London, May 8 (IANS): A new survey has revealed that 78 per cent of Internet users in the UK between the age of 16 and 17 reported that they had encountered pornographic content on the Internet.

The survey, published in the journal Policy and Internet, suggests that young consumers are also turning to social media portals for access to explicit material. Adolescent users of online pornography are more likely to be male.

"At present, the online pornography market is highly concentrated. It is dominated by a few global firms. Indeed, only a handful of websites account for the majority of consumption," said researcher Neil Thurman from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet.

Based on a survey involving a sample of 1,000 UK adolescents, the team found that, on average, the participants had last visited such sites 6 days before filling in the questionnaire.

And many respondents said they watched porno videos and viewed picture galleries on that very day.

The team also found that adolescents spent an average of 2 hours per month on commercial pornographic websites, almost always accessed on their smartphones or tablets.

The researcher suggests that in addition to country-specific measures, there should also be pressure placed on the major global publishers of pornography, to encourage them to introduce effective age restrictions in all the markets in which they operate.