The Internet has completely changed the dynamics of the average American household. With the advent of social media, lightning-fast connectivity, and access to literally anything and everything one could search for, parents of curious children have a lot more to think about that parents from a few decades ago did.
Unfortunately, the advent of pornography has hit the Internet in full force since the beginning, and it has only snowballed into a multi-billion dollar industry, with roughly 12% of all Internet sites pornographic in nature. It’s alarmingly easy for anyone to gain access to these sites, and parents concerned with keeping their children away from this trap should know how to handle things, before a problem has started.
One of a parent’s natural first reactions to the idea of children and pornography is “I must never allow them to see it! I will protect them from this for their own good.” This is a natural response – from the enormous damage and trauma pornography causes anyone, especially in younger viewers, no wonder parents are quick to leap on this monster before it’s released. However, there is a hard truth that many parents know, but ignore and deny out of disbelief or incredulity: children will probably be exposed to some form of pornography at some point, often times as early as 11 or 12 years old. Scary? Yes. But true? Sadly, yes as well.
Still, the solution to protecting your child is readily within reach, but the solution needs to happen from within the family, not from the computer. Nowadays, having a block on your computer will not stop a curious child from searching for the forbidden topic of “sex” and “love;” there will always be access, through friends, phones, iPods, movies, commercials, even in their classroom as school.
Parents need to teach their children about what love is, how the topic of sex is a wonderful and beautiful thing, but only in the safe context of marriage with someone they love, not in the poses, pictures, and scenes depicted in the pornography industry. This can be paired with healthy internet activity at home from the whole family – creating parental blocks, utilizing other tools like Phorm global technology to create a safe, personalized user experience for the whole family, and a computer in the open so that one can hide behind it in secrecy.
Parents need to create the trust and love with their children to combat this growing disease – they can’t rely on internet blocks or parental monitoring to communicate their love and attention. Talk to your child and spouse when the time is right about how to set yourselves up for the best, healthiest Internet experience for your house.
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