The online world has opened a floodgate of sexual content for young people, often leaving their parents seeking relevant ways to talk about consent, boundaries and healthy relationships.

For many, the first sign of trouble happens in their children’s bedrooms: walking in on them watching pornography, overhearing crude conversations with friends or noticing a sudden change in their attitude and behaviour.

Relationship counsellor and certified clinical sexologist Dr Martha Tara Lee, based in Singapore, says more parents are seeking help over this issue. Youths are exposed to sexual material online, and often without context or accuracy, she notes. Early exposure to pornography may be a reason for a shift in some youngsters’ values and their hostility towards women.

“The manosphere, it’s an online world shaping how this next generation sees women,” she says, referring to channels on social media – like that of online personality Andrew Tate, dubbed “the king of toxic masculinity” – that promote misogyny, and men’s rights forums that claim men are oppressed and that spread hateful rhetoric.

Relationship counsellor and clinical sexologist Dr Martha Tara Lee says parents are seeking ways to talk to their children who are exposed to sexual content online. Photo: Martha Tara Lee

This has contributed to violent extremism and even some communities that appear to condone or encourage rape.