Sexual content on social media

Sexual content online includes any material that shows sexual behaviour. This includes sexual language, photos and videos.  

On social media this might be what you see on other peoples’ posts, adverts, direct messages or comments.

This can range from content which does not go against the rules of social media such as: 

• Sexual comments
• Photos of couples kissing
• Photos of influencers doing sexy poses in swimwear or underwear

To content that breaks the rules of social media sites:

• Adult pornography
• Nude images of under 18s

Whilst some content may not bother you, 47% of teens report seeing content online they wish they hadn’t seen. You may come across sexual content on your social media, even if you don’t want to. This might include:

• Being sent direct messages with sexual language
• Comments on posts that use sexual language
• Photos or videos being posted of sexual acts
• Being sent links to pornography
• Adverts showing sexual acts

Seeing sexual content online, whether you wanted to see it or not, can have both short-term and long-term impacts.

Short-term

In the short-term, or in the moment you see it, sexual content may cause a range of feelings, such as:

• Curiosity
• Enjoyment
• Disgust
• Feeling uncomfortable
• Anger ‘I didn’t want to see that’
• Insecurity or jealousy ‘I don’t look like that’

Long-term

Even if you feel that it doesn’t bother you seeing sexual content online, viewing this content over time can have a big impact.

The more we see sexual content on our social media and other online spaces, it can have an impact on:

Body image. Like a lot of content on social media, it’s easy to make comparisons to your own life or body and feel you don’t measure up. Often the images in sexual content don’t show real bodies or healthy scenarios. Viewing images like this over time, can make us forget what is ‘normal’ and can impact how we feel about our own bodies.

Sex and relationships. Over time, viewing sexual content, particularly pornography, can impact how we think, feel and behave in our relationships. Young people in recent research believed viewing pornographic content could influence future sexual behaviours and attitudes. For example, many felt that it could make people less respectful of their partners.

Mental health. A review of young people’s mental health and social media found that heavy social media use is linked to poorer mental health, with ‘seeing harmful content’ one of the main areas of risk identified.

Take control of your privacy. Whilst privacy settings won’t stop you seeing all harmful content online, it can help to filter out a lot and see more of what you do want to see.

Report inappropriate content. Whilst some content won’t break the rules of social media sites, a lot of sexual content will and can be reported directly to the platform. The UK Safer Internet Centre’s advice can help you learn how to do this for each platform.

If you are concerned about the impact on your mental health. Young Minds give advice on how to #OwnYourFeed and have a more positive time online.