[mandazi]

The availability and ease for this type of content is scary especially when children are more connected than ever. Pornography kills love (Edit: https://fightthenewdrug.org/how-porn-kills-love/). Love is extremely important for human beings and civilizations. It drives art, philosophy, faith, religion, etc. It is love that produced great works throughout history.

I read some where there was going to be a TLD for porn (.xxx I think). I wish they did that and all the porn content was only on that TLD. Then browsers can easily block all porn for underage viewers. I know I would do that for my children until they are adults and I believe they can make their own decisions. There is a level of maturity and education one needs before exposed to this type of content.

Personally I find it repulsive and I try my best to avoid it as best as possible. Sadly it creeps into TV shows and movies nowadays.

[Tech-Noir]

> I read some where there was going to be a TLD for porn (.xxx I think).

There were ideas about that for years, maybe even in the late 1990s, and eventually about 5-10 years ago it was set up.

Ironically, many in the "porn industry" were strongly against it; I think more to do with the company running it, though, than the idea of being confined to an online ghetto.

Most porn still remains on .com or on country TLDs and few people have probably even heard of .xxx, let alone visited a .xxx site. Now there are hundreds of new general TLDs, several more are porn related (.sexy, .porn) that basically nobody uses.

> Sadly it creeps into TV shows and movies nowadays.

I'm not a fan of depictions of simulated sex on TV/movies, since it's often for shock/viewing figures and/or holds up the plot, but I think irresponsible gun usage, torture/violence and military propaganda, which occur far more often than sexual content in TV and movies, are much worse for kids in particular to be exposed to.

[gkya]

I would actually prefer a world where the TLD in a domain name had actual semantical value, but except .gov, .edu and a couple others that opportunity is lost.

[xj9]

how does calling it a drug make it bad? people take drugs all the damn time. i'm drinking a stimulant that my work bought for me right now! almost everyone at the office drinks one or more a day.

i actually used to live down the street from one of the "fight the new drug" offices in SLC. the problem in Utah, imo, is the seriously weak sex ed that they provide in schools here and the shit cultural attitudes towards sex.

the problem isn't porn, the problem is that parents are allowing porn to replace them as educators in this space. obviously that's going to lead to fucked up attitudes unless the young person happens upon some of the more healthy sexy spots on the internet.

if you want censorship, go ahead, but nobody has to make it easy for you. education is going to do a lot more for you tho. my parents tried to censor my access to porn when i was a teenager so i made an isolinux disk (ubuntu + tor) and used it to avoid their keylogging and filtering software.

i was/am mostly into erotic literature and sex positive forums vs other types of pornographic content, but that isn't thanks to my parents. i value intimacy, but finding sexual online places that share my values is difficult. i suppose the economics don't work out for that type of content. i know people who have had issues with porn interfering with their ability to be intimate, but it has never been a problem for me personally.

TL;DR don't be a fucking baby and talk to your kids about sex and physical intimacy. you can't "protect" anyone from pornography, but you can influence your children's attitudes towards these important topics.

[mandazi]

You bring up a good point regarding education. No matter how much censorship there is, education is better. The way we educate young people about alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, etc. should be similar to the way we educate people on pornography.

[LyndsySimon]

> I wish they did that and all the porn content was only on that TLD. Then browsers can easily block all porn for underage viewers.

This is about as practical as the evil bit[1].

> I know I would do that for my children until they are adults and I believe they can make their own decisions.

"and"?

This implies that you want to control the media consumption of your adult children if you don't believe that they "can make their own decisions." Is that what you intended to say?

1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evil_bit

[mandazi]

Sorry I meant to say that when they are adults they can make their own decisions.

[soared]

> Pornography kills love.

Source, explanation, anything to back this?

[mandazi]

The article gives some examples of perception by viewers of what they think is "normal" for sexual relations.

There is an organization called "Fight the new Drug" which is combatting porn addiction.

Here is a article with citations on research and articles on the issue:

https://fightthenewdrug.org/how-porn-kills-love/

[gameswithgo]

>Pornography kills love.

Can you expound on this further? What exactly does it mean and what evidence is there to support it?

[sexoffender]

Love is the wanting good for another person even if it costs you personally. Porn teaches you to want pleasure for yourself, even if it costs someone else. That's not love, that's lust.

The chemicals released in your body and especially brain during orgasm build a closer connection and bond within you to the concepts and people you focused on during it. Pornography trains you to be selfish. Whereas having sex and both orgasming at the same time, focuses your mind on making your partner happy and that mutual self-giving becomes what you crave. Because it's based on love, that same mutual self-giving carries over into the rest of your life, and you find more happiness in giving gifts than receiving them, in doing more chores so they don't have to, etc. That's love.

[bhnmmhmd]

One might argue that the good sense of joy followed by love is evidence that when one loves someone, one is acting selfish [0], even though he/she might think otherwise.

[0]: People are rational and they wouldn't do things that don't result in more benefit to them than their cost.

[Digory]

Ah, but people do occasionally do seemingly-altruistic things, and by long experience, some of those are worth encouraging.

"Love" in English wears too many hats. C.S. Lewis' Four Loves does a good job explaining how the highest and best use of eros (which can be selfish) is to encourage agape (selfless love).

"The promise, made when I am in love and because I am in love, to be true to the beloved as long as I live, commits me to being true even if I cease to be in love."

[sexoffender]

I made that same exact argument in college to someone who was just trying to help me see how insane I was. Yes, it's slightly self-serving to love and find joy in love. But of all the forms of selfishness in existence, it's the most acceptable and least blamable one.

[yorwba]

I'm not sure that not having porn avoids wanting pleasure for yourself. Isn't that what leads to rape, cheating and various other destructive behaviors?

Conversely, consuming porn, even when it substitutes sex with a romantic partner, doesn't preclude having a loving relationship. As you point out, lust and love are different things. Although they are closely linked for most people, that is not the case e.g. for asexuals.

[Chris2048]

> Pornography trains you to be selfish

Unless you don't derive your entire life outlook from it. Plus, there is plenty pornography where both orgasm - if anything the porn actresses' seem unrealistically happy.