Mussab AliApril 22, 2014AP WritingMiss DwyerThe Internet has brought many benefits to our civilization as a whole. People became more connected and had the ability to access information they would never have seen otherwise. However, there is another aspect of this connectivity, much more malicious: pornography. Pornography, usually abbreviated to porn, dominates the Internet: up to 12% of all websites are pornographic, and the industry is worth nearly $97 billion. When it comes to acceptance, some support porn consumption while others reject it due to religious or moral beliefs. Porn was considered something not dangerous. However, all this has changed over the past decade, as numerous researches highlight the raw effects of pornography, not only on adults, but also on adolescents. Pornography harms adolescents through obscenity and early exposure to sexual images, which in turn promotes less progressive gender roles and sexual behaviors. The statistics are staggering when it comes to children. According to Michael Flood in his report, The Harms of Pornography Exposure Among Children and Young People, “deliberate consumption of pornography is highly gendered among young people, as it is among adults.” 9 out of 10 children aged 8. and 16 viewed pornography on the Internet, in most cases unintentionally (London School of Economics, January 2012). Additionally, the average age at which a child is first exposed to Internet pornography is 11 years old. Young people with significant exposure to sexuality in the media were shown to be significantly more likely to have had sex between the ages of 14 and 16 (Report in Pediatrics, April 2017). 2006). Some blame the internet, others blame the ...... middle of paper ...... sexually explicit content on the internet. Children's Internet use should be monitored to reduce harm. Public and private education must close the age gap and start educating children earlier, because learning privately from pornography is not a healthy alternative. Pornography is a problem that we need to address as a society. Too often we force children to deal with exposure to sexually explicit media without even realizing what it is. The only way to combat the power of pornography is through education. Teenagers need to understand the effects of pornography on their minds, and too often they don't discover they are addicted until it is too late. Raising awareness is the best way to ensure that this harmful drug that promotes depression, less progressive gender roles and higher sexual behavior can at least be slowed down, if not stopped...