«At least read!»: The dangerous mirage of the juvenile erotic novel.

For years, educators, psychologists and families have been warning about the massive consumption of pornography among adolescents. We know -because studies confirm it- that exposure begins earlier and earlier, that it affects the perception of the body and distorts the understanding of consent. That concern is legitimate. But as we look to that shore, another phenomenon has been quietly growing that deserves the same attention: the popularization of erotic novels disseminated through social networks, book clubs and platforms such as BookTok.

Today, it is enough to go into any bookstore to see for yourself. The “juvenile” section is flooded with covers with warnings of spicy, and labels that classify the level of explicit content. Sometimes they are works of fiction for young people; others are clearly aimed at adults, but massively acquired by adolescents. In almost all of them, the plots revolve around hypersexualized bonds, normalized jealousies and a dependency presented as the ideal of romantic love.

This editorial turn is not random. It responds to the explosion of communities on TikTok, where the hashtag #BookTok has transformed algorithms into the most powerful showcases of the decade. Under tags such as Dark Romance o Romantasy, titles that until recently would have inhabited adult niches now lead the global sales rankings. In Chile, it is enough to observe the prominence of these works in fairs and large chains: luxury editions with painted edges and irresistible aesthetics designed to capture the collecting desire of a generation that, paradoxically, consumes fantasies of possession and emotional violence under a cotton candy appearance.

And here a disturbing ingredient appears: the naivety -or resignation- of some parents. While their children devour bulky books, they sigh with relief: at least they are not in front of a screen. They ask few questions and check less. Sometimes they don't want to know. But reading is not an absolute good in itself: content matters and how it shapes a child's affective imagination.

This is not to demonize literature; the written word has the power to open worlds and heal wounds. However, books educate -even unintentionally- and the mass consumption of certain narratives shapes the idea of desire and bonding. When an adolescent girl reads, over and over again, stories where loving means losing herself in the other or justifying any excess in the name of physical attraction, the message is not neutral. She will learn, by osmosis, that love absorbs and controls.

Contemporary erotic narrative does not only eroticize: it also pedagogizes. It teaches what is acceptable in a couple and what can be demanded or tolerated. For many young people with no real experience, these works function as emotional manuals. And if the models are toxic, the print will be too. Some will say that “they are just fictions,” the same as is often argued about pornography. However, both build unrealistic expectations. When sexuality appears without human context, the boundaries of consent become blurred: what in reality would be aggression, on paper is celebrated as “irresistible passion”.

And in the midst of this phenomenon, the publishing industry has found a vein of gold.: the boundary of “fit” while making up the content as "fit". women empowerment. Relationships of control, asymmetrical power or emotional dependence are packaged under the discourse of freedom and self-desire. But if empowerment consists of enduring harm in the name of love, we are confusing something serious. The market sells an affective education of very low ethical cost and very high emotional profitability.

We cannot leave all the responsibility on the child's judgment or on the weary eye of the parent. When a plot that contains dynamics of abuse and romanticized dysfunctional relationships is labeled as juvenile, sales are prioritized over the protection of emotional development. And the result is that many adolescents are receiving, without adult mediation, a “sex education” that is not recognized as such..

What to do? Prohibition is not enough; the clandestine always attracts. What we need is conversation and emotional literacy. Just as we ask for comprehensive sex education, we also need a critical look at cultural consumption. To read with them, to ask: is this love or control? Where does respect appear? What image of the body and of women is transmitted?

As a society we have recognized the harm that pornography can cause; let us not now ignore its printed version, disguised as sensitivity. It is not enough to celebrate our children turning the pages: the real challenge is to help them read with lucidity so that they do not confuse a heart on fire with a bond that consumes them. Because to love is not to possess, nor to annul oneself, and no novel -no matter how successful it may be- should teach us otherwise.