When singer-songwriter Billie Eilish recently admitted that watching pornography as a child — since the age of 11 —  “destroyed” her brain, it opened up a conversation on the effect of adult films on young minds, the uncomfortable silence around it, and the need for holistic sex education. Dr Zirak Marker, a child, adolescent and family psychiatrist, and advisor, Mpower, shares that when children or teenagers view sexually, not-age-inappropriate content, such as pornography, it leads to a skewed idea of sex, consent and intimacy. For instance, the 20-year-old multiple Grammy Award-winning sensation went on to reveal that the first few times she had sex, she couldn’t say no to things she didn’t like, because she felt that that was what she was “supposed to be attracted to”.

Effect on young minds

Sex educator Apurupa Vatsalya (whose pronouns are she/they) notes that young people start getting exposed to pornography as early as when they’re nine or 10. “Typically they’ll begin with Google-ing something like ‘naked bodies’ because they’re naturally curious about bodies, especially those that are different from theirs.” Since today’s kids are digital natives, they may accidentally chance upon porn while working on a project or playing a game, she adds. And when children do come across porn, they don’t realise that most of the content may be exaggerated, contrived, immoral, perverse or abusive in nature, and that this is not normal, points out Dr Marker.