A leading neuroscientist has supported an opt-in system for online pornography, saying extreme images may cause long-term harm to children's brains
Oxford University professor Baroness Susan Greenfield said the developing brain was ‘vulnerable’ and that children needed to be protected from premature sexualisation, the Daily Mail reported.
She urged ministers to respect parents’ concerns over uncontrolled internet access.
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Already, she said, young people she had spoken to believed ‘relationships are for losers’ and that having multiple sexual partners would impress their friends.
“If I had to choose between unfettered internet access, and having children potentially harmed psychologically or worse by porn sites, then for me the decision is an easy one,” the paper quoted Baroness Greenfield as saying.
“This [opt in] seems to be the simplest and something simple is easiest for people to deal with,” she added.
She said children’s brains may be vulnerable to pornography, as well as suicide and eating disorder sites, on the back of evidence from studies on drug use, video games and criminal behaviour, showing long-term effects from early exposure.
Earlier this week the Archbishop of York also warned of the dangers of online pornography, which he said caused ‘immeasurable misery’ and made boys see girls as ‘sex objects’.
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