When Brooke shared this photo, the comments proved a disturbing reality.

It was a seemingly innocuous video, posted by social media user Brooke. The 22-year-old just wanted to show off her pretty green dress. 

Personally, when I saw the gown, I was simply reminded of ~that~ gorgeous shirt-dress from the 2006 rom-com Aquamarine.

I opened the comments, expecting to see similar compliments. I was sadly mistaken.

"They separated."

"Why is the space between so…"

"Why are they so far apart?"

It took me a minute to understand what people were actually on about, before a separate comment answered my question.

"People are way too comfortable commenting about a woman's body. It's really such a shame."

Oh. Of course. Because no woman can exist without the internet commenting on her breasts.

Then another user, named Emily, pointed out the common thread between those leaving the remarks.

"The amount of comments from teenage boys on Brooke's post of her in the green dress asking why they're so far apart is so disturbing," she said.

I checked and, sure enough, most of the accounts had male usernames. Presumably males who have never seen a woman's body before. At least, not in real life.

Emily continued: "Why do they think they naturally sit pushed together? The internet is so damaging."

I will tell you why. Pornography.

@notbrookemonk

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According to a recent survey by Our Watch, boys are first watching porn as young as 13.2 years — often before they can properly understand what they're seeing.

And the effects of porn exposure on young people cannot go unnoticed.

"Adolescent pornography use is associated with stronger beliefs in gender stereotypes, particularly for males," reads a report by the Australian Institute of Family Studies.

"Male adolescents who view pornography frequently are more likely to view women as sex objects and to hold sexist attitudes such as women 'leading men on.'"

Of the more than 830 young Australians (aged 16 to 20) who were surveyed by Our Watch, half the young men watched porn at least once a week, and nearly 20 per cent almost daily. Even more concerning is that 31 per cent watched porn as a form of sex education.

This stat, unfortunately, makes sense when you consider that young people are digital natives.

According to Act For Youth, the vast majority of adolescents (aged 13 to 17) have access to smartphones (95 per cent), desktop or laptop computers (90 per cent), and tablet computers (65 per cent). Almost all teenagers (96 per cent) reported using the internet daily.

"Young people are using digital platforms as a way to access information, much more so than maybe their parents or their teachers have been used to," Consent Labs CEO Angelique Wan previously told Mamamia.

"It is a reality that young people are online and are really comfortable navigating the online space, and using it as a platform for information seeking," she said. "Particularly if they don't see good quality sex education, either in a classroom or from the parents and carers, or they don't feel safe to ask questions.

"I would hazard a guess that, as we see more young people use digital platforms, that might be one of the factors that has led to them using those platforms to ask questions or to seek information, and perhaps that's why they're accessing porn."

Watch: Karina Marson on why consent education isn't enough. Post continues after video.

While curiosity is normal, porn can push stereotypes of what's expected of men and women in sex; it can be degrading to women and people of different races; and it can impact how women and their bodies are viewed, as per the AIFS.

"Across all types of media, you can have really positive but also really harmful representations of what consent does or doesn't look like, what bodies look like, what different sort of gender roles [look like], how they manifest," said Wan.

For many teenage boys, and girls for that matter, their understanding of sex and intimacy exists in a vacuum of porn. And that is dangerous.

"I really believe that education around media literacy and supporting young people to be able to critically analyse what they're seeing on screen, and question whether that is something that should be reflected in their interactions in real life," said the CEO. "That skill is something we really need to nurture in young people, and I believe it can be done in an age-appropriate way."

Through this form of education, young people can make "informed choices".

"They know what it is they're seeing, and more importantly, they know who to speak to if they need to ask for help if they have a question."

Brooke declined Mamamia's request for comment. 

Feature Image: Instagram/@brookemonk