@tinawithana: in harsher words: grow up #ao3 #fanfic #ao3fanfic #fandom #censorship

Bean :

It’s the video games cause violence argument repackaged for every piece of fictional content

🪐🍂Brendon⸆⸉ 🩻🐊 :

They say “why are we doing fic discourse when you’re 25” as if this space has ever been for minors ??????

Blacklight :

Some 20 year old watching this right now:

ëd :

fiction does kinda affect us. it’s just that people think the only way fiction can affect us is to “inspire us to do something” which is just a childish way to think about art.

Allan 🫧 :

Also on that last point about self examination. As someone with a taboo kink (some I prefer ONLY reading about) self examining where and why I like a certain thing has led me to find it’s never the specific THING I like (bc there’s one that distressed me a little like “omg why do I like this?!”) it’s always the dynamics around the thing

Kt.cc :

when someone who was anti-fiction was having a conversation with me they told me they hadn't read a book in 10 years. They were my age, 20, they hadn't read since they were ten. Ten. 🤕

Ersearis :

People have this odd notion that, because something is fiction, it categorically cannot do any harm whatsoever. Someone could take the deranged speeches of the Austrian painter, put them word for word into a fiction, and suddenly those words are no longer harmful. How magical.

mistakes by marissa :

My then-husband accused me wanting to have an affair because he caught me watching desperate housewives 🙄🙄

Lau :

Or I was victimized by a teenage boy that had a loli fetish and decided his stories weren't enough for him anymore.

･ ༝ ･ :

You guys will say this and then read fetish material instead of an actual book 😭

morriuxnft3 :

As a dark-shipper, thank you!

David Isaac :

The issue is not the question if fiction does or does not affect reality because it does. As someone with an M.A in Comparative Studies, fiction does not as much shape behaviors as it shapes beliefs even in adults - BUT the idea that fiction is a one to one straight line from consumption to belief is naive at best and harmful at worst. This is a very complex structure, moreso a net than a straight line. It’s influenced by your class, your race, all your prior beliefs and experiences so a puritan mindset to fiction is just as dumb as the assertion that it “isn’t that deep” (which I know you are not saying ofc)

sofia :

I get your point, but "fiction alters and changes reality" should still be true as an adult. If youre reading as an adult and nothing is changing and challenging your perspectives, you are also reading like a child.

Jiei (Jay) :

I read a lot, fiction has HISTORICALLY affected a lot of reality. Biggest I can think of is War of the Worlds incident. Fiction and reality cannot exist without eachother, theres a lot more nuance to "fiction isn't real world" that we're taught in elementary school.

Sunlarian :

OneTiredCat 🍉🐾🌈🌖🌕🌔 :

Unfortunately, many people lack media literacy

Everblane :

The main idea here is decent but the wording is kinda too strong, because to not affect reality, fiction would have to be something completely isolated from it. Fiction is literally a tool for encapsulating ideas into narratives, what makes more adult approach to this is understanding that not every detail within a piece of fiction is meant to be ejected from the narrative as a meme

SwagginWagginTwitch :

Preachhhhhhh.

SlimeyBaron :

why does it only apply to reading, but movies and video games and music are fine???

🏳️‍⚧️IridetheProtogen🏳️‍⚧️🚥 :

fiction is not a powerless creation. yet it is not a defining one either: it cannot define who you are and what you do, but strong, meaningful stories are always capable of changing you and the world. let the stories of hope inspire you to make the world around you a better kinder place, and let the stories of pain remind you of a future you fight to stay free from. always keep thy mind open to further growth, and seek ones own meaning to life.

˚˖𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒✧anya˚.🎀༘⋆ :

yes!! there's m*rder in like every other media for adult, but most of us don't go out and do it. and those that do it, aren't doing it because they saw an episode of criminal minds and had a wild idea. there was already something wrong with them irl that made them consider that. a fictional story might just feed into that

Morgana Black :

Fiction doesnt Affect Reality. Full stop. It affects feelings, and that is fundamentally not the same thing. Your feelings can influence how *YOU* affect reality, but the feelings themselves do not do so. It is not Fiction that affects reality, but our conscious choices to respond to the feelings that that Fiction inspires. Saying the Fiction affects reality completely ignores the necessity of human actualization, and the Choices we as autonomous creatures make. Even if there is something to be said about ethical storytelling (appropriate tags/ratings and recognition of disparaged demographics and such), we cannot ever concede the line of those stories affecting reality. Bc to do so is to diminish the value of human autonomy and agency. What really affects reality are our choices, and in the current political/fandom climate, I truly do believe that being clear about that is vital.

Ughly :

The issue is they care more about the fact the media exists more than the persons own harmful actions

Morethia 🇦🇺 :

I strongly disagree. I read loads and there have been many books of fiction that have fundamentally changed my world view and reality. along with everyone else I have recommended them to. it's the mark of good story telling.

Hannah.banana :

It’s like the abusive bf’s that go “Oh I bet you find him attractive. What about him? I bet you’re attracted to him!” Whenever a male lead for a show pops up on the screen. Like.. no? And even if I did, it’s FICTIONAL??