The effect of porn on teenage boys and young men

The front page of what? A studio?

I can guarantee you that my landing on the video I did is not related to my search history, which does contain searches for stuff related to pornography such as references to Gail Dines, but not actual searches for pornography itself other than the one I just did (which I was actually careful to do in a private browser window because my children use this device).

And although I didn't watch the video I landed on, I very much doubt that it was what is considered "hard-core" today. It has become "mainstream" to show images of women having their hair pulled /choking in videos with abusive, misogynistic and racist titles. The modern "hard-core" stuff is yet another level of nastiness.

I'm pretty sure that if there was a desire to better control pornography on the internet it would be possible. In fact I know it would because I used to work for Google.

For me the discussion is not so much how can we technically do it but more how can we get people to want it. Where there is a will there is a way.

Kids are not only being exposed to pornography in a way they never have before but also that pornography has got much more hard-core (read violent and abusive). It can't be allowed to go on.

I think it is possible to explain the way the studio, employee or other source operates without discussing the actual sexual content at all.

Because various people (Qwerty for example), have been discussing ways that porn should be restricted. One of those ways is through people paying for porn.

If you were watching porn via subscription to a studio, and their content increased in violence, you could email the studio to complain, cancel your subscription, move to another studio etc.

My impression is that the vast majority of porn is violent and abusive, but if someone is already using porn, why would a change in what the majority watch necessarily impact on their viewing directly? If you already have a porn source, you don't have a need to randomly Google porn and click on the first link in the way Beachcomber did.

So, not a criticism, but I'm asking how your specific porn source went in a more violent direction? That leads on to other questions like did different people start viewing it, did the producers change or did the tastes of the regular audience change?

When you were watching it, Devi, where were you getting it from?

um be very cautious of the 'put into your browser' argument. I advised on a workplace case where the investigating officer on a disciplinary was all proud of himself (Uk University ) for finding loads of porn from seemingly innocuous words from an employee's search history entered into his home browser..when he did the search at home..it brought up loads of porn. When it was done on the employees computer...no porn whatsoever.. All it showed was that he, the Press Officer for the uni, browsed shit loads of porn at home. Google identifies your isp and computer amd peedict searches according to your preferemces....think on!

I don't think it's just men and boys who are affected.

Yes I totally agree. Some people like to argue most porn is fine.

The problem is that porn continually pushes the boundaries. It's an intrinsic aspect of it's business model. Let's face it, very few people would pay to watch a video of a normal, middle-aged couple in the missionary position with the lights out but that is (or was) 80+% of normal sexual activity. Porn has to shock to keep its audience and what is shocking today becomes boring tomorrow so they need to come up with something more shocking.

I don't see why we can't have clearer standards defined for what is allowed to be distributed. It won't eradicate the more extreme stuff but making it illegal at least gives the authorities power to act and forces service providers and facilitators in distribution to up their own game.

It used to be the case that films or publications on general sale could not show penetration, ejaculation or even erect penises. That was written into law as I understand it. When exactly did those laws get repealed? Maybe they still exist and are just not being enforced, I don't know. If you wanted anything more than what was referred to as soft porn you had to go to a specialist shop. I assume even they had limits on what they could sell as I'm sure I read about arrests for illegal porn back then. There was also a different public attitude. I remember a chain of sex shops (think it was called the Private Shop) tried to open a branch in my town and they got forced to close within a couple of weeks due to public pressure. That was in the eighties so hardly the Victorian era.

I'd like to see the really violent/degrading stuff banned in the same way as child abuse videos are

From what I've seen and heard discussed, the really violent/degrading stuff is commonplace. Maybe I'm a prude and my idea of what is degrading or violent is too conservative but I don't think so. I look at it not just from the POV of the potential impact on the victims actresses but also on the audience, and it's not just children who are impressionable. Basically, I don't want to live in a world where things like bukake, fisting, anal or assault by penis are considered normal and run of the mill activities. Why? Because I don't want my children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews and their offspring to be coerced, or coerce someone else, into doing things I believe to be emotionally and/or physically damaging because it's been normalized for them through porn.

Perhaps this will be what finally leads to the extinction of our species

Not in the distinction Beachcomber was making.

Isn't erotica just porn with a degree?

Beachcomber made a distinction between porn and erotica earlier.

Both are frequently called porn by people in general.

"I view pornography (in the sense of porn meaning filmed sex and nudity, not the feminist sense of acts of sexualised violence and abuse) so I am pretty sure I'm not arguing for it to be banned."

Are you saying that they are two different things, or just different perceptions of the same thing?

PinkisRad, two posts above me is Bertrand, who I think just arrived on the thread?

I view pornography (in the sense of porn meaning filmed sex and nudity, not the feminist sense of acts of sexualised violence and abuse) so I am pretty sure I'm not arguing for it to be banned.

"Dodging the issue. People on here are saying exactly that. They want all men to immediately stop watching porn which as a consequence would lead to the eradication of internet porn"

Well, it's worth a try. Can't do any harm, can it? Why not give it a go?

Honestly, I don't remember the names of the (multiple) posts now. But I am sure you are one of them. Or just two posts above you is actually an example.

Lasswiththe
The puritans , prudes, narrow minded and those crying shame, the gate keepers of sexuality are the pornographers. Sex has to be dirty, sleazy, shameful etc for porn to work.

Absolutely true. You have put this so well.