How often do adolescents encounter pornography – and how do they deal with it? A new study by the Media Psychology and Media Design Group at TU Ilmenau provides up-to-date data from Germany. A total of 903 students from 8th and 9th grade in North Rhine-Westphalia participated in the survey. Nearly two thirds reported voluntary exposure to pornography, and almost half had seen it unintentionally. The adolescents expressed ambivalent views, describing pornography as both arousing and problematic. More than half wished for better education about its effects and realism. The authors recommend addressing pornography as part of age-appropriate sexual education in schools.
- Döring, N., Mikhailova, V., Biermann, M., Bresemann, Y., Daum, A., Kistinger, T., Wellner, M., & Zenge Wesendonk, T. (2025). Pornografie im Alltag und in der sexuellen Bildung von Jugendlichen: Befragungsergebnisse aus 8. und 9. Schulklassen in Nordrhein-Westfalen [Pornography in everyday life and sexual education among adolescents: Survey results from 8th and 9th grade students in North Rhine-Westphalia]. Bundesgesundheitsblatt – Gesundheitsforschung – Gesundheitsschutz. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00103-025-04073-x