A few days ago I read with interest the news about the approval of a law for the comprehensive protection of minors on the Internet.
One of the objectives being pursued is to limit access to the pornography by minors. Specifically, we are working on the development of a pilot age verification system for access to adult content web pages.
According to the studies of expert organizations7 out of 10 adolescents consume pornography regularly in Spain, and 53.8% of young people between the ages of 12 and 15 say they have seen pornography for the first time between the ages of 6 and 12.
It is also known that early access to this type of content has serious consequences: distortion of the perception of sexuality, development of inappropriate and violent behaviors, impact on the way in which they establish intimate relationships, etc. In addition, it is known that there is a serious risk of addiction.
However, limiting access to this content without educating the heart is simply patching it up.
The educational model in this area, at least in public schools, advocates a liberal vision of sexuality, detached from any ethical criteria: it promotes from an early age decontextualized information, teaches young people to let themselves be carried away by their impulses, encourages a sexuality of amusement, which does not prepare them to love.
Reality itself, such as the recent cases of rape, increasingly reveals the consequences of not addressing this issue correctly. We expect heroic behavior from young people, for which we are not training them.
The public authorities seem lost in ideology, and do not know -or do not want- to see reality. They think that aggressions will be avoided by prohibiting behaviors or toughening punishments, when in reality, if we do not educate the heart, if we do not teach young people to love, little will be achieved.
You learn to love by loving. And we learn best from those who love us unconditionally. That is why the role of the family in the formation of affectivity is decisive. Not only by explaining the contents, but mainly through the model they offer their sons and daughters with their own affective style.
If parents and schools do not fulfill this function, they are leaving the way open to the search for information on the Internet, social networks or peers.
Professor at the Faculty of Law of the International University of Catalonia and director of the Institute for Advanced Family Studies. She directs the Chair on Intergenerational Solidarity in the Family (IsFamily Santander Chair) and the Childcare and Family Policies Chair of the Joaquim Molins Figueras Foundation. She is also Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Law at UIC Barcelona.
