Investigating on-line pornography at the University of Johannesburg

Abstract

The on-line user of today has access to a vast collection of information resources. In addition, the developments in Internet and Web technologies have made it even easier for surfers to anonymously get access to on-line pornography. The purpose of this research was to investigate the extent to which access to on-line pornography at the University of Johannesburg can be managed. For the empirical part of this research 1037 questionnaires were proportionally distributed to and completed by students on all five campuses of the university. The questionnaire consisted of four sections: biographical information; university computer facility usage; university acceptable use policy; and personal experience with university computer facilities. The gender distribution for the sample was almost even, with a total of 49,4% male participants and 50,6% female, with the largest grouping of respondents (61,6%) aged between 19 years and 21 years. Of the respondents, 36,7% indicated that exposure to unsolicited pornography did not bother them. When asked to what extent students should have access to pornography, 60,5% stated 'None' while 32,6% believed that 'Restricted' access should be granted for research purposes and 6,9% believed that students should be granted 'Total' access to pornography. Results from the research will be used to manage access to on-line resources at the University of Johannesburg better.