Boston promotes porn literacy program aimed at educating teens about healthy relationships

The Boston Public Health Commission is promoting its Porn Literacy program aimed at educating teens on how to interpret easily-accessible X-rated content in order to teach what's real — and what's not — when it comes to adult relationships.

What are the details?

WBZ-TV hosted a segment Monday hailing the program, noting that some studies say up to 80 percent of kids see pornographic material by the time they reach the age of majority. The answer, they claim, is parent-approved classes that can teach adolescents about how to decipher such role-plays with a realistic lens.

The course is taught through BPHC's Start Strong program. Director Jess Alder explained to WBZ that the Porn Literacy program was the brainchild of a Boston University professor who first saw the need for such classes, and the curriculum has now been pared down to be "palatable for our younger audience."

Porn Literacy Program Educates Teens About Healthy Relationshipswww.youtube.com

Earlier this year, the New York Times Magazine covered the course and teens' thoughts on pornographic footage with great detail. Student participants shared their anxiety over measuring up to the adult performances played out on a screen, and discussed their feelings with peer participants along with a reporter.

The program isn't limited just to porn studies, however, the outlet clarified. It teaches students about "healthy relationships, dating violence, and LGBT issues, often through group discussions, role-playing and other exercises."

Anything else?

Part of the discussion surrounding pornography and kids is the fact that graphic content can crop up amid even the most innocent of internet searches. Acknowledging that reality, sites like Wired have oh-so-delicately declared: "Your kids will see internet porn. Deal with it."

Despite how crass that statement may be, it also might carry some truth and wisdom. In 2016, the Huffington Post reported that in one survey "70 percent of 15- to 17-year-old boys said they watched porn." Accurate or not, kids' access to infinite knowledge from the worldwide web leaves youths vulnerable to seeing material neither they nor their parents might have bargained for.