Ideas worth spreading

How porn changes the way teens think about sex

3,396,793 views |

Emily F. Rothman |

TEDMED 2018

• November 2018

"The free, online, mainstream pornography that teenagers are most likely to see is a completely terrible form of sex education," says public health researcher Emily F. Rothman. She shares how her mission to end dating and sexual violence led her to create a pornography literacy program that helps teens learn about consent and respect -- and invites them to think critically about sexually explicit media.

"The free, online, mainstream pornography that teenagers are most likely to see is a completely terrible form of sex education," says public health researcher Emily F. Rothman. She shares how her mission to end dating and sexual violence led her to create a pornography literacy program that helps teens learn about consent and respect -- and invites them to think critically about sexually explicit media.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Follow Emily F. Rothman on Twitter.

About the speaker

Emily Rothman

Public health researcher

See speaker profile

Boston University professor Emily F. Rothman is a leading public health scholar on sexually explicit media and its impact on adolescent dating relationships.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Follow Emily F. Rothman on Twitter.