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I can only speak for myself. Being exposed to pornographic images at 9-10 years old had a negative effect on me. It made me want sex far earlier than I would b

I can only speak for myself. Being exposed to pornographic images at 9-10 years old had a negative effect on me. It made me want sex far earlier than I would be ready for the physical and emotional consequences.

guard-of-terra 12y ago
Do you really think keeping people in the dark about things they are supposed to want is a good things? Are we now factory-farmed chicken (with our consent) and not humans?
- philsnow 12y ago
  > Do you really think keeping _people_ in the dark Yes they're "people", but the young are also our charges, and we are responsible for their right upbringing. If you found your 9yo kid-plus-friends going through your "best of" porn folder at a sleepover or whatever, would you stop them?
  - scarygliders 12y ago
    I refer you to a reply I made before this. Also, we're not talking about 9yo kids/porn here - stop changing the goalposts - we're talking about 11yo boys and Aliens specifically.
Crito 12y ago
Maybe these children are going to want to shoot aliens at an earlier age now. Wait... Edit: Am I wrong? What exactly is the concern with Aliens here? Kids already like guys shooting aliens. Is there some sort of "alien-violence puberty" that I am not aware of?
- psykovsky 12y ago
  Don't even get me started on the crap cartoons show these days. Violence everywhere.
- scarygliders 12y ago
  I've upvoted you because I'm noticing a pattern on this topic where anyone questioning the "think of the children!" attitude is being downvoted. Before you guys downvote me; I'm a parent. The boy is now 13yo and has been growing up with Star Trek, Dr Who, and whatever other sci-fi I like to watch. Even some Dr Who and Star Trek had material some of you would consider to be a bit 'iffy' to show kids. Doesn't seem to have done my son any harm - he's growing into a well balanced kid who goes to the Air Cadets, is popular, and does well at school. As a parent, I see no harm in showing 11 year old boys Aliens. Listen - you cannot wrap your kids up in cotton wool. The reality of life is way more brutal and uncaring than is shown in a mere film. As long as these kids understand that it's just a story, that it involves plastic and latex models, these are actors, and so on and so forth - where's the harm for these 11yo kids? Like I say - life is hard. I for one don't want my son growing up to be some limp-wristed little snowflake because I shielded him from all sorts of things. Seriously guys, get real.
  - DanBC 12y ago
    > Even some Dr Who and Star Trek had material some of you would consider to be a bit 'iffy' to show kids No, people are arguing against films like Saw or their 1980s equivalents. > Like I say - life is hard. I for one don't want my son growing up to be some limp-wristed little snowflake because I shielded him from all sorts of things. Seriously guys, get real. What life lessons is a child going to learn from watching "Hostel"? Also, "limp wristed"? FFS.
    - scarygliders 12y ago
      I'm specifically talking about whether it's 'bad' or not for 11yo boys to watch Aliens. Keep to the subject. Why mention some other film when I'm talking about Aliens? I despise people who try to 'win' their argument by constantly shifting the goalposts.
      - DanBC 12y ago
        Other people are talkig about films like Saw. Why are you trying to win the argument that nobody here is having? But, if you want to talk about Aliens: plenty of people in this thread have spoken about the distress they felt when watching Aliens as teenagers. What life lesson is an eleven year old going to learn from watching Aliens?
mod 12y ago
Speaking for myself, I was exposed to pornography at 8 until about 10 pretty consistently (friends' dad worked until dinnertime, they were home alone, they found his porn stash [not stache]). I can't say I wanted or didn't want it, but I turned down some opportunities in high school and was fairly old, compared to the average in my circles, by the time I had sex. I don't think the pornographic images (movies, not softcore, in my case) had much effect.
TeMPOraL 12y ago
It's a complicated topic. Being exposed to porn at a similar age definitely affected my attitude and desire for sexual encounters, though I still didn't get one until being in a serious relationship at 24.
belorn 12y ago
I don't think kids will reach puberty earlier because of what images they view. From everything we know about growth and hormones, exposer to images has never really been suggested to have an impact.
wishinghand 12y ago
I kind of had the opposite reaction to the same effect- I was exposed around 10 years old to pornographic images (Playboy) and also read the articles about sex. I wanted it far earlier than I was ready for but I felt like it had a positive effect on me- more at ease with the idea of it, my body, how others might react, how to communicate what I want and figure out what my partner wants.

guard-of-terra 12y ago

Do you really think keeping people in the dark about things they are supposed to want is a good things? Are we now factory-farmed chicken (with our consent) and not humans?

philsnow 12y ago
> Do you really think keeping _people_ in the dark Yes they're "people", but the young are also our charges, and we are responsible for their right upbringing. If you found your 9yo kid-plus-friends going through your "best of" porn folder at a sleepover or whatever, would you stop them?
- scarygliders 12y ago
  I refer you to a reply I made before this. Also, we're not talking about 9yo kids/porn here - stop changing the goalposts - we're talking about 11yo boys and Aliens specifically.

Crito 12y ago

Maybe these children are going to want to shoot aliens at an earlier age now. Wait... Edit: Am I wrong? What exactly is the concern with Aliens here? Kids already like guys shooting aliens. Is there some sort of "alien-violence puberty" that I am not aware of?

psykovsky 12y ago
Don't even get me started on the crap cartoons show these days. Violence everywhere.
scarygliders 12y ago
I've upvoted you because I'm noticing a pattern on this topic where anyone questioning the "think of the children!" attitude is being downvoted. Before you guys downvote me; I'm a parent. The boy is now 13yo and has been growing up with Star Trek, Dr Who, and whatever other sci-fi I like to watch. Even some Dr Who and Star Trek had material some of you would consider to be a bit 'iffy' to show kids. Doesn't seem to have done my son any harm - he's growing into a well balanced kid who goes to the Air Cadets, is popular, and does well at school. As a parent, I see no harm in showing 11 year old boys Aliens. Listen - you cannot wrap your kids up in cotton wool. The reality of life is way more brutal and uncaring than is shown in a mere film. As long as these kids understand that it's just a story, that it involves plastic and latex models, these are actors, and so on and so forth - where's the harm for these 11yo kids? Like I say - life is hard. I for one don't want my son growing up to be some limp-wristed little snowflake because I shielded him from all sorts of things. Seriously guys, get real.
- DanBC 12y ago
  > Even some Dr Who and Star Trek had material some of you would consider to be a bit 'iffy' to show kids No, people are arguing against films like Saw or their 1980s equivalents. > Like I say - life is hard. I for one don't want my son growing up to be some limp-wristed little snowflake because I shielded him from all sorts of things. Seriously guys, get real. What life lessons is a child going to learn from watching "Hostel"? Also, "limp wristed"? FFS.
  - scarygliders 12y ago
    I'm specifically talking about whether it's 'bad' or not for 11yo boys to watch Aliens. Keep to the subject. Why mention some other film when I'm talking about Aliens? I despise people who try to 'win' their argument by constantly shifting the goalposts.
    - DanBC 12y ago
      Other people are talkig about films like Saw. Why are you trying to win the argument that nobody here is having? But, if you want to talk about Aliens: plenty of people in this thread have spoken about the distress they felt when watching Aliens as teenagers. What life lesson is an eleven year old going to learn from watching Aliens?

mod 12y ago

Speaking for myself, I was exposed to pornography at 8 until about 10 pretty consistently (friends' dad worked until dinnertime, they were home alone, they found his porn stash [not stache]). I can't say I wanted or didn't want it, but I turned down some opportunities in high school and was fairly old, compared to the average in my circles, by the time I had sex. I don't think the pornographic images (movies, not softcore, in my case) had much effect.

TeMPOraL 12y ago

It's a complicated topic. Being exposed to porn at a similar age definitely affected my attitude and desire for sexual encounters, though I still didn't get one until being in a serious relationship at 24.

belorn 12y ago

I don't think kids will reach puberty earlier because of what images they view. From everything we know about growth and hormones, exposer to images has never really been suggested to have an impact.

wishinghand 12y ago

I kind of had the opposite reaction to the same effect- I was exposed around 10 years old to pornographic images (Playboy) and also read the articles about sex. I wanted it far earlier than I was ready for but I felt like it had a positive effect on me- more at ease with the idea of it, my body, how others might react, how to communicate what I want and figure out what my partner wants.