Pornography is a multi-billion dollar industry. There is a constant production of lewd sexual movies, images and tools because there is so much global demand. The advancement of Internet technology allows streaming pornographic videos to be quickly downloaded from the Internet to computers and handheld devices.
Pornography is considered adult entertainment and considered normal by liberal-minded people. However, child pornography is illegal and despised. All actors in a pornographic production must be over 18 years of age. Additionally, people under the age of 18 are not allowed (although minimally enforced) to view pornography both online and in the real world.
Could the ease of exposure to Internet pornography contribute to young children becoming sexually active? Recent statistics show that 9 out of 10 children between the ages of 8 and 16 visit pornographic sites on the Internet. There have also been stories of children participating in mixed sex parties and orgies. It suggests that Internet porn is playing a significant role in fostering sexual curiosity in children at such a young age. Is that what we want for our children? Young children are human beings too and can also become sexually aroused naturally. However, children are more likely to misunderstand the complexities associated with engaging in sexual activities such as pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
Actually, it is not the problem of children visiting pornographic websites, but the problem of them being accidentally directed to such “adult” websites. A recent survey by the University of Hampshire achieved similar results. “66 percent said they didn’t want to see the images and hadn’t looked for them,” the researcher said.
A porn website may even be just a click away. Banners, links, spam emails and other forms of online marketing are misused as tools to attract even the most innocent Internet users. There are ways to prohibit pornographic content from being displayed even in the event of an accidental mouse click.
Commercial software called parental control software such as Cyber Sentinel, Cyber Snoop, ishield, Net Nanny 5, and Optenet may filter images and advertisements that are pornographic in nature. It can help in such a way to prevent our children from being led to pornographic websites.
However, parental control softwares still cannot completely prevent online pornography from being presented to our children online. More and better measures are required to restrict the use of sophisticated online pornography marketing methods.
Therefore, parents should take an active role in educating their children about the consequences of viewing Internet pornography. We must inform our children and show them what they can and should not do on the Internet. Also, tell them to question their actions before clicking on seductive ads that might lead them to illicit porn websites.
