An 11 year old boy in England was recently caught selling adult DVDs in a school field. When I first read this, three thoughts immediately ran through my mind, in rapid succession. The first thought was, even though what the kid did wrong, should they make a federal case out of it? I did some big regrettable things as a teenager at school. But I would be ashamed if things had made the gossip environment ring, much less received national media attention from the likes of the BBC.
Second-rate response, and my gut is a rather typical male, “Boys will become boys.” Then I started to wonder: what is this situation trying to tell us? If there has ever been any sign that porn is too accessible, especially as far as kids are concerned, this is it. The reason I’m saying this is because this story (about the kid selling DVDs) coincides somewhat with the other two announcements.
Advice for Adult Victims
The first is the revelation – at least on a larger level anyway, I’m sure a select few have been known for a while – that the Grand Theft Auto San Andreas video game contains hidden elements and mini-games of the pornographic nature that can be accessed by getting certain modifications in Internet. (I’ll tell you the website for modifications, but I really want you to finish reading this article … :)) This game is hip among teenage boys to start with. The discovery of hidden porn might push it to the top, even if it’s only by curious kids and confirm that the porn rumors are true. The second announcement was that the adult film house in Japan had released or soon released pornographic films for the Playstation Portable (PSP).
It seems that production of adult films on the PSP’s exclusive Universal Media Disc (UMD) format hasn’t started in the US – yet. Now I’m not saying that if / when the Vast availability of mature UMDs becomes a reality, these discs will by and large be sold alongside the more mainstream video games. Not even with those rated M and above. But there will be accidents: like video games sold in boutiques or adult-themed stores. Also, you know there will be the occasional unscrupulous shopkeeper trying to make adult discs available to underage gamers shopping at their main game store.
Teenagers, by their very nature, are very curious and they will do what you allow them to get away with. They often try to grow up too fast and they are quite curious about sex. They are prone to peer pressure, and for better or worse, they try to fit in or impress their friends or both.
They will try to get the coolest stuff.
The fact that these items (both the game and the game system) are somewhat connected to porn, which at that stage in teenage life is a rather taboo subject (hip reading and desirable), will only make the item more desirable. (I guess in a later way that the software manufacturer was a marketing genius. Although I would like to think that neither producer targeted minors from the start.) Did the folks at Rockstar Games really think they could make video games mainstream. major, M-rated (for adults) despite that (so producers can claim they’ve covered their butts), and don’t the kids get there hands on a game other than looking up the code for that game? My brother, while in his mid-teens, received a copy of Max Payne as a gift (another Rockstar Games production, by the way) – it’s a game that’s notoriously M-rated too, but at least it doesn’t contain adult material.
Also, I’m an avid video game player in my spare time so I troll the board games all the time looking for cheating codes and special “Easter eggs” (game extras); and believe me, I’m not the only one who’s watching. I have to question why the security for game code is so weak and prone to being hacked in the first place. Look, we all know that if a kid is determined enough, he’s going to find porn on his own. But we don’t have to make it so accessible and portable. It’s bad enough that porn is now accessible on mobile. As prevalent and affordable as cell phones, the average age of children getting cells is now getting lower and lower. Parents are able to equip the whole family (including children) with cell seh so everyone can stay in touch.
At the very least, if you whip a portable dvd player or laptop for viewing porn dvd’s in public, that will generate interest (maybe even from potential thieves …). But watching porn on your cell, without anyone looking directly over your shoulder (and assuming no one can hear a groan), is no more flashy than reading a newspaper.