Over the past several months the Thai government has been blocking websites. Some of the blocked websites are sexually oriented, and others just annoy them. Needless to say there will be fallout because of this, and not the type Thailand is hoping for.
Blocking sexually oriented websites is a bit risky to say the least. By doing that it limits the places people can visit to release natural and normal sexual urges. Sexual desire is normal and as any healthy man will tell you it simply can not be turned off. Meaning people who are physically sick with a cold or flu, or mentally under excessive stress or anxiety often have little or no sexual desire. For that it does not matter if you are male or female.
So the sexually oriented sites on the Internet provide places for private sexual release by masturbation and fantasizing. So by removing that private option, people will simply move to another source. With Thailand being Thailand, places like Pattaya and Soi Cowboy along with places that freelance women linger will become more active and more visible to onlookers. In short sexual gratification will move from the computer to the streets. That is not what blocking had in mind, but will be the natural outcome of the blocking, and of that there is no doubt.
There is a very distinct ratio between the availability of sex and the number of sexual assaults. In countries where sex is available there are few if any sexual assaults. Point in note that when a foreigner is sexually assaulted in Thailand it is front page news and quickly finds its way to online forums. Example here. In countries where sex is not as available and the number of sexual assaults is logarithmically higher and the sexual assaults are hardly mentioned in the news.
This certainly comes under the heading of messing with mother nature or at least trying to in a passive way. It is like hiding the toilet forcing people to find a friendly tree to water or bush to hide behind.
Other websites that are being blocked are considered to put Thailand in a negative image or have a negative effect on moral character development of young Thais. So the close your eyes and the problem will go away effect appears to be the goal. In other countries censorship is left to the parents and browsers as well as many virus program suites have the means to block sites. But as many people still do not have their own computer and rely on Internet shops, the attempt can be justified. However it does infringe on other people who chose to visit such websites.
The bottom line is this is a violation of peoples rights to decide on what they want to see. The desired results will not be what the Thais are hoping for. The eventual outcome will be moving some sexual gratification from behind closed doors to out in the open as well as increasing the chance of getting sexually transmitted diseases. So for the owners of naughty nightlife venues, this Internet blocking may be the blessing in disguise they have been waiting for.
