Upward Reach Foundation

Why we prevent underage viewing of pornographic material.

The Cliff

Chances are you know someone who has struggled with a pornography problem. The average age that children are exposed to pornography is 11. About 90% of 8-16 year olds have viewed pornography online, most admit that it is while doing homework. With over 90% of youth ages 12-18 using the Internet, the media has arguably become the leading sex educator in the U.S. today instead of parents and school education programs. Many report that such exposure is not sought, but unintentional. Children are bombarded by sexually explicit materials via different media channels.

Pornography gives children unrealistic ideas about sex (often that violence is appropriate, sex is only about physical pleasure, and women are to be dominated) and the opposite gender, affecting their ability to develop healthy relationships. It becomes difficult to form intimate relationships beyond sexual arousal and pleasure. Children exposed to pornography tend to engage in sexual acts at younger ages, resulting in increased STDs, unwanted pregnancy and many other emotional consequences. Learning about sex through pornography provides misinformation about sexuality and a sense of self that leaves the child less confident and changed.

To learn more about the effects of pornography on children visit our friends at EndSexualExploitation.org.

The Fence

How are you and your family dealing with our pornographic culture in your home? Are you “building a fence” or “driving an ambulance?” Do your children or grandchildren have sufficient “coping” skills and knowledge to successfully navigate sexualized messaging? The Upward Reach Foundation focuses on “the fence of wellness and prevention“ and not “the ambulance of addiction recovery.” The science of prevention has successfully demonstrated its effectiveness in reducing a variety of unwanted behaviors including alcohol use, drug use, suicide, and many other problematic behaviors. However, to date there has been no organized effort or research pursuing a prevention program focusing on the underage viewing of pornography. Upward Reach has embarked on this project of developing, executing, and researching an effective pornography prevention program. Our mission: eliminate underage viewing of pornography.

Prevention Works

Some may believe you can’t prevent compulsive use of or repeated exposure to pornography. This is not true! We know the effective components of preventing problem behaviors. We’ve done it for years particularly with alcohol and drug prevention. We know what strategies help children become healthy adults. Take for example Communities That Care one of the most effective and best researched prevention program. They claim their prevention strategies: “employs a proven, community-change process for reducing youth violence, alcohol & tobacco use, and delinquency – through tested & effective programs and policies…” The Upward Reach Foundation is set on course to identify the strategies necessary to reduce youth from intentionally viewing pornographic material.

We cannot as parents, grandparents, clergy and other caregivers sit back while our children and grandchildren fall off the cliff and experience pornography exposure.