Underage RPers/cybering
May. 20th, 2009 10:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
veronica_richThere's a pretty englightening discussion on fandomsecrets about a macro secret involving underage people RPing/cybering with adults. Specifically, this thread (warning: slow loading, image heavy), which has its little share of wank, but is surprisingly conducive to good conversations about the rights of adults versus the needs of teenagers to explore their sexuality in a safe (i.e., NOT skin-to-skin) manner; whether an adult can be charged with a crime if it is learned the RP partner is underage; what can happen to underage people engaging in distribution of pornographic materials to other underage or even overage people online.
We didn't have the Internet back in the cave I grew up in - I'll be 37 later this year. In fact, I didn't even have Internet access until oh, about 11 years ago, and it was a 28.8 KB connection, LOL. I didn't have sex until I was 19 years old. But I read romance novels, sneaked looks into my dad's Hustler and Playboy collection, etc. stuff without a sex partner. My sister, so far as I know, was reading fanfic when she was about 14 or 15, but not getting into doing anything until she was a legal adult. (She'll have to speak for herself if she wishes, beyond that.)
My point is, what do you think of underage people cybering with overage people? Do you think it's OK so long as they don't give their real age and seem mature? Or do you think there should be some measure (such as ...?) requiring they give notice of their age first, to protect a possible conviction against an adult who isn't really a pedophile and doesn't want to have to register as a sex offender for the rest of their life?
We didn't have the Internet back in the cave I grew up in - I'll be 37 later this year. In fact, I didn't even have Internet access until oh, about 11 years ago, and it was a 28.8 KB connection, LOL. I didn't have sex until I was 19 years old. But I read romance novels, sneaked looks into my dad's Hustler and Playboy collection, etc. stuff without a sex partner. My sister, so far as I know, was reading fanfic when she was about 14 or 15, but not getting into doing anything until she was a legal adult. (She'll have to speak for herself if she wishes, beyond that.)
My point is, what do you think of underage people cybering with overage people? Do you think it's OK so long as they don't give their real age and seem mature? Or do you think there should be some measure (such as ...?) requiring they give notice of their age first, to protect a possible conviction against an adult who isn't really a pedophile and doesn't want to have to register as a sex offender for the rest of their life?
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Date: 2009-05-26 02:46 am (UTC)Here's the ultimate no-brainer--Don't do this really stupid thing. Underage--I'm picking 18 years of age--people don't have all their brains yet--I teach high school and god love 'em--if they had all their brains, there wouldn't be teen preggers, devastating car wrecks, drug/gang deaths, a lot of the really awful things resulting from decisions made by children and don't let those large bodies fool you--they are children.
Age and treachery, the saying goes, overcomes youth and skill. Stands to reason we as a world community need to protect children, mine, yours, all ours! Me personally, everyway, believe that it's just bad taste to send out pictures of your goods to anyone--becos one can doesn't mean one ought. And yes, the youngers are way smarter about getting around the protections--we have to be grown-up becos we are the big people! okay--off my soapbox--worth exactly what you paid for it--thanks.