Internet Porn: What You Need to Know to Keep Your Kids Safe
Hi friends. This is the second PG-rated post in a three-part series on keeping your kids safe online.
You can read the first post on cyberbullies on the Internet and on gaming consoles like Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 here. It tells the sad mad story of a cyberbully threatening to rape my teen son in my own home.
FACT: 93% of boys–and 62% of girls–have been exposed to Internet pornography before the age of 18. This means only 3% of boys and 17% of girls have never seen Internet porn. This statistic and some other material in this post comes from CovenantEyes.com. I recommend its ebook Parenting the Internet Generation. You can get this free resource here.
Even if you’ve put in place precautions to keep your kids safe, it isn’t enough to block all exposure to pornography. As you probably know, children and teens who’ve had frequent exposures to sexually explicit photos and videos are more likely to:
~ have multiple sexual partners.
~ develop an addictive habit of watching porn.
~ mimic behaviors seen in porn.
This Ain’t 1970 Pin-Up Girls!
Do you remember the famous swimsuit poster of Farrah Fawcett, dressed in a red one piece? Too sexy, right?
This picture is tame compared to the hundreds of millions of hard-core photos available online at the click of a button. CovenantEyes.com reports that scientists theorize that early exposure to Internet porn may interfere with healthy sexual development while a child’s brain is developing through the teen years.
Certainly, God who created us knows what’s best for us. Listen to what Jesus said:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27,28)
and what Paul exhorted:
“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:13-14)
What You Can Do
1. Safeguard your computer and mobile devices by using parental controls and with software that blocks porn sites. Keep in mind that your child may still see porn on others’ computers, smart phones, and tablets.
2. Know that the multi-billion-dollar porn industry uses tactics to seduce otherwise unsuspecting teens. Innocent word searches can bring up pornographic sites with banner ads that show “teaser” images. Armed with this knowledge you can talk lovingly and intelligently to you child about what to do when such sites pop up:
First, do not click on images or links.
Second, tell you what happened. Your children need to know that they can come to you and talk about sensitive subjects know you’ll be quick to listen and help.
3. Use a well-respected Internet accountability service like Covenant Eyes. Such services monitors Internet use and proves accountability reports to parents.
The Good News
You can keep your kids safe from Internet porn. Yes, porn images are everywhere on the Internet–television too. It takes some work on your part to set up parental controls and to have difficult and uncomfortable conversations with your children, from 8 to 18.
Take comfort in knowing you can train a child in the way he and she should go and trust God to help them make wise choices and to repent when they make mistakes. You do NOT want them to become a statistic, like one of these:
13 percent of Web searches are for porn material.
About 55 percent of divorce cases involve either the husband or wife obsessively using porn websites.
Eight out of 10 unwanted exposures to Internet porn happens in the home.
Question: What are some ways you keep your children safe?
With Joy Overflowing!
