And no other demographic has been bombarded with more graphic sexual messages, from the programmes they watch on TV to the clothes they wear and the music they listen to.

This intense marketing of sex has spilled over into real life and has started to have a very obvious affect on the behaviour of Ireland's youth.

Last month, the Cari (Children At Risk in Ireland) Foundation published their annual report.

Amongst the statistics was a new element of an increasing number of calls to their helpline from parents worried their children were "displaying sexualised behaviour." In fact, this topic made up nearly one-fifth of calls to the Cari helpline.

Majella Ryan, director of Cari, told the Sunday Tribune the sexualisation of young children was a complex issue and could be associated with anything as severe as sexual abuse to "being exposed to sexual activity or exposure to inappropriate TV or inappropriate knowledge of sexual behaviour". Ryan said many parents have spoken to her about fears their children are becoming more sexualised at a younger age.

"Children are hitting the teens at a younger age. Their development is more accelerated now. There can be all sorts of peer pressure and exposure to sex. Music videos aimed at younger children can be quite sexualised. There is a sort of consumerism that is very sexualised geared towards young children. Younger children don't really get it but it's coming at them so strongly. Teens are getting bombarded at a vunerable age with very sexualised stuff."

The consequences of such a climate is illustrated in the sharp spike in calls Cari received last year but, for the children, the effects are longer lasting. "There is something now about how we sell things that shows the sexualised environment that we live in. I think part of the consequence is that it's really confusing for teens, " Ryan said.

"It is forcing them to grow up sooner than they need or than is beneficial. I think the pressure can manifest itself in all kinds of ways and those difficulties can create a lot of internal struggles."

Sexual health Dr Jack Lambert, a consultant in infectious diseases, is at the coalface of our sexualised culture, seeing the consequences first-hand. Lambert told the Sunday Tribune that he and his staff provide medical care to children presenting with sexually transmitted diseases and infections who lie about their age to get treatment in Irish hospitals and clinics. Because Ireland has no proper guidelines in the treatment of children's sexual health, doctors are technically not allowed treat those who are under 18. As a result, children will lie about their names, ages, phone numbers and addresses just to get the treatment they need when they become sexually active.

Adolescent patients being more than economical with the truth also prevents medics from providing proper follow-up care. "The trend in sexual health is that people are having sex younger, " Lambert said. "We treat patients at the STD clinics that we're really not allowed to see."

"I'd say we're seeing a substantial number of 15-year-olds coming in for sexual-health checkups. . . other kids who may need medical attention aren't coming in to get an evaluation of STDs because the resources are just not set up. It's all kind of done on the sly. Sometimes they just want to come in for a check-up if they've been sexually active, other times they are coming in with symptoms. The biggest problem in this age group is Chlamydia."

For many, by the time they are treated, it's too late. The lack of statistics for juvenile sexual health in Ireland also prevents a clearer picture of what is actually happening, according to Lambert.

"Anecdotally, I see pregnant teenagers, some of them are carrying STIs like Chlamydia. We are seeing underage pregnant girls with STDs. It's happening."

There is a paradox here. On one side, sex is being sold in a relentless and unrealistic manner to children. On the other, the important sexual issues are not being presented in the manner of informative education. The result is a muddled perspective on sex and sexualisation. You can dress provocatively, talk and act in a highly sexualised manner, yet real consequences of reckless sexual behaviour and the medical complications they present are a dirty secret.

Mixed messages The emotional effects of mixed sexual messages are long-term and severe. In some cases, they can be akin to trauma suffered from sexual abuse.

Colman Noctor is a child psychotherapist who says the problems around rapid sexualisation of children come up a lot in his line of work. "Parents feel that children are catapulted into the sexual world far earlier than before, even with fashion choices, " Noctor told the Sunday Tribune.

"In my level of expertise . . . the emotional world of the child . . . physical development and sexual behaviour never evolve at the same rate.

They might be physically developed, but emotionally underdeveloped. Then there is the pressure of living up to those expectations, which results in negative sexual development.

"If there is any acceleration of that pseudo-sexual behaviour, or precociousness, or acting at a sexual level that you can't manage, you' re leaving yourself open to be traumatised, " according to Noctor. "I know significant amounts of children who will find themselves in situations they're not ready for, or find themselves taking part in activities they are not emotionally ready for. They either do it, regret it and feel guilty, or opt out of it and are ostracised by their peers."

Ireland's social "growth spurt" has, according to Noctor, accelerated the sexualisation of our society in line with rapid developments in technology and endless, instantly available information.

"My belief is that the concept has always been there, but the quantity is at meteoric levels now, " he says. "Adolescents have always had sexualised interests, be it rooting for porn magazines in your brother's cupboard or what have you, but now you can download porn to your phone no matter what age you are.

"You can wear revealing clothes and not be the talk of the town because everyone else is probably wearing them too. It's not that it's more acceptable, it's more available.

"Years ago something might have been done in front of 12 people and considered really daring; now you can put it on YouTube and have a worldwide audience."

Facing reality The ethos of our environment, where children pose provocatively in positions borrowed from porn stars on their Bebo pages yet receive little or no sex education, and where children can download and swap pornography freely on their mobile phones yet have no legal access to sexual health treatment centres, must be addressed.

At the very least, the misinformation children are bombarded with must be equaled by practical education.

STIs such as Chlamydia are already at record levels in Ireland, with waiting lists for treatment at an all-time high. If medical rules dictate that doctors aren't allowed treat children who have contracted sexual diseases or infections, how is the situation ever going to be brought under control?

"Personally I think in Ireland there is a veil of conservatism, " Jack Lambert says. "There is a 'don't talk about sex' attitude. I think some other European countries have taken a more proactive approach. Let's educate the youth at early age. You may not change their sexual behaviour, but you may change their willingness to use condoms and practise safe sex . . . that's an important strategy.

Rather than saying we don't know it's happening, say it's happening everywhere else and Ireland is a modern country so the same things are happening to the youth of Ireland that are happening elsewhere."