𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Nearly three million young people have thought about trying to make money from websites notorious for pornographic material, new research reveals. A new report reveals that swathes of young Britons have considered uploading content to OnlyFans or other adult websites. The Centre for Social Justice’s (CSJ) research sounds the alarm about the impact of pornography in modern Britain and puts the spotlight on websites that host sexually explicit material which can be accessed by paying customers.

The CSJ found 18% of Britons aged 18-34 have considered uploading their own content to OnlyFans or a similar site in the past year – the equivalent of more than 2.7 million people.

Alicia Kearns, the Conservatives’ Shadow Safeguarding Minister, said: “This report is a damning verdict on what porn is doing to the next generation, and how Labour’s economic incompetence is pushing young women towards pornography.”

The findings have heightened fears that widespread use of pornography is damaging relationships between young men and women. As reported in the Sunday Express, the CSJ has found that “men are 26 times more likely to be living with their mother by their 25th birthday” than with a wife. It warns of a “chasm” opening up between young men and women, pointing to a “collapse in marriage rates, a rapid rise in the ages at which couples marry, falling levels of sexual activity and fertility and a big jump in mental health problems and anxiety levels among the under-30s”.

The report features a foreword by presenter, actor and Strictly Come Dancing winner Ore Oduba, who has spoken publicly about his battle to overcome an addiction to pornography. He accuses adult websites of promoting “the objectification and monetisation” – and a “sense of entitlement to” – women’s bodies.

“Over decades the industry of pornography and its hypersexualised subsidiaries have proliferated within our culture, hidden in plain sight on our social media feeds,” he writes. “They have set dangerous trends in the sex lives of young people, depleted the mental health of those struggling with addiction and contributed to once unfathomable behaviour both online and in the real world.” He fears that Artificial Intelligence will multiply the potential harm of pornography.

Claiming that Britain is in the grip of a “relationship recession”, the report states: “One of the harms of watching pornography is the deeper relational damage to trust, intimacy, and communication. The simplest and most powerful solutions are therefore those best implemented by individuals and couples themselves.”

The polling found that many couples regard the subject of pornograpahy as off limits. Nearly half (47%) have never discussed with a partner whether either of them uses porn, and just 16% have done so in the past year. The CSJ claims nearly one in 20 people in the UK are at “high risk of compulsive sexual behaviour disorder (CSBD), which can include problematic pornography use”. It says this is “comparable to addiction rates found with gambling, alcohol, and drugs”. It found 27% of men watch pornography “several times a week or more” compared with just 5% of women. The think tank calls for greater access to addiction support and for a ban on under-18s using virtual private networks (VPNs) which can be used to bypass parental controls.

Luke Taylor, a senior researcher at the CSJ, said: “Britain has a relationship problem. One of the key features of the problem is the growing addiction to pornography. “There is a clear link between pornography use, particularly at worryingly young ages, and the inability to start and maintain healthy relationships. It is far past time to address this and I hope that this report can be the first step in recognising and tackling this problem.”

When Whitestone Insight asked 18-24-year-olds whether they had considered uploading content to OnlyFans or a similar platform, 13% said they had “but not seriously”; 3% said they had but not acted on it yet; and 1% said they had uploaded their own material.

The Conservatives’ Ms Kearns claimed Andy Burnham’s Government is “still dithering over protecting under-16s from social media, where so much of this harm begins”.

She said: “The Conservatives put age checks on porn sites and commissioned the review that exposed this industry, and we’d ban social media for under-16s immediately to protect our children now.”

Alex Davies-Jones, the Labour minister for Victims, Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) and International Justice, said: “As this report lays bare, young people are growing up in a world where pornography is readily accessible. We must not allow violent and degrading material to shape ideas about sex, consent and relationships. That’s why we are taking decisive action to tackle the real-world harmful pornography is causing to women and girls. It is now a criminal offence to possess or publish pornographic content showing strangulation or suffocation, sexual activity between certain relatives, or adults roleplaying as children under 16. Through the Online Safety Act, we’re also making sure that pornography sites use effective age assurance to stop children accessing harmful content, with site visits down by a third as a result. We’re not here to police people’s private and consensual sex lives, but we are here to tackle content that risks normalising harmful behaviour, help young people enjoy healthy relationships, and keep people safe.”

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