Minors in SL having Sex. Is it ok?

What is the law concerning AV/Cybersex? That's the question...and how it pertains to age? Is AV sex the same as real sex regardless of age?

We need to seriously consider the ramifications of allowing that grid. All of the ramifications. Its not a perfect world.

"mom i need to talk to you, I was talking with this girl and she turned out to be a he and now I am... confused, hurt, angry, wondering."

This is just another example when we open the doors to allow childern yet another area in which to experiment in. We dont just give them a creative space. I think LL needs to serious consider all that can and will happen before they allow this.

Cat

Does anyone know if there is even a Cybersex Law pertaining to Pixel Sex? If you make a tube and put it in an object..and Cyberchat..is that by definition Sex?

I just read your link. Did you not notice the 14/17 and 15/17 etc.? They contradict some of your earlier points. Look, when minor on minor sex is discovered it is EXTREMELY rare that parents press charges. What good does it do? That's not proactive, it's reactive. Kneejerk and it does noone involved any good. It's not the time to start pointing fingers and blaming parent (on both sides) whose approach to sexualityis probably the reason it happened in the 1st place.

I hope you see that in your link most countries age of consent is well below that of the US. Guess what? We have the HIGHEST teen pregnancy rate IN THE WESTERN WORLD. You know why? Because of fear and misinformation.

The United States has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the western world, despite the fact that our teens are not more sexually active than Swedish teens, or Canadian teens, or British teens. Why? Because we don't educate about birth control in sex education classes, we don't discuss it at home, we don't give teens good access to it, and we don't advertise it in our media. Other countries do, and they are rewarded with low rates of teen pregnancy and teen abortions. But, you say, making condoms available in school-based clinics would ‘give kids the wrong idea’. In fact, 5 recent research studies indicate that it doesn't.

Blake my main concern at this point is adults with kids cyber or not, its wrong. I dont need a law quoted to tell me that.

I tried in vain to point this out yesterday in the *is prostitution in SL illegal* thread. They just blew right past that and continued to refer to it as prostitution even though it's CLEARLY not. People (in the US anyway) are so fearful of their own bodies they have begun to think talking dirty on a computer equals sex. That is not to say that talking in sexually explicit terms as an adult, knowingly, with a minor, is right. It's not.

Problem is, Cat, that you can't dis-allow them from experimenting in this area, open doors or not. Kids are going to experiment, it can't be prevented; you can't watch over their shouder 24 hours a day, and it would be harmful if you could.

I agree it's a hot-button for a lot of people, and it is an important issue to a lot of people. Personally, I feel that education is a better approach than restricting and threatening holy hellfire (or whatever). After all, the fastest way to get any human of any age to do a particular thing is to tell them they're not allowed to do that particular thing.

As far as LL is concerned, it isn't a matter of right or wrong, but simply of liability. Can they as a company afford to take this risks, and can they take reasonable steps to mitigate that risk.

My personal view is that we're way too hung up over sex in general... but that's just me. I certainly don't disagree that we need to protect our young from exploitation and abuse; kids aren't stupid, but they are inexperienced. That's why I feel knowledge is the best possible defense.

Well Cat, LL IS going to do it so any amount of discussion by us is academic. Let them deal with the can of worms.

SL is a fantasy world, its not real. SL/RL The two shall never mix in my world Although I am very fond of several AV's I know. As a friendship, yes I would continue that to RL
As a love affair, certainly not.

I understand those choices as an adult, but a child does not have the cognative reasoning to seperate the two.

Cat

Here ya go Teledildonics

I have a body??? OMG OMG GET IT OFF GET IT OFF MEEEEEEE!!!!!

Hehe, well, what do you expect from a nation that was founded by a bunch of religious types who were booted out of Europe for being too overzealous. We Canadians are a bit more relaxed about the whole thing... probably because sex is warm, and you know what Canada's like. Two seasons, winter and July. Brr. Topless people of both genders wandering around in public (in summer!!) is a nice advantage to Ontario.

(if anyone's taking me seriously, you need your head examined )

I guess if I ever get my transhumanist wish and get uploaded into a computer, that'll just make things even murkier, huh?

They do it in RL Cat. Well reasoned or not. Kids hide things from their parents and are actually encouraged to do so by negative reinforcement and the negative connotations placed upon certain activities by parents. Hence the highest teen pregnacy rate in the western world, right here in the good old USA. We are idiots when it comes to sexuality and it shows.

hmm..That Sinulator seems interesting Say someone has this Sinulator hooked to themselves and meets someone in game and has Cybersex together..then it is found out afterwards that the person that came on to you is a minor? Who's at fault?

No and I can pretty much gaurantee a judge would probably laugh his ass off trying a case of it.

Cyber Kiddie #1: err then we uh touched prims...

Cyber Kiddie #2: your so lying, my sister told me you were hot for me then your mom got on and found out we liked eachother or something.

Judge: Uh ok get out

And the whole both people not of consent age being rape is bullshit, they hand out condoms in fricken high schools now you know right... Sex ed starts in Junior High ffs.
80% of my graduating senior class are rapists if that is true. I think I had maybe one friend who graduated high school a virgin, a girl of course and she wouldn't admit it if people asked her.

Anyway on the subject of cyber sex I used to use AOL back in 92, was only dial up I could get in a remote area and I was 15. Well I can tell you from what I remember almost all the teen chat rooms were people talking about skateboarding, music, age, sex, where they live and IMing each other to talk about sex. I ended up talking to a ton of chicks on the phone. I bet if you go in a teen chat room on any net chat now it would be exactly the same.

Golden Rule here is stupid dumbshit parents need to control what their hormone addled teens are doing on the internet becuase 90% of them have probably 1 thing on there mind at all times.

Cat brings up a huge point too with the gender bender teens that could happen. I know some people that play mmorpgs that have been loot whored by those types. The advice I gave them all was get phone confermation before messing with some cyber vixen no matter how many times she calls you hun or dear.

Yes I know and as I have said teens are faced with enough in RL relationships with their peers. I dont watch over his/her shoulder I talk to him/her openly and hope for the best I just dont see a need to invite excessive baggage into the mix. I remember the pressures of being a teen and I also know I was not equiped to handle some of the stuff I see and hear in SL. The choice as a parent not to allow my teen into SL even on a kiddie grid is made by what I have seen not only in SL but in other more protected/kid friendly online games. I agree with your other points very much

Cat

Nolan,

After a little "googling":

http://www.avert.org/teensex.htm
"The age of consent is the age when the law says you can agree to have sex. Before you reach this age, you can't legally have sex with anyone, however old they are. The law says that to be able to have sex, both partners must be over the age of consent."

http://www.whns.com/Global/story.asp?S=2555689
The age of consent in South Carolina is 16, even if both people consent, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re in the clear. It’s up to a judge to decide whether or not the minor should or shouldn’t be placed on the registry, but if they are, Pettit says, "It's a lifetime registration in the state of South Carolina."

http://www.plastic.com/article.html;sid=04/04/25/22421610
Cam-Girl Charged With Sexually Abusing Herself

found on Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
posted Sun 25 Apr 8:35pm
The debate over the internet's role in the dissemination of kiddie porn just got a little more heated. A month ago, police in Latrobe, Pennsylvania charged a 15-year-old girl with possession of child pornography, sexual abuse of children, and dissemination of child pornography. The twist? The alleged victim is also the alleged perpetrator.

..

There were also a lot of gay activism links that Google found - apparently a lot of states have higher laws for homosexual sex, and will more often prosecute male-male sex when both parties are under the consent age.

Nolan of course they do stupid things in rl why add more crap onto the dung heap. Its not necessary. Why invite trouble in.

Cat

I think we are aware of this. You still didn't address the fact that your example of 14/17 is legal in at least one state.
Yes, now lets see some actual case results. What do they do? Fine them their allowance money? Lock 'em up in jail? Or take money from their parents who may need that money to buy diapers and formula?
Keys words being *charged* and *alleged*. Means nothing unless you post casr results. If those results show some type of criminal or civil penalty then our society is much more fucked up than i care to think.
..


Yup, hypocrisy, homophobia and outright persecution. Nice.

Wonders how many minors have come onto an adult and they had sex in Cyberland without the adult knowing the age of the perpetrator.

Its a scary world we live in.

Cat

You mean like get preggers or STDs?

This net *sex* is a percieved problem without the major consequences of RL sex. What are they gonna do? Save their allowance until they can afford to take a plane or a bus to have sex with their virtual partner? By then they would probably be of consentual age anyway.

Just as parents in the 40s and 50s frowned on their kid's methods of meeting romantic interests, people seem to be applying this logic to the net. Someone get John Lithgow in here, I feel the need to cut loose.

Who's John Lithgow?

It's only as scary as you make it out to be.

Now. let me point out that most victims of sexual and/or viloents crimes were assaulted by family members or someone in the neighborhood, a local civic leader, a teacher, babysitter, or a family friend or acquaintance.