Young men cite porn as a source of sex information more often than lessons

Young men are more likely than young women to cite pornography as a source of information about sex, according to a new survey by Sex & Samfund, reported by DR.

The survey of 15 to 25 year olds found that friends, sex education and pornography were the most common sources of information about sex. Overall, 61.6 percent of respondents named friends. The figure was 53.7 percent among young men and 70 percent among young women.

Nearly half of the young men surveyed, 45.1 percent, said they got information about sex from pornography, compared with 15.1 percent of young women. Among young men, pornography ranked above sex education as a source.

Sex & Samfund secretary general Majbrit Berlau said pornography was not a reliable source of information, pointing to unrealistic body images and choreographed sex. Consent and safe sex were also rarely discussed in porn, she said, warning that relying on it could lead people to cross their own or someone else’s sexual boundaries.

Sex education has been compulsory in Danish public schools since the 1970s and became compulsory in upper-secondary schools from the 2023-24 school year. Sex & Samfund wants it to be mandatory at all upper-secondary education programmes, with quality requirements for teaching beyond public school.

Oscar Tønsberg Hoffmann, chair of the Danish Association of Upper Secondary School Students, also called for stronger legal requirements. He said sex education should cover boundaries, norms, consent and sexual activity on online platforms, as well as how reproduction works.