Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Youth, Sex And The Internet, Michael Flood

Michael G Flood

For young people, the Internet is a space of both pleasure and danger. On the one hand, the Internet fosters a wide variety of social and sexual interactions, delivers responsible information and advice on sexual and reproductive health, allows the exploration of diverse sexualities, and is a means of sexual pleasure and expression. On the other hand, the Internet has facilitated young people’s unwanted exposure to sexually explicit content and increased their vulnerability to forms of emotional and sexual abuse. Research by the Australia Institute finds that three-quarters of 16 and 17 year-olds have been exposed accidentally to pornographic websites, …