AUCKLAND, New Zealand — A New Zealand government study on youth and porn has received a “gold distinction” at the 2022 ESOMAR Research Effectiveness Awards.
The Toronto-based ESOMAR awards recognized the work of public research company Kantar Public, which was hired by the New Zealand government agency Te Mana Whakaatu — which classifies films and other media — and by the Collaborative Trust, which focuses on youth health and development.
The research, a rep noted, “informed a number of projects that support young people, parents, teachers, health care workers and those working with youth to change the conversation around pornography using a youth-centered approach.”
The ESOMAR awards attracted over 50 entries from more than 20 countries.
Using the research, the New Zealand Ministry of Education and other agencies collaborated to create a teaching module on “Changing the Conversations Around Pornography,” helping teachers more effectively “talk about pornography with young people when delivering relationships and sexuality education,” the rep noted.
The Ministry of Education “also used the research to update the curriculum guidelines for relationship and sexuality education.”
“These teaching tools enable New Zealand children and young people to have constructive conversations about what they see,” the rep added.
The Worldwide Phenomenon of ‘Keep It Real Online’
The same government research was also used in crafting the popular “Keep it Real Online” ad campaign that went viral worldwide in 2020.
As XBIZ reported, “Keep It Real Online” quickly grabbed international headlines with a cheeky PSA reminding adults that pornography is designed to be fantasy entertainment and should not replace proper sex education.
The commercial opens with a naked man and woman, Derek and Sue, knocking on a woman’s door. “We’re here ’cause your son just looked us up online,” explains Sue. “We usually perform for adults. But your son’s just a kid. He might not know how relationships actually work.”
The concerned mother rallies. “All right,” she tells her son. “It’s time to have a talk about the difference between what you see online and real-life relationships.”
“No judgment,” she adds.
The “Keep it Real Online” campaign, Kantar Public New Zealand Co-Managing Director Jocelyn Rout explained, “was the publicly visible tip of the iceberg of how the research has been applied to to break down the taboos around talking about youth and porn — the goal set by David Shanks, then Chief Censor, when he commissioned the research in 2018.”
“Our research also played a key role in sexual and public health experts, the Light Project, securing funding to deliver a national youth and porn stakeholder response in New Zealand,” Rout added.
Classification Office Research Lead Henry Talbot said that the unusual youth-centered approach was devised because “reports and articles we’d seen often came from an adult perspective and so didn’t necessarily reflect young people’s own experience and views about porn. So we decided to put young people front and centre of the debate — and given the opportunity they didn’t hold back.”
Rout added, “When we authentically engage with young people in a safe environment, they will reciprocate with extraordinary candor and insight. This research has led to a more consistent and comprehensive approach to education on porn both inside and outside of the classroom, as well as the development of critical thinking skills in younger children as they navigate the digital environment.”
