Ok, enough is enough. Sit down children and let a fucking PARENT explain this shit to you. 🧵
I have an 11 year old kid. I also have a somewhat active fandom life. I enjoy hard kinks and taboo pairings IN FICTION. I read incest, mpreg, underage and bestiality, to name a few.
IRL I have a brother that I'd kill if he looked at me funny, I'd probably be horrified if I ever saw a pregnant male & I almost bit the head off an old guy once for approaching my kid at the park before I found out he was my son's friend's grandpa. Oh, and I would NOT fuck my dog
Also IRL I am the one responsible for teaching my kid about the online experience. My son is not on any SM. He has an app especially designed for kids and parents, that monitors and regulates how much time he spends online and what content is appropriate for him to use at his age
The use of this app was not enforced on him. Its use was explained and agreed upon and now we work together to learn about how to be safe online. He knows about ratings, tags and warnings for games, apps and sites. He knows the how and why behind them. And he sticks to them.
The question "but why can't I access content that's destined for adults?" did, inevitably, come up. What I told my kid was that he's simply not ready for what he might encounter in those spaces.
That the Internet is an inherently free space and that the people setting up those ratings, tags and warnings do it so that the users know and are able to choose what best suits their needs in confort and safety. That there is adult content that even some adults don't enjoy.
And that that's ok. We all have choices. But kids lack the life experience that's necessary to make some of those choices. He goes - "I get it. It's like if you leave a box of chocolates, 2 tubs of ice cream and a cake on the table, a kid's gonna try to eat them all and...
...they'll get sick because they lack the life experience necessary to know eating all of them will make them sick." I'm raising a smart kid. 😂
He also understands that at some point he WILL be allowed on SM. And he will surf the web unsupervised.
And that's the whole point of this guided online experience that he's going through now. To teach him about boundaries, making smart choices and avoiding spaces that will make him uncomfortable in any way, shape or form.
To teach him to step away from situations, content...
... and people he finds toxic by his own judgement. Because that's my job as a parent. MY JOB. Not a stranger's on the Internet. I couldn't even imagine a situation where my son steps into ANY adult only space (online or IRL) and demands that the adults there keep him safe.
Or cater to his sensibilities. I'd kill the first one to say to him "come here, I'll make a safe space for you". Keeping children safe online is a parent's job. Adults that tell you to stay away are not the enemy. Beware the ones who open those spaces to you promising safety.
The Internet as a whole has NEVER been a safe space. The FBI tells you that, the school counselors tell you that, your parents should tell you that. But also, nowadays, fandom spaces are the safest they've ever been. Because, unlike when I was a teen, now it's EASY for you to
curate your own experience. It's easy for you to filter and avoid the content that you're not comfortable with. Ratings. Tags. And warnings.
You may still be uncomfortable just knowing that someone like me is behind that block wall you just put up. It might make you rage
inside that there's a 'g r o s s a d u l t eww' enjoying things you find abhorrent on the Internet. And lecturing you that it's fiction, not real life. It may make your blood boil. But you know what? That is YOUR PROBLEM AND YOURS ALONE.
What you choose to do about it will determine, however, mine and every other adult's you find gross reactions. And if your choice is to declare war, be prepared to be mocked, blocked and stuck in a perpetual rage. We are not your parents. But we are not here to groom you either.
We're here to enjoy ourselves however we like. And we'll always tell you to go back to your own spaces, to mind the ratings, tags and warnings and to get off that high horse. Even if you don't believe me now, you'll thank us in 10 years.
Oh, and when you see or find out about an adult groomimg or hurting a living breathing minor? Please tell someone you trust. Please call the police.
And the next time you see an adult drawing a young looking fictional character having sex? Who you gonna call? That's right. The ghost busters. (I'll give you a free pass to make fun of my dad joke. Now git!)
You can follow @Aniela_reads.
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