Study: More Kids Exposed to Online Porn, Fewer Predators

DURHAM, N.H. — A study of online child safety from the University of New Hampshire’s Crimes Against Children Research Center presented a mixed bag, finding that while incidents of predators approaching children were down, the rate of children being exposed to adult content online was up.

The report, titled “Online Victimization of Youth: Five Years Later,” collected information from 1,500 children ranging in age from 10-17.

According to the study, children who were exposed to online adult content jumped from 25 percent in 2000 to 34 percent in 2005.

The study speculated that a possible reason for the jump in the rate of children being exposed to online pornography were aggressive marketing tactics by adult content affiliates.

“Pornography marketers use methods such as pop-up ads, adware and various other sorts of hidden and malicious software, which do things such as hijacking browsers and directing computers to pornography websites,” the study said. “Unethical marketers install these programs on computers without the permission or knowledge of Internet users by, for example, bundling them with game demos and music youth may download or disguising download links as patches or upgrades.”

According to ASACP Executive Director Joan Irvine, responsible members of the adult entertainment community work hard to keep children from viewing content intended for adults.

"Fortunately, the majority of adult companies behave responsibly," Irvine told XBIZ. "Most ASACP members already use 'warning' pages and other methods to keep kids off their sites, and ASACP’s new labeling project should help make sure adult sites will be clearly identifiable as such, and will be viewed only by adults who want to view them."

Looking at data collected in the study from 2000 and comparing it with more recent information, researchers concluded that the number of children who were victims of sexual advances from online predators had dropped from 19 percent five years ago to 13 percent today.

“It may be a sign people are paying attention to warnings they receive about online dangers," study author Professor Janis Wolak said. "They are being more cautious about who they are interacting with online."

Wolak also added that the study showed that fears surrounding social networking sites such as MySpace were overblown.

"People have fears that these crimes involve offenders and predators who look at these social networking sites and then seek to identify these kids," Wolak said. "That's not really what's going on."

The study was financed by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children with a grant from the U.S. Justice Department.

New Hampshire research center President Ernie Allen hesitated to call the report good news, saying that while overall incidents of online predator solicitations were down, the more aggressive incidents of online predators remained constant at 4 percent.

According to Allen, 7 percent of children solicited actually meet online predators in person.

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Texas Resumes AV Lawsuit Against Aylo Following SCOTUS Decision

A district court judge in Texas has unfrozen the state’s $1.6 million lawsuit against Aylo for allegedly failing to comply with age verification requirements, Bloomberg Law is reporting.

JuicyAds Wins Trademark Infringement Case Against Fraudulent Domain

JuicyAds has won its World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) case against a website using a similar domain to impersonate the company's site and defraud customers.

Anissa Kate, Jordan Starr Top AEBN for Q2 of 2025

AEBN has published its top-selling stars for the second quarter of 2025, with Anissa Kate landing atop the leaderboard for straight theaters and Jordan Starr heading up the gay rankings.

AEBN Reveals Eva Maxim as Top Trans Star for Q2 of 2025

AEBN has published its top trans stars list for the second quarter of 2025, with Eva Maxim landing atop the leaderboard.

France Reinstates Age Verification Rule for EU Sites

France’s highest court, the Council of State, on Tuesday reinstated age verification rules for EU-based sites under the country’s Security and Regulation of the Digital Space (SREN) law, ruling in favor of the French government and against Hammy Media.

Whisper Fans Joins Pineapple Support as Supporter-Level Sponsor

Whisper Fans has joined the ranks of over 70 adult businesses and organizations committing funds and resources to Pineapple Support.

Utherverse Launches 'Red Light Center' Virtual World

Virtual reality and metaverse technology company Utherverse has launched its new virtual world, RedLightCenter.io.

European Commission Approves AV Guidelines, Unveils Prototype App

The European Commission on Monday released its final, approved guidelines for protecting minors online under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and made public a “white label” age verification app intended to help sites and platforms comply with age verification rules under the DSA.

Show More