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> shouldn't we research the effects of internet pornography in kids before How do you propose we do that ethically?

berkes 4y ago
I'm no sociological, or psychological scholar, but I can imagine that simply by asking kids in high school questions, you'll learn plenty. There are many researches done and still being done on how addictive drugs are, or on the negative (or positive) effects of drugs. Eventhough they are both illegal and often rather dangerous. You don't need to feed a healthy 15 year/old a daily near overdose of cocaïne to learn about the effects of cocaïne on a young persons' brains.
AlecSchueler 4y ago
You can interview people about their past experiences.
- Eisenstein 4y ago
  You can't interview someone about something before that something exists though, which is what the parent comment is proposing.
  - AlecSchueler 4y ago
    Yes, apologies, I realised that as soon as I said it.
  - Aachen 4y ago
    Internet pornography exists, last I checked (also when I first checked, but apparently that should have been illegal). What are you referring to?
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
    - loeg 4y ago
      They are talking about this comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35787466 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35787466 > I feel like in our society we're always beta testing everything before researching its effects, shouldn't we research the effects of internet pornography in kids before allowing them unlimited access to it?
mattbrewsbytes 4y ago
I suspect the effects are mental/emotional and a research team may not be conducting statistical research like group A/group B types of studies but there could be value in research on current 18-25 year olds, their social/mental/emotional well being and gathering info on how early they may have consumed it, frequency, along with rates of clinical disorders. Surveys or research on college campuses would probably be the easiest method of gathering data for that age group.
megous 4y ago
Observational studies. Problem with self selection (identify kids who decided to watch porn in the past, and compare with those that didn't) probably will not be that huge, when the people are only outraged about "kids" self selecting to watch porn.

I'm no sociological, or psychological scholar, but I can imagine that simply by asking kids in high school questions, you'll learn plenty. There are many researches done and still being done on how addictive drugs are, or on the negative (or positive) effects of drugs. Eventhough they are both illegal and often rather dangerous. You don't need to feed a healthy 15 year/old a daily near overdose of cocaïne to learn about the effects of cocaïne on a young persons' brains.

AlecSchueler 4y ago

You can interview people about their past experiences.

Eisenstein 4y ago
You can't interview someone about something before that something exists though, which is what the parent comment is proposing.
- AlecSchueler 4y ago
  Yes, apologies, I realised that as soon as I said it.
- Aachen 4y ago
  Internet pornography exists, last I checked (also when I first checked, but apparently that should have been illegal). What are you referring to?
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - loeg 4y ago
    They are talking about this comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35787466 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35787466 > I feel like in our society we're always beta testing everything before researching its effects, shouldn't we research the effects of internet pornography in kids before allowing them unlimited access to it?

mattbrewsbytes 4y ago

I suspect the effects are mental/emotional and a research team may not be conducting statistical research like group A/group B types of studies but there could be value in research on current 18-25 year olds, their social/mental/emotional well being and gathering info on how early they may have consumed it, frequency, along with rates of clinical disorders. Surveys or research on college campuses would probably be the easiest method of gathering data for that age group.

megous 4y ago

Observational studies. Problem with self selection (identify kids who decided to watch porn in the past, and compare with those that didn't) probably will not be that huge, when the people are only outraged about "kids" self selecting to watch porn.