," says the story.

Youth is a euphemism, Bloomberg has feminist author and legal scholar Catharine MacKinnonsaying. "Boys are receiving most, but not all of the exposure, and most boys are so exposed. Gender matters and is largely ignored here.''

"As for further research, it would be important to pursue the suggestions in existing clinical literature that children who are exposed to pornography can experience the same trauma, with the same consequences for them as adults, as if they witnessed the acts live,'' she states.

"No one learns respect for women from consuming pornography.''

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Also See:
Bloomberg News - Porn Viewed By Almost Half of Kids, Often Mistakenly, February 5, 2007