It will probably come as no shock that the majority of teens access pornography online. But what might surprise you is that teens aren’t just using Pornhub and incognito windows — they’re finding porn on social media, Spotify, X (formerly Twitter), and other unexpected places.
Read on to learn the many crafty ways teens seek out adult content and what parents can do about it.
From music apps to social media, here are some of the surprising ways your teen could find explicit content online.
Teens can locate pornographic content through the search feature on social media apps like Instagram and Snapchat. Despite content policies that prohibit explicit material, creators have sneaky ways of getting around filters. This includes:
X is probably the last place you’d expect to find your teen — and that’s kind of the point. It’s not an app that’s popular with Gen Z, so it’s not on most parents’ radars when it comes to setting parental controls.
Also, users don’t need to sign up for an account or download the app to use X, so kids can access it anonymously through their web browser. On X, teens don’t even need to use secret hashtag codes to find porn. X recently updated its policies to allow “consensually produced and distributed adult nudity or sexual behavior.”
Given that X is a text-based platform, pornographic content looks a little different. Some of the forms it might take include:
Teens can find porn on most music streaming platforms. (Spotify’s porn problem has made headlines.) Here’s how pornographic content may show up on these apps:
Reddit is another surprising hub for porn. Reddit has scores of discussion boards — known as subreddits — dedicated solely to pornographic content. Content labeled NSFW (not safe for work) indicates explicit material. Although some explicit subreddits have an age verification in place, it’s easy for teens to bypass the filter and fib about their age.
Curiosity about sex and sexual relationships are developmentally appropriate for teens. However, pornography can set unrealistic expectations and negatively impact attitudes about sex. So, parents need to be proactive in talking to their kids about the problems with porn.
Here are some steps you can take to protect your teen from online porn:
When you talk to your child about sensitive topics like sex, relationships, and drug and alcohol use, include porn in your discussions.
Discuss how it can give false, and sometimes dangerous, impressions about real-life sexual experiences. Be sure to talk about consent and the fact that porn often doesn’t model this in a healthy way.
If you’ve already discovered that your child is accessing porn, here are some tips for handling the situation.
Take advantage of parental controls to limit your child’s ability to access certain websites and explicit content. This should be done on devices, individual apps such as Instagram, and internet browsers.
BrightCanary is a monitoring service that uses advanced technology to scan your child’s online activity, including YouTube, social media, and Google, and flag anything concerning. If your child encounters adult content in their text messages, searches for inappropriate material, or sends an explicit message, BrightCanary will let you know.
Teens are finding porn online in many unexpected ways, including X, Reddit, and Spotify. Parents can take steps to prevent their teen from viewing age-inappropriate content, from talking openly about the risks of porn to using a monitoring app to supervise their child’s activity.
BrightCanary can help you monitor your child online. The app’s advanced technology scans their online activity, including Google and social media, and alerts you when they encounter something concerning. Download the app and get started for free today.
