"I couldn't help but wonder... how did pornography become so accessible for underaged kids now?" If you're feeling this, you're not alone. And the best way to answer this question? I did my research considering the historical and social context.
The Playboy bunnies
I was bought back to almost 70 years ago (!) when the legendary Hugh Hefner established the (his?) Playboy empire. The Playboy bunnies in the <Playboy Magazine> was the very first erotic publication that rocked the world. Static images was since available for mass consumption for adults.
Theatre with erotic movies
Then porn was made more accessible since erotic movies were mass produced by movie companies and being released in local theatres. Like Yau Ma Tei as a popular district with erotic movies in the past, which becomes a collective memories of the older generation. However audience had to go through ID checks and their identities might be exposed as they visit the theatre.
VHS to skip age check
Video Home System (VHS) was a great invention for the porn industry as the films become more affordable with mass printing in different media forms, from VHS tape, VCD then to DVD for better quality. Consumers can purchase from local malls and stalls (usually without age check strictly). This is also how the porn industry and consumers benefited from globalization with more options worldwide like Japanese's AV.
The internet changes everything
Then Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 arrives and that change the consumer behavior completely. There is saying that early popularity boom of the internet was actually powered by pornography. Porn has ever been so accessible via the internet. And for kids like me, I used my parent’s computers to watch porn on the internet. And you know what? It's all free and anonymous!
From cellphone to smartphone
77% of teenagers in the USA own a smartphone, while 72% of worldwide traffic to Pornhub comes from smartphones and tablets. Per Google Analytics, pornography searches increase by 4,700% when children are out of school. Well you checked the browser history looks clean? According to the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), 63% of children aged 11-13 seen porn unintentional. Kids can now get exposed to porn just by one click and parents find it really hard to control their digital footprint. Imagine what has been happening during all this COVID-19 lockdown?
What's next?
If you're not shocked enough, let me tell you about the future trend. Pornography will just get more and more aggressive and outrageous to satisfy the ever growing human sexual needs. It’s projected that virtual reality (VR) porn should be a US$1 billion business by the year 2025. With such tempting business growth, do you think porn-free is possible? You tell me in the comment.
Sources:
Bbfc. (2019, September 26). Children see pornography as young as seven, new report finds. Home. Retrieved January 5, 2022, from https://www.bbfc.co.uk/about-us/news/children-see-pornography-as-young-as-seven-new-report-finds
Why today's internet porn is unlike anything the world has ever seen. Fight the New Drug. (n.d.). Retrieved January 5, 2022, from https://fightthenewdrug.org/why-todays-internet-porn-is-unlike-anything-the-world-has-ever-seen/
America's teens have a pocketful of Porn. Net Nanny. (2022, January 5). Retrieved January 5, 2022, from https://www.netnanny.com/blog/americas-teens-have-a-pocketful-of-porn/
When kids are home from school, pornography searches increase 4700%. Net Nanny. (2022, January 5). Retrieved January 5, 2022, from https://www.netnanny.com/blog/pornography-searches-increase-4700-when-kids-are-out-of-school/
Credits:
Infographic is created by canva.com and flaticon.com
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