The figures are not reassuring. Nearly a third of under-18s consult at least one pornographic site each month, a practice that has been increasing for several years with the use of smartphones, revealed Thursday a study by Médiamétrie commissioned by Arcom.
2.3 million minors (30%) are thus exposed to pornographic images for more than 50 minutes on average each month, a proportion barely lower than among adults who are 37% to consume this content, according to the study carried out in France in 2022 with 25,000 panelists. This represents 600,000 more minors since the fall of 2017, when the measurement began to be carried out on three screens (computer, smartphone, digital tablet). In fact, three-quarters of under-18s use their phones exclusively for these consultations, compared to 55% of adults.
For the Audiovisual and Digital Communication Regulatory Authority (Arcom), responsible by law for protecting minors from these images, “we are really on a mass consultation of pornographic sites by minors, […] which is mainly done on smartphones, that is to say out of the parental eye”.
Pornhub is viewed by 18% of minors
“These minors are even younger than we thought. We have 51% of boys aged 12-13 who watch pornographic sites every month, and still 21% of boys aged 10-11”, alert to AFP Laurence Pécaut-Rivolier, president of the Arcom working group on the protection of the public. The attendance of adolescent girls is much lower: non-representative up to 11 years old, 31% at 12-13 years old and this proportion decreases until the majority, while it increases among boys, notes the study.
Among the 179 sites studied, the free Pornhub platform belonging to the global porn giant Mindgeek stands out, being consulted by 18% of minors (1.4 million, +900,000 in five years). Its audience is thus made up of 17% minors, against 12% for the average of other sites of the genre. “Probably there are a number of incentive elements (on this site, editor’s note), such as the place on the search engines”analyzes Laurence Pécaut-Rivolier.
Seized by associations on the basis of the law on domestic violence of July 2020, Arcom has given formal notice to 15 sites to establish a real age control of their visitors and has taken legal action to request the blocking of seven of them, including Pornhub. A decision from the Paris court is expected on July 7.