The children with a daily porn addiction

CHILDREN as young as eight are accessing hardcore pornography online every month, shocking figures reveal.

- By Lucy Johnston SOCIAL AFFAIRS EDITOR

Experts warned this has created a “tidal wave” of young addicts now seeking rehab for porn and sex addiction.

Analysis of youngsters' online behaviour showed 8% of eight to 14-year-olds visited a porn site or app every month, with around 3% of eight to nine-year-olds among them.

The research also showed most children who access online content are not even asked to prove their age.

The figures, examined by the UK Addiction Treatment Group (UKAT) and drawn from official sources, showed 70% of eight to 17-year-olds had never been asked to verify their age on platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, or TikTok - services which can host sexual or harmful content.

Worryingly, 20% of children aged eight to 17 with an online profile had falsely registered their age as 18 or older, meaning platforms automatically treat them as adults.