Pornography Literacy and Sexually Explicit Digital Materials in Sexuality Education: A Scoping Review

Objectives Digital media are central to how adolescents and young adults encounter information about sexuality, intimacy, and relationships. Pornography and other sexually explicit media (SEM), as well as deepfakes and other sexualized digital content, may function as informal sources of sexual learning. This scoping review mapped sexuality education and sexual and reproductive health programs addressing pornography or other SEM, deepfakes, or related sexualized digital content, describing their characteristics, pedagogical approaches, evaluated outcomes, and gaps.Method The review followed established methodological guidance for scoping reviews and was reported according to the PRISMA extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Searches were conducted in Scopus, Web of Science, ERIC, and ProQuest Central, complemented by backward citation searching. Eligible studies presented primary empirical data on educational programs or interventions targeting students that addressed pornography or other SEM, or used sexual media literacy approaches, within sexuality education or sexual and reproductive health contexts.Results Eighteen studies corresponding to 12 distinct programs or interventions were included. Most were conducted in the United States and published from 2018 onwards. Programs varied in target population, setting, delivery format, duration, and pedagogical orientation. Findings were generally promising for proximal outcomes, including pornography and sexual health knowledge, media literacy, perceived realism, attitudes, perceived norms, self-efficacy, communication, and consent preparedness. Evidence regarding behavioral outcomes, long-term effects, and differential effectiveness across populations remained limited.Conclusions Important gaps included the absence of interventions explicitly addressing pornographic deepfakes, AI-generated sexual content, animated pornography, including hentai, and sexual objectification. Pornography literacy and critical engagement with sexualized digital content remain insufficiently consolidated within sexuality education. Future programs should be critical, inclusive, non-moralizing, trauma-sensitive, youth-centered, culturally adapted, and responsive to evolving digital sexual environments.