‘That’s just how it is these days’: exposure to online pornography in childhood and its impact on development in late adolescence
Abstract
This paper explores the impact of exposure to online pornography in childhood on aspects of development in late adolescence, with a particular focus on sexual development. Three composite cases are used to outline some common themes found in treatment with young people, drawn from the experience of clinicians in the child and adolescent team at the Portman Clinic. The discussion is focused on how developmental processes in adolescence can be disrupted and corrupted by viewing sexualised images online in childhood, and how this might vary depending on the degree of trauma in the young person’s history. This paper was originally presented at the 2025 ACP conference, ‘Sexuality through a modern lens’.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Sexuality
Behavior
and Technology
Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health
Child Abuse and Trauma
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Journal of Child Psychotherapy
- Volume
- 52
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 110–123
- Publication date
- 2 January 2026
- Language
- EN