A few days ago, there was a topic about a 16-years young girl that was "raped" much elder man on social media.
I will not go into that discussion, but ask the question if we are not heading to a disaster with the social media?

Example 1.
A decade ago, nobody would have thought of publishing sexy/barely dressed/naked pictures on the internet.
Surely not of children who are barely mature and sometimes even not at the mature age (< 16 years).
Nowadays, we can see in several social media channels (Facebook, Tik Tok, YouTube) pictures of children and others in sexy poses trying to make as many "Followers" as possible.
Most of them with the sign "Give".
Looking at the number of people watching these movies and the numbers of people "Giving" money, one can assume that many of them would make a decent income of it.
A few years ago, I would hardly see any 16-21 old girl on a meeting site.
Nowadays, I receive at least 3 messages per day from these girls asking for money.
Sometimes, they propose to send naked pictures/movies of them in exchange.
10,000 Baht is assumed to be a fair price.
See figure 1.jpg
Is this not asking for trouble?
Now and in the future when these girls will be mature and their pictures are all over the internet?

Example 2:
In Facebook, ther hundreds of advertisings of people selling "Driver Licenses".
See figure 2.jpg.
Looking at the number of people (mostly Thai) responding to these advertisings (100 to 1000) a quick count would give a "side income" of 3,500 x 1000 = 3,500,000 baht.
A lot of money for the average Thai citizen.
There is no fear of prosecution, because the DLT is too lazy and has not the means to sue Facebook.
And the "Driver License" scam is only 1 example of this scam.
Others like selling a 100TB memory stick for 599 baht (even on Lazada) or a Super-Duper electric bike for 29,99 USD can be read many times.
Why would anybody start to work when they can make so easy money out of "stupid" citizens?
Is this the "New Normal"?

What are your though about this "New Normal"?

 

I just wiki'd Barely Legal Magazine. Started in 1993.  

 

So no, it aint new, tho sadly, such interests are common enough to be called normal.

 

They were selling driver's licenses on Khao San Road around the same time. So, the same.

9 hours ago, Confuscious said:

Example 1.
A decade ago, nobody would have thought of publishing sexy/barely dressed/naked pictures on the internet.
Surely not of children who are barely mature and sometimes even not at the mature age (< 16 years).

Example 1

A century ago your ancestors would marry and give birth at age 14 and everyone thought it was normal.

In fact our entire culture was based around a 14yo impregnated by the 'holy spirit' and married to a 70yo man.

 

Example 2

A century ago nobody had driving licences, if you could get your hands on a car/horse/carriage you were good to go

9 hours ago, Confuscious said:

I receive at least 3 messages per day from these girls asking for money.

I have never gotten any messages from anyone asking for money, why? Because I’m not a freak’n pedperv and don’t ever venture into that entertainment realm  

4 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Example 1

A century ago your ancestors would marry and give birth at age 14 and everyone thought it was normal.

In fact our entire culture was based around a 14yo impregnated by the 'holy spirit' and married to a 70yo man.

 

Example 2

A century ago nobody had driving licences, if you could get your hands on a car/horse/carriage you were good to go

A while ago one could have slaves, does that make it OK?

I'm getting the word...

1 hour ago, FritsSikkink said:

A while ago one could have slaves, does that make it OK?

Actually there is more slavery today than ever before so apparently it could be seen by some as ok

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_the_21st_century

6 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Example 1

A century ago your ancestors would marry and give birth at age 14 and everyone thought it was normal.

In fact our entire culture was based around a 14yo impregnated by the 'holy spirit' and married to a 70yo man.

 

Example 2

A century ago nobody had driving licences, if you could get your hands on a car/horse/carriage you were good to go

Sorry you are wrong !

 

Driving licence in the UK

 

Driving licence in France

 

7 hours ago, BritManToo said:

A century ago your ancestors would marry and give birth at age 14 and everyone thought it was normal.

In fact our entire culture was based around a 14yo impregnated by the 'holy spirit' and married to a 70yo man.

The age of consent in most 'Western' countries was between 7 and 13 until the early C20th. It remained 12 in Spain until 1999 when it was raised to 13 and now 16.

 

Times change and with it cultural attitudes. But actual sexual practices don't evolve much.

 

As in most areas of social, cultural & political sensitivity, people who are ignorant of the past have the most rigid views on the present.

It seems to me social media is a platform where any fruitcake with a few smarts can post sh!t that appeals to the confirmation bias of those following him/her/it, and get paid handsomely for doing so. Trump would be nowhere without social media.

 

Even with more wholesome offerings such as Taylor Swift, it's an example of celebrity worship. The masses goggling at someone who might be history in a year. Nice to look at, nothing else.

 

I don't consider I am missing out on anything by staying off social media, with the exception of ASEAN. Even here, we have an assortment of ratbags.

Soery to burst your bubble, but that was a dude in Nigeria asking for 10,000 baht

17 hours ago, Confuscious said:

What are your though about this "New Normal"?

It ain't new...

 

my step-grandfather wanted to sell devices that you could hang in a room to protect against nuclear attacks... guaranteed. 

7 hours ago, novacova said:

I have never gotten any messages from anyone asking for money, why? Because I’m not a freak’n pedperv and don’t ever venture into that entertainment realm  

You don't know what you're missing!

In my Scandinavian home country it's a bit the other way round. Before common Internet the young nude girls that appeared in the tabloid newspapers, gossip magazines and men's magazines were from just 15 years old; now you won't see any under 18, more likely they are up in their 20'ies. The law is tighter now, were nude images on anybody under 18 years of age might be considered child pornography. A tabloid newspaper even recently withdraw their files on the Internet with old-time pages of – in today's view too young – nude girls.

Before social media and online dating, there were other ways for young girls to meet men in exchange of money.

 

The "new normal" seems to it's online – and more easy to attend – however, just like before, where you has to buy a magazine or visit certain places, you need to browse certain online media or pages with that potential type of content...

You can do what I do.....either dont use or stay off it, im mildly amused especially in FB how people put their life history up for every scammer to see and use...includes instagram as well...

4 minutes ago, AlexRRR said:

You can do what I do.....either dont use or stay off it, im mildly amused especially in FB how people put their life history up for every scammer to see and use...includes instagram as well...

Scammers would not bother with looking at individuals that way. Instead, Facebook sells the scammers the personal data in tranches of about 40,000 people, with extra data those people are unaware has been harvested.

Alot of people just do not understand how corrosive, damaging, degrading and nasty social media can be. There are an infinite number of scammers, predators and fraudsters out there. Most of us have the good sense to avoid them, and not get taken in by their unwillingness to do actual work for a living. 

 

It boggles the mind, to consider the number of people who fall for these scams. Someone calls you, or contacts you online, and you send them money? Someone you have never met? Someone you have not researched? What gives? Where are the survival instincts? 

 

How is a youngster supposed to have the wisdom to know? Granted being asked to send naked pics to a stranger is a bit much. But, I am sure it happens all the time. There is little chance of these people getting apprehended. Very little.

 

And it is a strong indication of just how bent, warped and misguided contemporary culture and society is, that someone can be considered an idol or celebrity just because they have alot of followers on Tik tok, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. 

 

Personally, I consider social media to be the most corrosive and degenerate force in culture today, and they can be downright dangerous, on multiple levels. 

 

I think the internet and social media make lots of things and situations worse.

One problem seems to be, that years ago if someone i.e. liked to piss on his feet while listening to Madonna this person would be alone, with nobody to talk to about the same fetich. But now, there will be somewhere on this planed 10 or 100 more people who like the same - whatever it is. So people who had to ask themselves years ago if maybe they should rethink what they are doing will find now likeminded people somewhere on the internet somewhere in this world. And then they become activists, loud activists and all that.

 

Sometimes I watch Chris Williamson's podcast, and sometimes it's interesting.

But at the same time often they talk about viral trends on the internet and how to react to these trends, etc.

Often I have no idea that those viral trends exist. Nothing to think about and nothing to have headache about.

IMHO it seems way too many people follow lots of stupid trends on the internet, and then they are confused why they are confused.

48 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Alot of people just do not understand how corrosive, damaging, degrading and nasty social media can be. There are an infinite number of scammers, predators and fraudsters out there. Most of us have the good sense to avoid them, and not get taken in by their unwillingness to do actual work for a living. 

 

It boggles the mind, to consider the number of people who fall for these scams. Someone calls you, or contacts you online, and you send them money? Someone you have never met? Someone you have not researched? What gives? Where are the survival instincts? 

 

How is a youngster supposed to have the wisdom to know? Granted being asked to send naked pics to a stranger is a bit much. But, I am sure it happens all the time. There is little chance of these people getting apprehended. Very little.

 

And it is a strong indication of just how bent, warped and misguided contemporary culture and society is, that someone can be considered an idol or celebrity just because they have alot of followers on Tik tok, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. 

 

Personally, I consider social media to be the most corrosive and degenerate force in culture today, and they can be downright dangerous, on multiple levels. 

 

You, me and some others will smell a scam and not fall in that trap 

 

But if you see the numbers of people who type "interested (in Thai)" or buy a "Super duper electric mountain bike from a fake Amazon site", the question begs if the majority of people on the internet have evolved to the human level?

4 hours ago, Fab5BKK said:

Sorry you are wrong !

 

Driving licence in the UK

 

Driving licence in France

 

you have gone to a great deal of trouble to be pedantic ?   There may well have been licences  but there was no driving test until 1935 in the UK I couldn't be bothered looking at france

31 minutes ago, Confuscious said:

You, me and some others will smell a scam and not fall in that trap 

 

But if you see the numbers of people who type "interested (in Thai)" or buy a "Super duper electric mountain bike from a fake Amazon site", the question begs if the majority of people on the internet have evolved to the human level?

It seems many Thais buy everything as cheap as possible. And then they are somehow surprised if those things are defect, don't work the way they should work, are broken after a short while, etc. I am not sure if that is typical Thai or Asian or maybe just something that relative poor people do anywhere in this world.

I.e. I buy tools which are often expensive. And I can use them for many years, and they are precise. Often it does not make sense to buy cheap and bad quality. But people do it again and again...

11 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Example 1

A century ago your ancestors would marry and give birth at age 14 and everyone thought it was normal.

In fact our entire culture was based around a 14yo impregnated by the 'holy spirit' and married to a 70yo man.

 

Example 2

A century ago nobody had driving licences, if you could get your hands on a car/horse/carriage you were good to go

Yep in the old days it was indeed a case of "if there's grass on the pitch , Game on"    Just as well really coz life expectancy was probably around 30 years, 

37 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

you have gone to a great deal of trouble to be pedantic ?   There may well have been licences  but there was no driving test until 1935 in the UK I couldn't be bothered looking at france

Pathetic !

25 minutes ago, Fab5BKK said:

Pathetic !

 Agreed, but i preferred the word pedandtic

3 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

It seems many Thais buy everything as cheap as possible. And then they are somehow surprised if those things are defect, don't work the way they should work, are broken after a short while, etc. I am not sure if that is typical Thai or Asian or maybe just something that relative poor people do anywhere in this world.

I.e. I buy tools which are often expensive. And I can use them for many years, and they are precise. Often it does not make sense to buy cheap and bad quality. But people do it again and again...

I wouldn't say that it is a "Thai" or "Asian" thing.
The responses to the cheap and fake "Amazon" sales, are from anywhere on the globe.
I have fun reading these posts and it is amazing how many people fall in that trap of a "super duper electric mountain bike for 29.99 USD".
Anyone with a single working braincell would know that for that price you can not even ship that thing.
Still may people asks "Do you ship to Venezuela"  and get a "Yes" answer.
Incredible level of stupidity in this world.

3 hours ago, Bday Prang said:

you have gone to a great deal of trouble to be pedantic ?   There may well have been licences  but there was no driving test until 1935 in the UK I couldn't be bothered looking at france

 

I got my driving license (cars) in Belgium in 1971.
No test, no questions, nothing of that at that time.
Just pay 500 Baht (500BFR) at the police station and get your driver license for life (Cat. B).
Drive the first year with an "L" sticker on your backscreen.

5 years later I went for an upgrade for buses and trucks and had to go to a driving school (2 days theory amd 2 days practice with a teacher).
Paid 1,500 baht (1.500 BFR) at the police station and got a Cat "F"  driver license (for life).

But these Driver License were FULLY LEGAL, where the Facebook Scams are ILLEGAL!!!

 

15 hours ago, Bday Prang said:

you have gone to a great deal of trouble to be pedantic ?   There may well have been licences  but there was no driving test until 1935 in the UK I couldn't be bothered looking at france

Drivers License SCAMMERS

ผู้ดูแลเว็บไซต์ กรมการขนส่งทางบก <webmaster AT dlt.mail.go.th>

Wed, Nov 1, 9:04 AM

 

We are not complacent about the actions of criminals. We are continuously reporting to Facebook because the Department of Land Transport have received a lot of complaints about cases like this. Therefore, if you want information from the Department of Land Transport Please follow the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/PR.DLT.NEWS/

 

Regards,

 

          Department of Land Transport

          <webmaster AT dlt.mail.go.th>

          <https://www.dlt.go.th>

5 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Alot of people just do not understand how corrosive, damaging, degrading and nasty social media can be. There are an infinite number of scammers, predators and fraudsters out there. Most of us have the good sense to avoid them, and not get taken in by their unwillingness to do actual work for a living. 

 

It boggles the mind, to consider the number of people who fall for these scams. Someone calls you, or contacts you online, and you send them money? Someone you have never met? Someone you have not researched? What gives? Where are the survival instincts? 

 

How is a youngster supposed to have the wisdom to know? Granted being asked to send naked pics to a stranger is a bit much. But, I am sure it happens all the time. There is little chance of these people getting apprehended. Very little.

 

And it is a strong indication of just how bent, warped and misguided contemporary culture and society is, that someone can be considered an idol or celebrity just because they have alot of followers on Tik tok, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. 

 

Personally, I consider social media to be the most corrosive and degenerate force in culture today, and they can be downright dangerous, on multiple levels. 

 

its bizarre.  Internet "influencers"  (I detest that word)  and   people with 1000's of friends they have never met, people  believing everything they read on completely unregulated platforms,  when the rest of us don't  even believe most of what we read or hear on mainstream media.

And then there's those who have even commited suicide due to being upset by people they don't know and have never met.

I fear for the future, thankfully  most of us here  won't have to see that much of it

16 hours ago, BritManToo said:

In fact our entire culture was based around a 14yo impregnated by the 'holy spirit' and married to a 70yo man.

You must have gone to a different church than I did. 

The Bible strongly suggests Joseph was a fairly young man.

- In an effort to support their belief that Mary remained a virgin after Jesus’ birth because Joseph was too old to have relations with her. However, there are indications in the Bible’s account involving Joseph that he was not an old man as some claim, consider the following:

1. After Jesus was born Mary and Joseph had at least 6 more children.*

2. After Jesus was born Herod tried to have him killed so an angel warned Joseph to take the child and his mother down into Egypt, a long journey on foot and later back again, a trip requiring considerable strength for a man to make.

3. Joseph taught Jesus the skill of carpentry which was done by hand requiring considerable strength.

4. Israelite males were required to travel to Jerusalem three time a year and the scriptures show Joseph was strong enough to make that trip when Jesus was 12 years old. The trip would have required walking for perhaps 4 days up from Nazareth to Jerusalem, 91 miles climbing around 1400 ft. in elevation.

Illegal things have been around for a while.  The only way someone would get pics or offers of pics.  Is if they subscribe to a site or ask for them person to person. 
Im a member of some social media sites.  And never once have I gotten or received offers for explicit pictures or content.