Internet porn a growing problem with children

By Allie Martin

Researchers have found that teen exposure to Internet pornography encourages sex at a younger age.

 According to the journal Cyber Psychology and Behavior, males between the age of 12 and 17 who regularly viewed porn had sexual relations at an earlier stage in their lives than those who have not regularly viewed Internet porn.
 
Pat Trueman, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund and former chief of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section in the Criminal Division of the Justice Department, says increased availability of porn -- along with a lack of government oversight -- contributes to the problem. And he says the problem highlights the need for parents to use Internet blocking software.
 
"Believe it or not, the use of blocking software is declining in America [in conjunction] with the rise of the use of pornography by children," Trueman points out. "There's sort of a disconnect there .... so blocking software is very important."
 
Trueman says the federal government has not made the prosecution of illegal Internet porn a priority. He contends that if the federal government went after just a few of online porn providers, the problem would start to disappear.