Hundreds of Australian boys aged 12-18 completed anonymous interviews and surveys that covered everything from how much pornography they viewed, to what they think of it, and what questions it sparked.
"It's always just there in your face," one boy said.
"I've seen it. By the time in Year 8 I'd say everyone has," another boy said.
The results of the survey showed while most boys had seen pornography, many were able to understand the difference between those depictions and real life.
"It's like cartoons with y'know pianos falling on people, or action movies with car crashes and explosions," one boy said.
"I mean, I don't look like that [and] I don't expect every girl to look like that either."
The project was organised by St Martins Youth Arts Centre artistic director Clare Watson, who will direct a new play entitled Gonzo that is based on the responses.
The former school teacher said it was a difficult project to tackle because of an "extreme" level of shame and taboo around the topic.
"Teachers didn't want me to come to class to talk to students about
it; letters sent home with kids, they didn't want to show their
parents."But she said most boys reported seeing pornographic material for the first time in the schoolyard, with their friends sharing videos or images found online.
The Federal Government cites research that finds young Australians are accessing pornography at increasing rates and boys aged 14-17 are the most frequent viewers.
The head of the Australian Childhood Foundation, Dr Joe Tucci, told the Porn Harms Kids seminar earlier this year that exposure could lead to sexually offending behaviour.
'Lack of sex ed is leading kids to porn'
Ms Watson said her project showed teen boys had strong media literacy, but that education programs in schools were failing young people."I've been most interested in what's been lacking in their education and what pornography has filled in in their education. They're really aware of the gap," she said.
Ms Watson said values like consent and understanding your body could be taught to kids from Year 1 onwards and that topics of consent and pleasure were lacking.
"Female pleasure in particular is off the agenda entirely in the education department."
"Without this sex education that everybody can learn from … there is a vacuum and that vacuum is being filled with pornography."
She said she hoped her play would prompt intergenerational conversations about pornography and sex.
"Boys are talking about it, parents are talking about it at dinner parties, but they don't seem to be talking about it together."
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