{"id":18190,"date":"2024-12-12T09:02:35","date_gmt":"2024-12-12T10:02:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=18190"},"modified":"2024-12-12T10:26:18","modified_gmt":"2024-12-12T10:26:18","slug":"how-to-talk-to-your-teen-about-pornography","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=18190","title":{"rendered":"How To Talk to Your Teen About Pornography"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><\/div>\n<p id=\"article-summary\" class=\"css-79rysd e1wiw3jv0\">Odds are your adolescent has already encountered online pornography. Your role is to openly address it, scholars say.<\/p>\n<section class=\"meteredContent css-1r7ky0e\">\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The average American first sees online pornography at age 12, and nearly three-quarters of all teenagers have encountered it, according to <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commonsensemedia.org\/research\/teens-and-pornography\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">a 2023 survey of adolescents by Common Sense<\/a>. It\u2019s enough to make most any parent squirm, but Brian Willoughby, a social scientist at Brigham Young University who studies the pornography habits of adolescents and the impact on relationships, has some advice: \u201cDon\u2019t panic.\u201d Instead, he says, help your child understand that \u201cthis is a normal and acceptable topic, even if you\u2019re stressed out.\u201d Here are some suggestions for how to broach the subject:<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-bo4jmi e12nqm5i0\" id=\"link-7917b053\"><span>Build a Dialogue<\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">First, try to take some of the intense emotion \u2014 yours and your child\u2019s \u2014 out of the conversation. \u201cStart with helping them feel calm and validated,\u201d Dr. Willoughby said. \u201cThey can\u2019t have a conversation with you if they are feeling strong emotions.\u201d Then, he said, \u201cassess their reaction to porn \u2014 were they excited, disgusted, attracted, disinterested? \u2014 and make them feel safe sharing this with you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">That shared trust forms the basis for a next step, he said: \u201cTie your own values into the conversation. Share what your view of porn is and why.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He noted that adolescents crave a clear explanation, not merely a pronouncement that pornography is \u201cwrong.\u201d Dr. Willoughby suggested that parents \u201ctalk through some of the details of porn to point out problems with expectations and intimate behaviors\u201d and then \u201ctie these thoughts and views to your overall hopes and values about sexual intimacy.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-vlsv4n e12nqm5i0\" id=\"link-116a3bf5\"><span>Try Content Blockers<\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Numerous phone and computer apps offer help blocking pornographic content.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">These can \u201cpotentially buy a few years of protection\u201d if loaded on a child\u2019s phone and other devices, said Melea Stephens, a family therapist in Alabama who speaks to universities, legislators and church groups about the harm that exposure to pornography can present to children and teenagers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Despite such barriers, studies indicate that most young people will stumble across the content or find their way to it. At that point, Ms. Stephens said, parents should take their adolescent aside and \u201cexplain the difference between a real, loving, mutually respectful romantic relationship and the destructive dynamics and meta-messages being depicted in pornography.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1336jj\">\n<div class=\"css-121kum4\">\n<div class=\"css-171d1bw\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-asuuk5\">\n<div class=\"css-7axq9l\" data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1dv1kvn\" id=\"optimistic-truncator-a11y\">\n<hr \/>\n<p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F12%2F12%2Fhealth%2Fpornography-adolescents-internet.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">log into<\/a>\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F12%2F12%2Fhealth%2Fpornography-adolescents-internet.html\">subscribe<\/a>\u00a0for all of The Times.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1g71tqy\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Thank you for your patience while we verify access.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Already a subscriber?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"log-in-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F12%2F12%2Fhealth%2Fpornography-adolescents-internet.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">Log in<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Want all of The Times?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"subscribe-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F12%2F12%2Fhealth%2Fpornography-adolescents-internet.html\">Subscribe<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Odds are your adolescent has already encountered online pornography. Your role is to openly address it, scholars say.The average American first sees online pornography at age 12, and nearly three-quarters of all teenagers have encountered it, according to a 2023 survey of adolescents by Common Sense. It\u2019s enough to make most any parent squirm, but Brian Willoughby, a social scientist at Brigham Young University who studies the pornography habits of adolescents and the impact on relationships, has some advice: \u201cDon\u2019t panic.\u201d Instead, he says, help your child understand that \u201cthis is a normal and acceptable topic, even if you\u2019re stressed out.\u201d Here are some suggestions for how to broach the subject:Build a DialogueFirst, try to take some of the intense emotion \u2014 yours and your child\u2019s \u2014 out of the conversation. \u201cStart with helping them feel calm and validated,\u201d Dr. Willoughby said. \u201cThey can\u2019t have a conversation with you if they are feeling strong emotions.\u201d Then, he said, \u201cassess their reaction to porn \u2014 were they excited, disgusted, attracted, disinterested? \u2014 and make them feel safe sharing this with you.\u201dThat shared trust forms the basis for a next step, he said: \u201cTie your own values into the conversation. Share what your view of porn is and why.\u201dHe noted that adolescents crave a clear explanation, not merely a pronouncement that pornography is \u201cwrong.\u201d Dr. Willoughby suggested that parents \u201ctalk through some of the details of porn to point out problems with expectations and intimate behaviors\u201d and then \u201ctie these thoughts and views to your overall hopes and values about sexual intimacy.\u201dTry Content BlockersNumerous phone and computer apps offer help blocking pornographic content.These can \u201cpotentially buy a few years of protection\u201d if loaded on a child\u2019s phone and other devices, said Melea Stephens, a family therapist in Alabama who speaks to universities, legislators and church groups about the harm that exposure to pornography can present to children and teenagers.Despite such barriers, studies indicate that most young people will stumble across the content or find their way to it. At that point, Ms. Stephens said, parents should take their adolescent aside and \u201cexplain the difference between a real, loving, mutually respectful romantic relationship and the destructive dynamics and meta-messages being depicted in pornography.\u201dWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0log into\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0subscribe\u00a0for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?\u00a0Log in.Want all of The Times?\u00a0Subscribe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18192,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18190"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18190\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18193,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18190\/revisions\/18193"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}