An Investigation into the Use of Internet Pornography among Young Internet Users in Singapore

Abstract

Introduction: The present study investigated the patterns and motivations of internet pornography use among young internet users in Singapore. Across the literature, studies have found high prevalence of internet pornography use (Brown & L’Engle, 2009; Lo & Wei, 2005; Peter & Valkenburg, 2006; Tai, 2014) with males consistently reporting greater exposure (Boies, 2002; Carroll et al., 2008) and higher frequency of pornography use (Carroll, et al., 2008). To develop a more comprehensive profile of the use of internet pornography in Singapore, we explored both patterns and motivations of its use. Specifically, it was hypothesized that males would show (a) greater prevalence, (b) earlier age of exposure, (c) more frequent viewing, (d) more deviant usage, and (e) more sexual activities accompanying the use of pornography. Furthermore, (f) sexual curiosity would be the most common reason for initial use of internet pornography. Method: Participants comprised of 283 undergraduates (132 males), aged 18-26 years, from the three public universities in Singapore. They completed an online self-report of their initial and recent internet pornography use patterns and motivations. The categorical data were presented in percentages and gender differences were analysed using the Mann-Whitney-U-Test (Mann & Whitney, 1947). Result: Our profile of internet pornography use found support for four out of six of our hypotheses. Gender differences were observed in the prevalence, age of exposure and frequency of internet pornography use, and sexual curiosity was the most common reason cited for initial exposure to internet pornography. Implications of the profile on the maintenance of internet



Author Information
Kai Keat Lim, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Gabriel Tan, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Chi Meng Chu, Ministry of Social and Family Development - Clinical & Forensic Psychology Branch, Singapore

Paper Information
Conference: ACP2015
Stream: Qualitative/Quantitative Research in any other area of Psychology

This paper is part of the ACP2015 Conference Proceedings (View)
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Posted by James Alexander Gordon