Most Hong Kong youngsters have checked out pornographic websites - and about a fifth of them did it before they turned 10, according to research by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

The survey showed nearly 80 percent of 10- to 17-year-olds viewed online porn and the average age for a first encounter among the 1,426 surveyed was younger than 12.

Among them were mental health concerns, of which addiction to surfing the Internet was the most prevalent.

"High-level" users, comprising 7.6 percent of those who accessed porn, were classified as young people who spent more than 15 minutes a day viewing pornography in the previous three months. Twenty percent of those said they experienced anxiety or impatience when they wanted to look at porn but were prevented. A quarter said they could not stop looking at pornography.

Some 60 percent of the group admitted recalling pornographic images after their online experiences. Some 46 percent imagined having sex with others. Thirty-three percent imagined observing the naked bodies of others. And about 10 percent had recorded themselves naked or engaged in sexual behavior.

Tammy Sin Chui-shan, community services officer with the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, said prolonged access to porn has long-term harmful effects. She said young people confuse sexuality they see on the Internet with normal family life.

(China Daily July 18, 2009)