πΆ π on the topic of ppl trying to prevent minors from having access to any kind of adult topics
i know a lot of the time its just an excuse and the people who get so controlling about it donβt really care about βprotectingβ the kids, but i have seen a few too many users who genuinely seem to think its better for minors to be βshieldedβ from anything mature. and its so crazy to me??
like the day you turn 18 is not a magical day where youβre suddenly a completely functional well adjusted adult. if it wasnβt for the legality, it would not be a special day at all. and like- it benefits no one to be thrown into deep water with no prep or warning, so why would it ever benefit someone to be thrust into adulthood without the ability to process darker topics first??
like obviously so far, the youth still have access to that stuff and most of the gates in the way are easy to get around, but if the development continues like this i worry for them.
personally, i probably started with the internet too early- i made my first tumblr account at 11 and was already reading smut by then. but like i donβt think that really harmed me in retrospect; i didnβt understand a lot of it, but like i wasnβt disturbed by it. it was the same kind of curiosity i had about stuff like true crime or creepypasta at that age. and because of this personal experience, itβs just so annoying to see the amount of people who act as if any minor who reads something that, like, contains the word βboobβ is gonna be traumatized irreparably.
like itβs a million times safer to read smut too early than to go out and actually do the thing too early.
and to prevent them from being able to read that will only do the opposite of harm reduction. and create even more young puritans, tbh.
I read far worse erotica stories on Usenet at 8 than I ever have on AO3 as an adult.
Kids will look at things if they are curious. It's not a problem unless they lack trusted adults and a supportive environment. I was reading some very dark shit, and I certainly did not tell my mother because I knew she wouldn't understand, but that was in a situation where I could talk to my mother about most things, and I had been taught to have boundaries and just stop reading something if I couldn't handle it.
I don't give a shit what age people find something like AO3. The bigger problem, and one that hits kids with good support networks too, is that the modern internet is designed to be addictive and to keep people angry and terrified to drive engagement. Even someone sensible will fall into patterns of doom scrolling and will train themselves to expect quick rewards for little effort from their social media use. Understanding how tiktok et al. are designed doesn't stop one from having a regular human brain that still responds to this style of manipulation.
It is more important now than in the past to give kids things to do that aren't online.
But yes, pearl clutching over someone reading a piece of text, possibly for hours, is the silliest form of this anxiety. That's not where the problem lies!
titsay
turnnoffyourmind
gamechangershow
s-u-f-j-a-n-s-t-e-v-e-n-s
germansingergirl
romaincrisis
