What is Rule 34?

Popular culture and the spread of the Internet have led to the appearance of many strange and controversial phenomena. One of them is Rule 34, one of the unofficial rules of the Internet. It can affect the most harmless things on the Internet and bring them to the darkest corners of the world web. In this material, you will find out the meaning of Rule 34, its origins, risks for children and young people, and also the examples of when this phenomenon crosses the border of normality.

What does Rule 34 mean?

Rule 34 has one and only meaning: “If it exists, or can be imagined, there is Internet porn of it”. It states that you can find any porn in any existing format, including videos, images, manga, fanfiction, and others on any topics, fandoms, famous persons, and many others that exist in real life and beyond.

In other words, Rule 34 means fan art aimed at sexualizing, as a rule, non-erotic subjects

It is worth noting that the major part of this content is created by the fans themselves, however, some communities unite to create porn content on one or another topic. Authors frequently monetize their art, making a living with the help of fans of one or another fandom.

The origin of Rule 34 and other unofficial rules of the Internet

Rule 34 is a part of the unofficial rules of the Internet, a meme that appeared back in the 00s. According to different versions, there are from 48 to 70+ of them. First of all, they emerged on anonymous forums and imageboards.

The first notion of Rule 34 dates back to 2003. The user TangoStari published a webcomic, in which he talked about his shock and disgust at seeing characters from his favorite children’s cartoon, Calvin and Hobbs, on pornographic fan art.

This phenomenon started attracting more and more attention to itself closer to the end of the 00s and the beginning of the 2010s. Such authoritative editions as CNN, Daily Telegraph, The Daily Dot, and others began writing about Rule 34.

At the moment, it meets its description. Adult content exists in any form and on any topic. But it creates certain risks both for young people and children who use the Internet a lot and in terms of law because even children’s cartoons are not an exception as we have mentioned above. Now, let’s talk about the risks for children and young people.

Risks for children and young people

Nowadays, everyone, from children to older people, uses the Internet. Rule 34 creates risks that young users might accidentally and unconsciously face adult content.

Put simply, the absence of porn absolutely on any fandom and topic leads to the situation that even if you are simply looking for your favorite cartoon, anime, or movie, you might find very unexpected things. It might have a negative impact on underage people because it can form an unrealistic understanding of how the human reproductive function works. Sexual education should be done purposefully and consciously, but not with the help of pornography.

You can fight it with the help of parental control. It can help because this content is mainly located on special resources. The situation is more complicated with social networks, which are used by the majority of people, but they can be dealt with too. It is important to have educational talks with your kids on the topic of sexual education.

When fan content crosses the line of normality

Human fantasy has no limit. In fact, the creation of adult content based on various cultural phenomenons is not something bad if it is consumed wisely by the target audience. Problems emerge when authors start implementing Rule 34 on fandoms or pieces of art, characters of which are underage.

A bright example is popular fan content based on the extremely popular Netflix series, Stranger Things. The majority of main characters were under 18 years old both in the story and in real life at the moment of the filming of the first seasons. Some creators’ fantasies reached making content with pedophilic scenarios, which is illegal and taboo in modern society. This and other topics are “the dark side of Rule 34”.

Conclusion

Rule 34 has been around for about 20 years. There is nothing bad in fan art, even on pornographic topics. Problems and risks appear when such content reaches the attention of young people and children, for whom this type of content is not intended and can have a negative impact.

Also, the problem is that some creators use topics that are forbidden by law and moral norms. It is almost impossible to fight this phenomenon but parents should pay attention to the sexual education of their children to minimize risks associated with the consumption of their favorite cartoons, films, and series on the Internet.

Previously, we wrote about the meaning of the Sadge emoji that is popular on Twitch. You can read materials on this and other topics in the section “ Blog ” on EGW!