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Comment by twiclo | Hacker News Reader

Porn is almost as unavoidable as ads, especially for kids. We know the average age of a boy viewing porn is 11 (1)and that virtually all of them will see porn by 15(2). Of porn viewing done by minors 22% are done by children under 10 (3). Porn has also been proven to have significantly more impact over your brain than advertising. The dopamine response to seeing porn is similar to crack (4). You can't get addicted to ads. Pornography is categorically more dangerous to society than ads, tracking, and privacy invasions.

1: https://youthfirstinc.org/pornography-viewing-starts-as-earl...

2: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1753-6405.1...

3: https://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/abs/10.12968/bjsn.2017....

4: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11058476/

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> Of porn viewing done by minors 22% are done by children under 10 (3)

> 3: https://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/abs/10.12968/bjsn.2017....

I found this fairly dubious, and followed through with this and got to the study[0]. It uses [1] as its source. That source is a private antivirus company (bitdefender), and they don't quote any sources for those claims, but luckily they offer a solution:

> Use security solutions with Parental Control to watch over kids online. Features such as Bitdefender Parental Control block inappropriate content, restrict Web access between certain hours and helps parents remotely monitor their children”s online activity

I haven't followed through on the other statistics you quoted, but that seems like some major corporate BS you're basing your argument on there.

> The research was conducted by Bitdefender in September 2016 covering 706 users of Bitdefender's security solutions.

Oh okay, that about settles it.

[0] https://sci-hub.se/https://doi.org/10.12968/bjsn.2017.12.7.3...

[1] https://www.bitdefender.com/blog/hotforsecurity/one-in-10-vi...

> Porn is almost as unavoidable as ads

Where are these ads? I never see pornographic ads in my daily browsing.

> The dopamine response to seeing porn is similar to crack (4).

That doesn't prove anything about harmfulness. I think it was already obvious that humans are hardwired to be attracted to sex. Nothing in these links suggests that this response creates to an addiction similar to hard drugs.

> Pornography is categorically more dangerous to society than ads, tracking, and privacy invasions.

I don't accept that based on your sources.

He was making a point about the proliferation of porn. It's not so bad if your settings turn off NSFW on various sites. However even then, it's often in your face. I won't go into details though.

Porn isn't sex. The repeated exposure to a huge volume of media can't be compared to a physical experience. It's more comparable to a drug.

The ultimate list of the effects of porn on the brain: https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/relevant-research-and-articl...

That seems like equivocation on the word "unavoidable." There's a big difference between saying "ads are unavoidable because they are displayed on nearly every computing device you use" and "porn is unavoidable because people actively want to see it."

"yourbrainonporn.com" is about as reliable as quoting D.A.R.E. for information on drugs. In other words, it holds literally no weight and is likely religion-driven "family values" propaganda.

Just to correct myself, the page I linked to is actually about making the case for the link between dopamine and addiction. The effect of porn on the brain is made indirectly.

The site is founded by an atheist, and looks to science for making an informed view: https://www.yourbrainonporn.com/about/about-this-site/

Ah... Definitely good to call out. The domain looks like complete anti-porn religious propaganda without diving in further.

A lot of other things are also highly addictive though, like social media. So where do you draw the line? Also, why are some people so much more addicted than others?

The age has risen since I was younger.

Porn mags where everywhere from corner stores, barber shops and some doctor offices. If you never saw porn by 8 you might be considered legally blind.

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