Violence

Open Access: Yes.

Abstract

Adolescence is a transitional stage of development, with imprecise age limits, during which the individual progressively develops the maturity required for decision-making. Sexual consent is part of the right to sexual freedom, a fundamental right that must be promoted and taught from childhood. At present, there is considerable social alarm in relation to the risks associated with the increased consumption of pornography from an early age. Pornography provides a distorted image of sexual relations that does not feature the elements of consent or respect to the other, commonly offering visual content that normalizes violence, humiliation and the objectification of human beings. The lack of comprehensive sex education with an affective component, combined with the emergence of “new pornography” as a school of sexuality, means that adolescents may come to accept and/or normalize nonconsensual sexual relations that can violate the dignity of the individual. The aim of the study was to perform a critical review of the literature available in the main databases published from 2015 to present in order to characterize the consumption of pornography by adolescents and its associated risks. Lastly, it addresses individual and social factors involved in sexual consent, as well as aspects related to the autonomy required for the individual to be able to consent.

Relevance

This literature review identified numerous risks to adolescents from the use of pornography, including:

• “greater sexual preoccupancy and strong cognitive engagement in sexual issues, sometimes to the exclusion of other thoughts,”
• “a tendency to imitate behaviors seen in pornographic content and an increased probability of engaging in sexual aggression,”
• risky sexual behaviors,
• sexual aggression,
• sexual coercion,
• child-on-child sexual assault, and
• intimate image abuse (so-called ‘revenge porn’).

“Adolescents that habitually use pornography are at risk of developing a sexual script based on inequality and humiliation, unprotected sexual intercourse, online bullying and sexual violence.”

The authors advocate teach “porn literacy…an educational strategy in which adolescents are encouraged to analyze the sexual practices seen in digital media, thus empowering critical thinking regarding pornography.”

Citation

Barrios Miras, E., & Esquerda Areste, M. (2025). Sexual consent in adolescence. Influence of the consumption of «new pornography» on decision-making. Anales de pediatria, 102(4), 503791. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anpede.2025.503791