Highly esteemed research journal Details has the story: armed with a few statistics (there's a lot of porn out there, most kids have seen it at some point, anal sex is increasingly popular) and a handful of anecdotes, they're here to make the case that the internet has dramatically changed the way that teens have sex. And they don't seem to think it's a bad thing—but we suspect that the countless other outlets that pick up the story and treat it as gospel will do their best to incite a moral panic.

A moral panic that's likely unwarranted, at that: a handful of anecdotes about how boys hate pubic hair and love facials and girls are super pervy aren't really enough to convince us that all kids, everywhere in America, are now raging sluts. Because it's not like we haven't heard this before (anyone remember the rainbow parties?). But you know what? Even if there is a widespread phenomenon of sexually literate teenagers...is that really so bad?

Sexually precocious teens have existed long before the internet, after all: over in that libertine land known as Europe, things that might pass as hardcore smut in the States are readily available; and it doesn't seem that the population is much the worse for it (in fact, if the porn we see coming out of Hungary is any indication, they're much, much better for it).

And let's not forget that access to porn isn't the only thing that's made teens more aware of—and comfortable with—sex and sexuality. The internet has also created a vast number of sex education resources, including many targeted specifically at teens. Should the fact that sites like sexetc.org offer honest info on topics like anal sex really be sending us all into a panic?

Frankly, there are worse things in the world than teens who are aware that sex is good, and that flavors beyond vanilla exist. If anything, a more sexually literate teen populace simply means that we'll have to, you know, actually talk to our kids about sex, making sure that they're getting the right message from whatever it is that they're running into.

But, oh, wait. This is America. Forget what we said before: let the moral panic commence!

· How Internet Porn Is Changing Teen Sex (men.style.com)
· Thumbnail via Stroke My Dick Now (jointheporn.com)

. . .

· Vineland school aide in adult films (thedailyjournal.com, via nerve.com)
· Crystal Gunns in School Uniform 1 (megaporn.com)

. . .

· Naughty snowboards make debut (cnn.com, via AdRants)
· Burton Love Snowboard (snowboardconnection.com)

. . .

· "X-rated video shot in Bartlett park" (wmctv.com)
· Foxy Jacky (foxyjacky.com)

. . .

· Evan Seinfeld Tera Patrick RTA PSA (youtube.com)
· "Tera Patrick, Evan Seinfeld Featured in New RTA Public Service Announcement" (avn.com)

The basic complaint, as always, is that these rags create unfair portraits of women that are impossible (and unhealthy) to emulate ... kind of like every other magazine on the planet. They'll all rot your brain in the end, but at least we get to look at Lucy Pinder while it happens.

· "Lad mags 'linked to social ills'" (bbc.co.uk; more @ jezebel.com)

It's a trend story! Except "some women" is really just one woman and she doesn't really blame it on gas prices, so much as the fact that she has a young child, is in school herself, and stuff costs money. Still, isn't it awful that our economy is so bad, that women are forced to take their clothes off to pay the bills? This poor woman is almost like ... every other woman who has ever been a stripper. Because we all have bills to pay and stripping is just a job like any other—except unlike some jobs you can actually make a living doing it. That's not news.

Exotic dancing can be a way to survive. So can being a television reporter. Unless you don't have a twin sister to help you film ridiculous split screen shots like this one. Then it gets a little tricky.

· Women turn to pole dancing due to rising gas & food prices, other expenses (wafb.com, via newsbusters.org)

So why did they bring the suit in the first place? Good question! One of the lawyers involved said that people should not have to be surprised by sex in an otherwise innocent video game—even if that "surprise" is impossible since one had to willfully download and install the mod in order to see the dirty stuff. It wasn't made, sold or endorsed by the company that was sued, and there was no doubt what the modification was for. Yet, even if it Take Two Interactive fully meant for this animated porn to appear in the game, why would so few of the millions of customers who bought a copy be offended enough to file a claim (even taking into account that half of those folks probably just wanted the free money anyway?) Maybe because the goal of the game is to rob, beat and murder anyone who stands your way in order to become the greatest professional criminal in the city. Who cares if you see some boobs along the way?

The one thing games and porn have in common is that people use them to act out fantasies that can't happen—and that you probably wouldn't even want to happen—in real life. As violent and sexy as they can be, they're completely harmless for the most part—and the kind of gamer who enjoys running over police officers probably wouldn't be too put out by a little animated nudity. And we don't have to remind everyone once again that while extreme violence is routinely overlooked in pretty much all media, the merest hint of sex sends certain people screaming for the hills. Those same people think everyone else will follow—but as the results of this lawsuit show, they won't.

(Oh, by the way, the lawyers who brought the suit are looking to collect around $1.3 million in legal fees for their trouble. The 2,676 claim holders combined will receive less than $30,000.)

· Hidden Sex Scenes Draw Ho-Hum, Except From Lawyers (NYTimes.com)
· Should you care about sex in video games? (cnet.com)

· "Porn star to kids: Don't watch me" (examiner.com - thanks Patrick)