Why Everyone Should be Praising the UK’s Decision to Block Porn

The UK promises to roll out its online age verification policy in the coming weeks. So, instead of porn being the default setting for every internet-connected device, consumers will now need to provide identification proving they’re over 18. This is brilliant. And a huge victory for the protection of children against sexually exploitative material.

But yup, you guessed it! Not everyone is celebrating.

This week Debra Soh, columnist for The Globe and Mail, wrote a piece touting all the reasons she believes age verification is a bad idea. It’s an opinion article for sure. Still, one would think standing behind a Ph.D. in sexual neuroscience, Soh would have at least tried to back up some of her claims. All of which can be proven false.

• Her article starts off crying about the infringement of privacy—yada, yada.
• Then proceeds to ignore 40 major studies confirming that pornography does in fact follow an addiction model.
• Finally, it climaxes with a fantastic insult towards parents everywhere—if only you were sophisticated enough to have the conversations your adolescent actually needs, then they would understand the nuances between pornography and real sex.

I decided to rewrite her article. It seemed the only reasonable response. I’ll submit it to the editor of The Globe and Mail this afternoon. I have a feeling it might get used to line their virtual trash. So, you can read it here instead.

If you’re interested in comparing my article against Soh’s propaganda for porn, click here. If not, keep reading.

The rewrite…

Online age verification long overdue

Many of us in North America have been attentively watching the UK’s move to implement effective age verification protocols—restricting online access to x-rated content to those over 18.

The new law will be in place next month—and yes, the restriction covers free sites like YouPorn and PornHub. Similar to ID requirements from the old brick and mortar shops, this age gate is meant to safeguard minors from unlimited access to media that often contains extremely violent and/or sexually degrading content.

The current environment

With reports claiming that children under the age of 10 make up a staggering 10% of visits to pornographic sites, it’s understandable that many consider these protocols long overdue. More than 40 recent neurological studies support the addiction model, indicating that the brain’s response to pornography is similar to that of hard drugs.

Teens themselves admit that growing up in pornland is a toxic environment. In 2015, ChildLine surveyed 700 young people aged 12 to 13. Of that group, 10% feared they were addicted to pornography. Their responses also included thoughts that pornography led to depression, low self-esteem, and pressure to engage in risky sexual behaviours for which they felt unprepared.

Other studies have linked early porn consumption to the rise of sexual harassment on school campuses, young men experiencing erectile disorders (previously limited to a handful of men over 40), and most disturbingly, increased instances of peer on peer sexual abuse.

Hijacking healthy development

Adolescent curiosity towards sex is a normal part of healthy development. Unfortunately, exposure to most pornographic content available online today hijacks that curiosity, putting healthy sexual development at risk. As someone who has conducted academic research with adults struggling with their porn use, Debra Soh would easily recognize the level of skill and maturity of coping mechanisms required by young people in order to process the kind of information coming at them through sites like PornHub.

A “whole village” approach

Fortunately, alongside the slow train of political change, there’s also been a growing and fervent grassroots movement working to educate families on how and when to talk to their kids about pornography. Adults in favour of the porn ban understand (as Soh points) out that sexualized images are not just found online, but also in movies, music videos, magazines and video games.

There is obviously, no set-it-and-forget-it solution to the porn problem. Protecting children from the harmful effects of early exposure to violent and sexually degrading content requires a multi-pronged approach. We applaud the UK government for recognizing the importance of age verification as the first actionable step in part of the larger conversation. As public awareness grows and accurate information on this topic is disseminated through government initiatives, health care providers and educational programs, children and teens will become better equipped to make choices based on informed consent.

Like second-hand smoke

Some, who prefer to turn a blind eye argue that parents alone are responsible for the content accessed by their children. This is an egregious misunderstanding of how far-reaching pornography problems go. No parent today can fully compete with the porn industry. It’s an unfair match. You may as well blame those who took an airplane to visit grandma in the 70s for inhaling too much second-hand smoke.

For those who are truly concerned about preserving the innocence of the young, they should worry less about the inconvenience of sharing personal data, and start supporting government initiatives that inspire accurate education and help young people make informed decisions about their sexual health.

A public health crisis

Our main focus at Parents Aware is to provide you with the tools and resources to talk with your children and teens about the harms of pornography. We consider pornography a public health crisis! So yes, we are ecstatic when governments like that in the UK make significant strides forward to implement policies with the protection of children at the forefront of their actions.

18 months ago, talks of age verification fell by the wayside here in Canada when our Standing Committee on Health dissolved the initial work of Viersen’s motion M-47. They failed to produce any significant resolutions that would protect children from unnecessary and harmful exposure to pornography. UK’s recent decisions provide a chance for us to reopen the debate.

There will always be voices like Soh’s urging us to embrace the status quo; telling us that any idea aimed at protecting our children is futile; holding on to false claims that pornography harms no one.

Pornography harms. Children deserve to grow up free of its addicting influence. Share this article to make our voices speak out loud for our children’s future.

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Marilyn

Marilyn has an educational background in family processes and believes that even the most difficult conversations with our kids can be made easy. She loves to share her own experience of parenting in the digital age through writing, live speaking presentations and everyday conversations.

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