Per capita, Chile currently is the largest consumer of digital technology in South America, according to the report, with the largest number of Internet users falling into the 6- to 17-year-old category.
Reporter Alexei Barrionuevo also said that sexually explicit online content combined with social networking websites like Fotolog.com are having an unprecedented effect on underaged sexuality in a country that legalized divorce only in 2004 and suffered a 20-year dictatorship under the repressive Pinochet regime. In addition, sex education is scarce or unavailable to most school-aged Chilean teens.
With the upsurge in sexuality, party promoters in Chile have created a cottage industry by hosting 18-and-under party events. Teens as young as 14 pay admission to the events where attendees are encouraged to make out with as many people as possible. The most successful are rewarded with the title of “ponceo,” designating them as being the most active participants at the party.
Competitive tactics by party promoters include using suggestive names for the events, as well as featuring male and female go-go dancers and strip shows in order to make their events more enticing. There is no liquor allowed at the parties, however.
“Everything starts with the kiss,” said partygoer Nicole Valenzuela, who is 14 and was quoted in the article. “After the kiss follows making out and, after that, penetration and oral sex. That’s what’s going on, sometimes even in public places.”
The teens also use social networking sites to organize and promote the parties, which can attract crowds of up to 4,500.
Fotolog.com, a networking site that originated in the U.S. has seen a phenomenal surge in usage in Chile, a country with a population of 16 million. There are 4.8 million registered members of Fotolog in Chile, and 60 percent of those are between 12 and 17.
Teens often post suggestive photos with their Fotolog profile, and the most popular site members have become paid VIPs at the underage parties.
Arias, who has studied the surge in teens’ use of Fotolog was quoted as saying, “The kids of today are expressing their sexuality in erotic ways for the whole world to see.”
Parents, academics and authorities in Chile are reported to be grappling with rapidly changing social mores as a result of the Internet’s influence on the younger generation.
Maria de la Luz Silva, Chile’s Education Ministry head of sex education, said the effect of the Internet has caused a “tremendous cultural breach” that calls for increased and updated sex education, in order to protect children.