Some points to consider while forecasting

But you are right that the current mass hysteria is not very old, at least in historical perspective. And you are also very clear on the arbitrariness of the current morals. A society that has totally different views on adult-child sexuality would be possible. But I think the current hysteria is embedded in, or entangled with other, likewise arbitrary morals and ethics of current (western) society. One example would be nudity, something which is absolutely normal but in our society rather suppressed, and many people confuse nudity and sexuality. Another probably important point is, how useful a certain trait is to the people in power. Look back how until the middle of the 20th century politicians and other powerful people could be compromised by revealing they have an affair with a woman outside of their marriage. This became less and less powerful and except some very outstanding situations (like what happened to Bill Clinton) it cannot be used to compromise someone. But being able to compromise others is extremely important in certain upper circles. The whole Epstein story is based on this, though despite many people calling Trump and others a pedofile is very far from truth, they just banged some prostitutes slightly under 18. Still some other power is counterbalancing this, as the story has not lead to big visible changes in the power structures yet. And yet another reason why pedophiles, or better scary tales about what pedophiles are supposed to do, are required, are lawmakers. They need this as an easy excuse that is difficult to oppose, mostly to pass surveillance law and such. But we are running off the track now. Given no other influences, and people just accepting current situation as it is, the ultra-taboo of adult-child sexual relationships might still remain for a lot of generations. But I do not think this will be stable that long, for two factors: First, it is against human nature. Pedophilia has emerged in our species and was successful for probably hundreds of thousands of years (I am a follower of what is called here the Uncle Chester theory). Additionally, looking at the bad overall shape of mental health of the current generation I am under the impression that the sexual repression we saw in the last decades might have other severe side effects. And second, as there will always be pedophiles there will always be people who are very eager to question those sexual oppressive morals. A small number of activists can achieve quite some goals. Though, it will take some time, but we should really have reached the low point, or most extreme swing of the pendulum or whatever you want to call it. Today even young teenagers participate in "pedo-hunts", and laws with ultra harsh sentences and lifelong registration for offenders in many countries can hardly be any worse. -- Een leven zonder jongens is mogelijk, maar zinloos