Melbourne, Mar 2 : Australian kids are likely to grow up seeing porn because of a proliferation of easily available x-rated material, say researchers.

According to the Australian Institute of Criminology, there is a "very high'''' chance that teenagers will be exposed to pornography even before the legal age of 18.

Institute analyst Colleen Bryant says that it is worrisome that young people have easy access to explicit information before they are capable of integrating it into a healthy sexual identity.

"The proliferation of pornographic materials and their ease of access are such that it is not a matter of whether a young person will be exposed to pornography but when,'''' the Australian quoted her as saying.

She said pornography might promote unhealthy sexual attitudes and behaviour by encouraging males to view females simply in terms of sexual potential.

"Protecting young people necessarily requires equipping them and their caregivers, with adequate knowledge, skills and resources,'''' she said.

The study showed that males had more positive attitudes to pornography from an early age than females, who were generally extremely negative.

However, by their mid-20s, both males and females might report similarly positive attitudes.

"Though restricting exposure will remain a priority, an over-reliance on this approach to protect against the perceived harms of pornography is problematic as it fails to recognise the realities of ready availability and the high acceptance of pornography among young people,'''' said Bryant. (ANI)