Sexuality in the Age of the Internet: How Pornography Has Affected Young Women's Sexual Development

The present study explores how unrestricted internet access, specifically pornography, impacts the sexual socialization of women and non-binary people who were assigned female at birth (AFAB NB). Through a qualitative, contemporary feminist lens, I examined the intersection of parental sex education, sexual education in schools, modern internet usage, and sexual development in 20 college-aged participants to better understand how receiving a majority of one’s sexual education through media and the internet impacts sexual development. Three major themes emerged from the data: parental involvement, sex education levels, and consequences of pornography. The data revealed that although experiences slightly varied person to person, pornography has generally had a negative impact on the sexual development and socialization of young girls. Potential implications for parents and educators include acknowledging the reality of widespread pornography consumption among adolescents and providing media literacy tools to help them distinguish reality from fantasy.