Watching pornography as a teenager doesn't really affect sexual behavior, a new study says.
Researchers in the Netherlands say viewing sexually explicit videos and images is only one of many factors that affect teens as they develop sexual behavior. And, watching sexually graphic content doesn't make them more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors.
"Pornography is not as big and bad a wolf as we thought it was, and maybe we should focus on other factors," study author Gert Martin Hald, a clinical psychologist at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, told HealthDay.
Researchers looked at 4,600 young people between the age of 15 and 25, asking them about their ethnicity, relationships, how often and what type of pornography they watched, and about their attitudes on sex, peer pressure among friends and history of sexual experiences. The research was conducted anonymously online so subjects would feel more comfortable answering the questions.
The study found watching sexually explicit materials accounted for only 3 to 4 percent of sexual behavior.
"It does explain a portion of sexual behavior, but it is modest," Dr. Hald added.
Researchers concluded that a range of factors, from personality and genetics to a teen's upbringing and self-esteem, all contributed to their attitudes on sex.
Experts say parents should talk to their children about healthy, responsible sex and not worry too much about just one influence.
"There has been a sort of moral panic — sometimes in Britain and in the U.S. especially — about the influence of pornography on sexual behaviors," Hald told the Globe and Mail. "And although this study can't claim to investigate cause and effect, it can still say that there are a lot of other factors that determine sexual behaviors, so maybe we should put the debate into a larger perspective instead of being just one-sided."
