Encyclopedia of Opinion
Question
Should pornography be banned for people under 18?
Position1 of 2›

No, minors should be allowed to explore sexuality

Claims that ALL pornography is harmful to minors are uninformed. It is natural for young people to explore their sexuality; pornography is one way they can do that.

Supporting arguments · 6

  1. Puberty and sexual desires begin before 18 years old
    Children begin the transition into adulthood through puberty way before they are 18. Therefore, they should be able to fulfill this sexual desire and watch pornography, like any other sexually active individual.
  2. Minors will find more obscure or extreme porn which is not covered by the ban
    A porn ban would not be able to cover all pornography on the internet, and it is inevitable that minors would search for it. Minors would end up finding obscure, potentially violent pornography deeper in the web which would be even more harmful.
  3. Banning pornography makes it seem like forbidden fruit
    Banning porn makes something that seemed commonplace much more appealing and cool. Teenagers are exceptionally susceptible to this type of thought because they are attracted to high-excitement activities.
  4. A porn ban would teach harmful sexual shame
    Sexual shame can cause psychosexual damage to a young person. Banning pornography could further the message that sex is unclean or unnatural, which is not true.
  5. Children are able to discover their sexual preferences
  6. Normalising pornography would create more progressive, realistic porn