I know it's near impossible to regulate, but that's why I think it's so important that younger people don't have access to this.
I was lucky enough to have a good understanding of healthy vs toxic relationships as a child because my parents were adamant that I knew. But I realize not everyone has that experience.
I sure hope nobody is reading yaoi to understand relationships Σ( ￣□￣||)
you'd be surprised....it's not like they start reading with the intention of using this as a representation of what a healthy relationship looks like....it's more so: they start reading for entertainment and at some point it gets normalized kinda like how you see an advertisement and don't go straight away to purchase the product but it occupies a small space in the back of your mind and with enough repetition, you subconsciously start forming a connection to the product then, one day, you're at the supermarket and you're like "yeah I heard about that product" and you buy it over some brand that you never heard about before.
So much of what we do is based on what we consume. The more you consume a toxic thing with no proper "cleansing" afterwards, the more your mind normalises it. I know grown women aged 30+ who cannot distinguish cute jealousy from toxic, potentially deadly overpossessive behaviour. Not all of that is due to the awful series/books/shows they consume, but I'd venture to say that all of those played a part in their perception of what is healthy and what is not.
Part of my job consists in doing research where we recruit participants and expose them to something like a bunch of photos or videos and then we compare their opinions before and after the experiment (like does this person look dangerous? or do you think that this is a danger ot society? etc) and just 30 minutes of exposure to specific content changes the perception of most participants. I can only imagine what years of consuming such content can do to a person.
lol now, I sound like a boomer who thinks that everything wrong with the younger generation is due to their phones
You’re soooo right. I always have this mindset in mind when I read toxic stuff like this
Same here, except for me it was Manga!
Those toxic MLs who cheat on their FLs the moment there’s a misunderstanding—without even trying to communicate—and then the FLs just forgive them like it’s no big deal. It’s so frustrating.
I’m really lucky I had a friend who helped me snap out of that mindset.
Honestly, younger kids who haven’t fully developed critical thinking skills shouldn’t be exposed to this kind of content. They might end up thinking these unhealthy relationships are acceptable.
Having self awareness is so important fr with toxic tropes. Sometimes you gotta mix in some wholesome green flags to keep you righteous
In all seriousness, I wouldn't be so pissed off at this type of plot if I was sure that every single person reading this shit is mature and will not get infleunced by this type of toxicity....I read so much toxic garbage when I was a teen that could've messed me up and made me accept abuse as part of romance but I managed to avoid that because I was an introvert for most of that time ( I internalized this shit and didn't get in a single relationship) and by the time I became more mature, I realized it was all nonsense.
I just hope that most people read this shit and either drop it or enjoy it without it impacting their own perception.