Teens cracking age verifications is the new fake ID – and more damaging
Growing up in a middle-class town, the one issue that dominated the local paper week after week was ‘will Tonbridge get a skate park?’ and ‘where will it be?’
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The thought of teenagers hanging out (although this was usually described as ‘loitering’, or even ‘lurking’) near them was enough for many to write a letter of objection to the council.
I grew up in a time when the biggest issue facing secondary schoolers was not having enough to do. The mere presence was considered worthy of shops installing irritating high-pitch sound systems (undetectable to adult ears) to drive them away.
Perhaps the naysayers of the day got their way as, these days, teens are more likely to stay in and interact with friends online than physically meet up.
Fewer of today’s 16-19 year-olds get a job in the UK and America than a generation ago and Gen Z are less likely to go out than Millennials. One study even found that British under-24s were more likely than the middle aged to support bringing back covid restrictions.
But the problems go beyond a dip in the night time economy. As well as phone dependency and cyber bullying, an issue that has been much discussed with the implementation of the Online Safety Act is under-18s watching pornography.
Easy internet access has created a situation where a fifth of teenagers watch harmful adult content, with many starting as young as 12. It is not a new trend, but an eternal truth that watching porn can distort an understanding of healthy relationships, normalise sexual abusive behaviour, and create addictions.
As part of the Online Safety Act, porn sites are now among those required to ask users to go through age verification procedures to ensure that they are old enough to view the content.
And as ever, teens are already reportedly finding ways around the rules that adults have set. Some websites have been found to not have the measures in place, while the barriers are also being reportedly scaled with the use of VPNs.
Teenagers will always rebel and cracking age verifications has the fake ID of the current age. But unlike sneaking out, or loitering, like the teens of old, watching porn can have lifelong consequences and form habits that are difficult to break.
Did Tonbridge ever get its skate park? Yes, it was built after a long struggle in the faraway part of town. After it became apparent that teenagers lurking didn’t stop the town from functioning, a second was built in the town centre, where it became popular.
It all feels quite innocent now.
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William Mata is SEO Editor for LBC.
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