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Kids Really Not Watching That Much Porn At The Library
By
Jamie Feldmar
Published May 9, 2011
Modified May 9, 2011
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Jen Chung/ Gothamist
By
Jamie Feldmar
Published May 9, 2011
Modified May 9, 2011
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Despite what The Post might have you believe, it seems that the youth of America really aren't in total moral decline...at least not at the public library. The paper has a story today announcing that "children 13 and older can easily access hard-core porn in the city's public libraries," and "library patrons say it happens all the time." Curious, we reached out to the Public Library to see just how easy it is for little Sally to get her hands on "To Seduce an Enemy," and here is what we learned:
Despite their worrisome obsessions with butt dragging and delusions of vampiric grandeur, teenagers are still not getting their jollies off at the library. A library spokeswoman tells us that they have gotten "almost zero" complaints about minors using computers to look at porn, "no matter what an anonymous patron says." She further explained that blocked sites make up a whopping .5% of their internet use, and of that .5%, they're not even all porn! Sometimes, for example, art websites with nudity get blocked, because the library's filter is so strong. On top of that, without strictly "monitoring" what people are watching, library staffers keep a close eye on computers in general and, just like the MTA, "if they see something, they'll say something. Minors are not allowed to watch porn in our libraries, period," wrote NYPL Public Relations director Angela Montefinise in a statement.
So, to be clear: Yes, adults have a Constitutional right to watch porn within the safe confines of the public library. Kids don't. But less than .5% of anyone who's going to the library at all is watching "Golf Balls" anyway, and virtually no one is complaining about it, so this is really not an issue. Now get back to work.
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blocked site
constitution
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new york public library
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Porn
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Jamie Feldmar
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