www.eukidsonline.net October 2014 1 ISSN 2045‐256X Experiences with sexual content: What we know from the research so far Liza Tsaliki, Despina Chronaki and Kjartan Ólafsson Panic around children’s exposure to pornography Concerns about what type of and how much sexual content children encounter in the media have been widely circulated within public and academic debates. Such concerns are usually followed by campaigns against pornography and in favour of children’s right to innocence, but also by stricter internet and parental regulation. Stakeholders’ primary concern has been whether, or how much, children are affected by pornography. Given the overall activity on the topic, there has been an intensification of campaigns, and as a result, further developments in research (e.g. Horvath et al., 2013; Smahel and Wright, 2014). Regardless of whether such concerns are justified or not, researchers have long been gathering data about how many children encounter sexual content in the media, how frequently they do so, what kind of emotions such encounters provoke, or whether such content overall comprises a harmful experience for them. In this report, we attempt a critical evaluation of the body of knowledge provided by research with children across Europe since 2000. From political initiatives against the diffusion of pornography to protect children, to increasing research about pornography’s possible influence on children, the topic has received great attention, especially since the broad diffusion of online technologies. Inevitably, then, the intensification of the public debate has led to further research on the topic from different perspectives. Namely, effects researchers have studied the potential impact sexual content might have on children’s cognitive development, attitudes towards sex and women, or behaviour when engaging in sexual relationships (e.g. Flood, 2009; Peter and Valkenburg, 2011). From a different perspective, cultural studies researchers have provided further insight in to how children talk about their experiences, what meanings Summary This report reviews research about children’s experiences with sexual content online from the EU Kids Online and Net Children Go Mobile projects: • Children discuss in diverse ways and through different sets of discourses their encounters with sexual content. • The number of experiences with sexual content increases with age: as children grow older, so does their knowledge of sexual content. • Cultural differences, national policies and the public debate on children’s experiences with sexual content frame the way in which children talk about sexual content. • What is regarded as “sexual” differs across cultures; those interested in children’s safety should take this into account when arguing about children’s harmful online experiences. • What children define as “sexual” reflects what adults frame as such. Those definitions also reflect the political and social context in which children are immersed.