Generation Z (Gen Z) teenagers are getting addicted to porn just like the millennials used to get addicted to cigarettes and liquor. Instead of damning and punishing such youngsters with criminal charges, society must be mature enough to counsel them out of these addiction, the Madras High Court has said.
Justice N. Anand Venkatesh made these observations while quashing a case booked against a youngster by the Ambattur police in Chennai for having downloaded two child porn videos from the Internet and watching it on his mobile phone. The police had seized the mobile phone and found the two videos in it.
However, the judge said, watching porn videos in private, per se, would not attract either Section 14 (1) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 or Section 67B of the Information Technology Act, 2000 which had been pressed against the youngster following an anonymous complaint.
The judge pointed out that Section 14(1) of the POCSO could be pressed only if the accused had used children for sexual acts which was not the charge in the present case. Similarly, Section 67B of the I-T Act could be invoked only if the accused had shared the child porn video with others and not otherwise.
Stating that the two videos of a couple of teens having sex with an adult woman, downloaded from the Internet, had remained only within the private domain of the youngster, the judge said: “At the best, it can only be construed as a moral decay on the part of the accused person.”
After summoning the youngster to court and interacting with him, the judge wrote that the youngster had fairly conceded to have been addicted to watching porn on the Internet. He had also honestly said that he was now attempting to get rid of the habit and was willing to undergo counselling too.
“The teenagers in today’s world are facing a new challenge from the gadgets which bombard them with all kinds of information without any censor at the touch of a button. There is adult material which also draws the attention of the children whose mental faculty is at a growing stage.
“There used to be addiction in smoking, drinking, etc. and there is a growing rise in addiction watching porn photos/videos. This is in view of the fact that it is easily available in the electronic gadgets and by repeatedly watching the same, it becomes a habit and ultimately, the person gets addicted,” the judge lamented.
Listing out statistics from a recent study which states that nine out of 10 boys get exposed to some form of pornography before turning 18, the judge said: “Viewing pornography can have negative consequences on teenagers down the line, affecting both their psychological and physical well-being.”
“The Generation Z Children are grappling with this serious problem and instead of damning and punishing them, the society must be mature enough to properly advice and educate them and try to counsel them to get rid of that addiction. The education must start from the school level,” the judge stressed.
