Realistically, a kid that wants to see some funky stuff is going to find a way. Not every website cares about these stupid laws.
Instead of policing everyone, risking security leaks, and deanonymizing users, the parents who want to stop their children from viewing naked humans should just put up block lists on their network. It would filter a lot more than just adding age verification to reddit.
Also, most students have phones. The first time I saw someone I knew naked was some other kid showing me the photos she sent him. He and I weren’t even friends, we just, sat next to each other in class.
Instead of policing everyone, risking security leaks, and deanonymizing users, the parents who want to stop their children from viewing naked humans should just put up block lists on their network. It would filter a lot more than just adding age verification to reddit.
Or even better, parents could have conversations about sex instead of letting the kids get sex ed from porn.
Sure, we all have anecdotes of finding porn on the internet before it was reasonable. And everyone can eventually find ways around barriers. I also remember someone young googling terms and not realizing there was a setting blocking content. They had given up.
Barriers can meaningfully delay, giving young people more time to mature before they are exposed to this content. If every social media platform implemented this, it would have a significant impact. That’s why the porn industry lobbies so hard against these sorts of laws.
I think many underestimate how damaging porn use actually is, how toxic the industry is, and how much of the traffic is generated by the underaged.
I found porn in the woods my dude - friend’s houses, parent’s stashes. It’s always been available, although not so readily.
While I tried to prevent access for my own kids also, I accepted that after a certain age they’re going to be interested and be able to find it. Their mother and I had some tangential talks about it with them and let them know it’s not realistic at all. As far as I know, everyone turned out okay. Normal lives and relationships and all.
I’m not convinced that whatever they found as they were growing up was as harmful as you’re making it sound. You’re making a lot of bold, unsourced claims. Although now that I think about it, I don’t know how you can ethically do a lot of research on the topic.
I believe a bigger topic, and one that plays into what you’re concerned about, is early use (especially unmonitored) of any networked computing devices. Maybe make smart phones or PCs adult only like alcohol, tobacco, or guns. If the family chooses to have one in the home it’s up to the parents to make it safe.
Realistically, a kid that wants to see some funky stuff is going to find a way. Not every website cares about these stupid laws.
Instead of policing everyone, risking security leaks, and deanonymizing users, the parents who want to stop their children from viewing naked humans should just put up block lists on their network. It would filter a lot more than just adding age verification to reddit.
Also, most students have phones. The first time I saw someone I knew naked was some other kid showing me the photos she sent him. He and I weren’t even friends, we just, sat next to each other in class.
Or even better, parents could have conversations about sex instead of letting the kids get sex ed from porn.
Americans are scared of sex education. The schools could just continue teaching it, but a lot of people don’t like that.
Sure, we all have anecdotes of finding porn on the internet before it was reasonable. And everyone can eventually find ways around barriers. I also remember someone young googling terms and not realizing there was a setting blocking content. They had given up.
Barriers can meaningfully delay, giving young people more time to mature before they are exposed to this content. If every social media platform implemented this, it would have a significant impact. That’s why the porn industry lobbies so hard against these sorts of laws.
I think many underestimate how damaging porn use actually is, how toxic the industry is, and how much of the traffic is generated by the underaged.
I found porn in the woods my dude - friend’s houses, parent’s stashes. It’s always been available, although not so readily.
While I tried to prevent access for my own kids also, I accepted that after a certain age they’re going to be interested and be able to find it. Their mother and I had some tangential talks about it with them and let them know it’s not realistic at all. As far as I know, everyone turned out okay. Normal lives and relationships and all.
I’m not convinced that whatever they found as they were growing up was as harmful as you’re making it sound. You’re making a lot of bold, unsourced claims. Although now that I think about it, I don’t know how you can ethically do a lot of research on the topic.
I believe a bigger topic, and one that plays into what you’re concerned about, is early use (especially unmonitored) of any networked computing devices. Maybe make smart phones or PCs adult only like alcohol, tobacco, or guns. If the family chooses to have one in the home it’s up to the parents to make it safe.