Puberty is a progress. and yes if you started to develop interests in actual masturbation at 8, then that was part of your puberty. As I said puberty is different for every kid. Sometimes the mind develops faster than the body. Starting puberty at 8 is not unheard of.

But maybe you also just all mirrored your surroundings even though you actually hadn't developed the sexual interest. That's also totally possible. I also watched porn once at that young age because we weren't allowed to. But it just weirded me out because I was too young to understand.

Sounds like you were on the other end of the spectrum as masturbating in a sexual way at 10 years seems a bit early to me while still being in the absolutely normal to develop this interest at that age range.

Kids develop differently and their social circle and general surroundings have an influence on when they start being confronted with different topics. Hence yours and your friends' experience with discovering yourself was probably similar.

There is nothing weird, pure or innocent about when people hit puberty and how.

Or use a towel lol. Usually there are towels in a bathroom.