Young people, child pornography, and subcultural norms on the Internet

Abstract

Literature to date has treated as distinct two issues (a) the influence of pornography on young people and (b) the growth of Internet child pornography, also called child exploitation material (CEM). This article discusses how young people might interact with, and be affected by, CEM. The article first considers the effect of CEM on young victims abused to generate the material. It then explains the paucity of data regarding the prevalence with which young people view CEM online, inadvertently or deliberately. New analyses are presented from a 2010 study of search terms entered on an internationally popular peer-to-peer website, isoHunt. Over 91 days, 162 persistent search terms were recorded. Most of these related to file sharing of popular movies, music, and so forth. Thirty-six search terms were categorized as specific to a youth market and perhaps a child market. Additionally, 4 deviant, and persistent search terms were found, 3 relating to CEM and the fourth to bestiality. The article discusses whether the existence of CEM on a mainstream website, combined with online subcultural influences, may normalize the material for some youth and increase the risk of onset (first deliberate viewing). Among other things, the article proposes that future research examines the relationship between onset and sex offending by youth.

The Lived Experience of the Adolescent Sex Offender: A Phenomenological Case Study

“…These experiences are significant contributing factors in developing sexual maladaptive behaviors (Creeden, 2013;Hunter, Figueredo, & Malamuth, 2010;Netland & Miner, 2012;Prichard, Spiranovic, Watters, & Lueg, 2013;Worling, 2005). Schwartz, Cavanaugh, Prentky, and Pimental (2006) confirmed that a high number of adolescents with sexual behavior problems and aggression have experienced similar life situations.…”

“…He readily admitted that pornography caused him a great deal of trouble and influenced him to seek sexual activity. Exposure to pornography, neglect, and abuse has been found to contribute to development of maladaptive sexual behaviors in adolescents (Hunter et al, 2010;Prichard et al, 2013;Schwartz et al, 2006). While many individuals who endure sexual abuse or view pornography do not necessarily go on to sexually offend, the prevalence of these conditions does speak to the importance of considering sexual addictions as well as trauma focused intervention.…”

Investigating Malware Epidemiology and Child Exploitation Using Algorithmic Ethnography

“…Advertising does not need to be limited to commercial, for-profit sites: much CEM is traded and "advertised" on P2P search sites, where it can be downloaded for free, facilitated by the appropriate choice of keywords [22]. Indeed, as shown by [8], searches for CEM on one of the most popular P2P search engines were more popular than Harry Potter movies during the time of their initial release.…”

“…This report, among others, lists all of the URLs removed from the Google Index, whenever a complaint from a rightsholder is upheld, i.e., when Google determines that the URL does contain or links to allegedly pirated material. 8 In the United States, this process is governed by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). It is interesting to note that the number of complaints upheld by Google almost doubles every year.…”

A Systematic Approach to Measuring Advertising Transparency Online: An Australian Case Study

“…Parents need to be aware that this is the type of content that will be served up to their children, even if they are only intending to download torrent for music or less offensive content. The absence of traditional regulatory mechanisms for effectively controlling online content -including the Classification Board and Advertising Standards Bureau -mean that new subcultural norms are rapidly being established online, and these can have profoundly negative consequences; for example, a progression model of rising interest in child exploitation material has been linked to the rise of the online porn culture, particularly where young users are inadvertently exposed to pornography through advertising (Prichard et al, 2013).…”