14.4% of middle and high school students have accidentally viewed sexually explicit images of minors on the Internet: report

By Jung Min-ho

More than 14 percent of middle and high school students say they have been accidentally exposed to sexually explicit videos or photos of minors on the Internet, according to a new survey.

A report published on Thursday by the Ministry of Equality and Family on their perceptions of the sexual exploitation of minors shows that 14.4 percent of 4,757 respondents said they had come across such illegal content while surfing the Internet.

Most of them, 68.3 percent, said they had seen such content on social media platforms.

When asked whether they had ever been asked by someone to share sexually explicit images of themselves, 3.9 percent said they had experienced this at least once.

When asked whether they had been blackmailed after sharing such images, 0.6 percent answered “yes.”

24.7 percent of them said they were asked to meet in person, 23.9 percent were asked to send additional pictures. Others said they were asked to send lewd pictures of their friends, among other demands.

When asked whether sexually exploitative images of them – whether real or deepfakes – had been shared online by another party without their consent, 1.1 percent said they had had such an experience.

Of those who answered “yes,” 46.1 percent said they did nothing. Of those who did seek help, most turned to their classmates or other students rather than seeking help from the police or family members.