The impact of largely unfettered access to online pornography is under the microscope due to concerns about children's exposure to violent and extreme adult content.
A NSW parliament inquiry held its first hearing on Monday, the first at a state level following federal probes into age verification for online pornography and gambling.
Online pornography is prevalent in the lives of young people with 13 the average age they first encounter it, according an Australian eSafety Commissioner study in 2022.
It found first encounters with online pornography were most commonly unintentional and for about one in three, this occurred before the age of 13.
Parents and schools have a vital role to play in educating children about the unrealistic portrayals of sex in porn, the inquiry was told.
"We do believe parents need a lot more support and be encouraged to be more confident to start conversations early and keep them going," Edith Cowan University professor Leila Green said.
"Parents are unable or unprepared to have these conversations with children, but they don't realise is how protective it can be for the children if the parents do have these conversations."
The NSW school curriculum is currently being updated to ensure the inclusion of respectful relationships and education about pornography.
Teachers would also be provided with instruction on how to deliver the content, which can be sensitive.
"Our teachers need to build their confidence around the delivery of these topics and we need to improve professional learning for them to deliver that content with confidence," Department of Education executive director Megan Kelly said.
In some cases, pornography could be helpful for young people to explore their sexuality but this needed to be coupled with appropriate education.
"Viewing porn without adequate education and being able to analyse what consent means and what a good relationship should look like is harmful," said Paris Mcmahon, youth officer at the National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect.
"You can't easily ban (pornography) but you can educate on what people are seeing and what role it plays in their lives."
National peak sex worker organisation Scarlet Alliance urged the committee to engage meaningfully with sex workers involved in porn production on any regulations.
"The nature of this inquiry is pitching (pornography) as harmful and that creates stigma and then creates barriers to people accessing their workplace rights," Sex Workers Outreach Project policy officer Darcy Deviant said.
"If young people are having their first exposure to sex through porn I think that is a failure of the education system."
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