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First off, the criticism of this app being used for kids to sexualize themselves was what early doomsayers shouted down about both Vine and Snapchat, among almo

by hbosch 9y ago

First off, the criticism of this app being used for kids to sexualize themselves was what early doomsayers shouted down about both Vine and Snapchat, among almost all other video-social startups. I don't think it's a valid or reasonably realistic concern. Secondly, you definitely need to source some evidence for the claim about pedophile communities.

RIMR 9y ago
I am writing an article right now (to be published soon) about this, and I can tell you that there are lots of underground communities that just share YouTube, Musical.ly, Snapchat, etc. links for sexual reasons, with no attempt to hide the pedophilic nature of their viewing. I am not about to post links to these places, for obvious reasons, but perhaps I'll post my article once it is finished. If HN had a PM system, I would bookmark your name and send you a link. Maybe just keep a look out in a month or so, or check back on my page for submissions. Lots of fact-checking and analysis to do before I publish this, not to mention protecting some of the children I am documenting. There's also a large community of teens on these networks that consume pseudosexual content of kids their own age, and you obviously have to factor out of any statistics about pedophilia. I myself consumed a lot of preteen/teen model stuff when I was 13-15, but that content has only gotten more disturbing to me with age. There are some disturbing trends out there, and it's clear to see the cause-and-effect in many cases. Kids are figuring out that if you dance on camera, you get a lot of views - but if you dance on camera in your underwear, you get A LOT MORE views. These sites are putting forth little to no effort to curb this kind of content, and there is little public oversight. It's not illegal, but there are people profiting off of the ad revenue associated with this content, and there are children sexualizing themselves online, often without their parent's knowledge. It's not something we should ignore, because this is just going to keep getting further normalized as people try to downplay what is actually happening. And there are people out there who become fixated on online personas, and this can lead to some very dark scenarios. The last thing we need is adults preying on children in environments that children frequent, and parents are ignorant of. These places are candy shops for pedophiles, and kids often don't notice that their peers on these sites aren't always fellow kids...
- hbosch 9y ago
  I would be thoroughly interested to read the article when you finish it, please share.
- pedro42 9y ago
  It really makes you think when we're slowly shifting towards a future where NN and CP producers aren't adults anymore, but the children themselves. I think they need earlier and better sexual education to fully understand the consequences of their actions. Not only that, but also in regards to social media before they receive free access to computers that are connected with the Internet.
glenstein 9y ago
I don't think those criticisms of Vine or Snapchat were necessarily wrong. I suspect it's a problem at Youtube to greater or lesser degrees at different times as well.

by hbosch 9y ago

RIMR 9y ago

I am writing an article right now (to be published soon) about this, and I can tell you that there are lots of underground communities that just share YouTube, Musical.ly, Snapchat, etc. links for sexual reasons, with no attempt to hide the pedophilic nature of their viewing. I am not about to post links to these places, for obvious reasons, but perhaps I'll post my article once it is finished. If HN had a PM system, I would bookmark your name and send you a link. Maybe just keep a look out in a month or so, or check back on my page for submissions. Lots of fact-checking and analysis to do before I publish this, not to mention protecting some of the children I am documenting. There's also a large community of teens on these networks that consume pseudosexual content of kids their own age, and you obviously have to factor out of any statistics about pedophilia. I myself consumed a lot of preteen/teen model stuff when I was 13-15, but that content has only gotten more disturbing to me with age. There are some disturbing trends out there, and it's clear to see the cause-and-effect in many cases. Kids are figuring out that if you dance on camera, you get a lot of views - but if you dance on camera in your underwear, you get A LOT MORE views. These sites are putting forth little to no effort to curb this kind of content, and there is little public oversight. It's not illegal, but there are people profiting off of the ad revenue associated with this content, and there are children sexualizing themselves online, often without their parent's knowledge. It's not something we should ignore, because this is just going to keep getting further normalized as people try to downplay what is actually happening. And there are people out there who become fixated on online personas, and this can lead to some very dark scenarios. The last thing we need is adults preying on children in environments that children frequent, and parents are ignorant of. These places are candy shops for pedophiles, and kids often don't notice that their peers on these sites aren't always fellow kids...

hbosch 9y ago
I would be thoroughly interested to read the article when you finish it, please share.
pedro42 9y ago
It really makes you think when we're slowly shifting towards a future where NN and CP producers aren't adults anymore, but the children themselves. I think they need earlier and better sexual education to fully understand the consequences of their actions. Not only that, but also in regards to social media before they receive free access to computers that are connected with the Internet.

glenstein 9y ago

I don't think those criticisms of Vine or Snapchat were necessarily wrong. I suspect it's a problem at Youtube to greater or lesser degrees at different times as well.