Parenting and Pornography

Parenting 20 years ago did not bring the same challenges that we face today. In the early days of dial-up the only access to internet pornography was through dial-in usenet groups or bulletin boards. Pornography was easier to obtain at your local 7-11 than on your computer. With the explosive growth of the World Wide Web in the 1990s, that all changed.

Pornography can now be accessed on every internet-enabled device from your home computer to your smartphone, internet-enabled video gaming consoles (Wii, xBox 360, PS3), to your child's iPod Touch, PSP (Playstation Portable), and more. With WIFI access available everywhere you turn, how do you protect your family when no one is watching?

Pornography Statistics

2000: 60% of websites visited on the Internet were sexual in nature.¹
2001: The Online Computer Library Center's annual review found 74,000 adult websites accounting for 2% of sites on the net, and together they brought in profits of more than $1 billion; many were small scale, with half making $20,000 a year.¹
2002: The two largest individual buyers of bandwidth were U.S. firms in the adult online industry.¹
2003: The N2H2 database contained 260 million adult Web pages. This represented an almost 20-fold increase since 1998.¹
2004: There were 420 million Web pages of porn from nearly 1.6 million websites, 17 times greater than it was in 2000. It is believed that the majority of these websites are owned by less than 50 companies.¹
2006: Revenue from online subscriptions and sales was $2.8 billion, up from $2.5 billion in 2005, according to estimates from Adult Video Network.¹
2007: A study from Grunwald Associates, LLC, in cooperation with the National School Boards Association reported the following:
- Nine to seventeen year-olds spend about 9 hours a week on online social networking activities (compared to about 10 hours watching TV).
- 96% of students with online access report that they use social networking technologies (chat, text messaging, blogging, online communities, etc.).
- 71% say they use social networking tools at least weekly.¹
2008: A study was done by Symantec which found "sex" to be the 4th most used search term on the internet. "Porn" was 6th. According to research from Family Safe Media, the largest group of viewers of Internet porn is children between ages 12 and 17. According to a study cited in the Washington Post, more than 11 million teenagers view Internet pornography on a regular basis.¹
2009: According to an anonymous survey published in the Journal of Adolescent Health in August 2009, 96% of teens interviewed had Internet access, and 55.4% reported that they had visited a sexually explicit website.¹
2010: MBA Online compiled the statistics shown in the photo on the right (click to enlarge).¹
2011: YOU TAKE ACTION!

¹ Statistics taken from Internet Filter Review, Online MBA, Covenant Eyes, & Wikipedia.

Ways to Protect Your Family

Parents have made statements to me such as:

• I found out that my 12 year old daughter has a MySpace page saying she is 19. What do I do?
• My 14 year old son was using the computer last night and this morning my 8 year old daughter turned it on and porn pop-ups were everywhere. What can I do?
• My son was at school and his friend showed him pornography on his iPod Touch. How did he do that?
• My computer is running really slow and I keep getting pop-up messages about viruses and malware. Can you look at it?
• I caught my ____________ (you fill in the blank) looking at innapropriate content. How do I block it?

You've heard the saying, "there's an app for that." When it comes to filtering pornography there are many resources available.

In my home, we use OpenDNS. Their basic service is free but for $9.95 I get an ad-free version with customizable block pages, a "whitelist only" mode, and more. I also get reports of every page that was visited whether it was allowed or blocked. I can filter content from up to 50 categories and I also get protection from malware, phishing, viruses, worms, and more. If you are interested in having OpenDNS configured for your home or business, contact us for a no-obligation quote.

Another company that I highly recommend is Covenant Eyes. They provide an "internet accountability" service that monitors how the Internet is used and sends a report to the person you select, such as a friend, parent or mentor. This online transparency helps you think twice about how you use the Web. They also provide internet filtering software for Mac, PC, iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. Sign up by clicking on the banner below and get 1 MONTH FREE.

If you are looking for a mobile solution for Blackberry, Android or Windows Mobile check out NetNanny. I do not have any personal experience with them but they have received numerous rewards and are compatible with many different platforms.

Closing Thoughts

While most content filters are very successful in blocking appropriate content there will always be something that slips through. For the determined user there are ways around even the best filters, so here is what I recommend:

1. PRAY FOR YOUR CHILDREN.
2. PRAY WITH YOUR CHILDREN.
3. Don't let your children have computers in their bedrooms. Put your computer in a high-traffic area like the living room, family room or kitchen.
4. Use the parental controls that are built in to your computer's operating system to limit the time your children can spend online.
5. Lock down mobile devices that have parental controls. See Apple's website for more information.

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