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It's interesting, the Internet has become a micro-society and people are beginning to have expectations that the major players have a responsibility to perform

It's interesting, the Internet has become a micro-society and people are beginning to have expectations that the major players have a responsibility to perform a similar service as that of a government (contributing resources to fight child porn as the example made), whilst also expecting governments to rule it. Can we have it both ways? And should we expect that as a norm? The internet doesn't have a morality, it's a tool and usage is defined clearly by the user. The fact that more teenage boys are accessing pornography and have warped approaches to conventional relationships is a problem, but how much of a problem is it due to the internet? My generation (approaching 30) were among the first to have always on, reasonably high speed internet and yes that did mean easy access to pornography but despite that the majority of us are in long term relationships. I think there's a lot to be made of how the internet has impacted modern society, but it doesn't exist in a single point of impact. There's also a dozen other factors that have to be taken into account, ranging from parents being less available due to increased workloads to an education system that's not encouraging people to want to learn.

pitt1980 13y ago
" My generation (approaching 30) were among the first to have always on, reasonably high speed internet and yes that did mean easy access to pornography but despite that the majority of us are in long term relationships." My impression is that this generation has historical low levels of involvement in long term relationships and family formation (not arguing that causality is internet porn ---> people don't get married, but it's an interesting data point)
- nicholassmith 13y ago
  Sure, marriage does seem to be down amongst the people I know in long term relationships but that mostly seems to be (in my circle) down to apathy about the concept, as they deem it pointless. "Who needs paper and a £10k party to show your love?" sort of thing. There's a big melting pot of changes in our society, and I do think the internet has played a part as has changing opinions on religion, finance and wealth and so on.
  - pitt1980 13y ago
    I don't have links on the tip of my fingers, but my impression is that family formation among young people is down, and its not simply a matter of symantics I'm not even a believer that that's necessarly a terrible thing but I do think its a real trend, not just otherwise committed people deciding that they don't need a piece of paper I think internet == food is the right analogy, too much of certain types of internet usage seems obviously not healthy for you, I think as a culture we should make efforts to make sure that message is widely dessiminated

pitt1980 13y ago

" My generation (approaching 30) were among the first to have always on, reasonably high speed internet and yes that did mean easy access to pornography but despite that the majority of us are in long term relationships." My impression is that this generation has historical low levels of involvement in long term relationships and family formation (not arguing that causality is internet porn ---> people don't get married, but it's an interesting data point)

nicholassmith 13y ago
Sure, marriage does seem to be down amongst the people I know in long term relationships but that mostly seems to be (in my circle) down to apathy about the concept, as they deem it pointless. "Who needs paper and a £10k party to show your love?" sort of thing. There's a big melting pot of changes in our society, and I do think the internet has played a part as has changing opinions on religion, finance and wealth and so on.
- pitt1980 13y ago
  I don't have links on the tip of my fingers, but my impression is that family formation among young people is down, and its not simply a matter of symantics I'm not even a believer that that's necessarly a terrible thing but I do think its a real trend, not just otherwise committed people deciding that they don't need a piece of paper I think internet == food is the right analogy, too much of certain types of internet usage seems obviously not healthy for you, I think as a culture we should make efforts to make sure that message is widely dessiminated