Anna, my 15-year old chat mate, spots me online while I’m in a nearby Internet café. She pops up on my IM (instant messenger) and confides that she has gained access to an adult-rated material over the Web by assuming she is over 18 years old.
“I often heard the boys at school talk about the “hilarious” sites they’ve been into. I became curious, that’s all,” she types back when asks why she enters the prohibited portal.
“So, what have you discovered?” I inquire glibly just to let the junior student think for herself. But frankly, I feel uneasy and concerned.
“Yucks! Are all sexual acts as sordid as those?” she floods the page with laughing emoticons before I can break in and type, “There’s nothing funny with sordid things, is there? Those images and streaming videos you’ve seen dehumanize women and children, like you and me!” Of course, at her age, I wouldn't expect her to understand what I am talking about.
Long before Anna types GTG (got to go), I notice a commotion about three terminals away from my unit. Several high school boys flock around the monitor as a man in his 60s scrolls down the page. Something on the Net causes their chuckle and it arouses the peeping Tom in me.
Curious now, I bid Anna GTG, signs out, and proceeds to the counter. I get a good lateral view of their monitor. To my dismay, the old man is showing his teenage exhibitionist chat mate stripping via web cam, and the kids keep on chuckling.
What I witness is thought provoking. An effortless click is all it takes to be exposed to an ocean of explicit materials that are to me, emotionally and mentally perplexing to the kids. Paradoxical as it seems, minors may be prohibited from viewing adult material on TV and theaters, but unsupervised minors in the privacy of their homes or Internet cafés may easily have access to pornographic materials in a click.
Many people are debating that cyber porn is an issue of parental guidance and corporate responsibility, but this is no longer new. In fact this is only one among the typical crimes proliferating over the Web today. Although pornography has long been one of society’s problems, it used to be only in the margins until the Internet brought it to the mainstream--and it will continue to stay because, admit it or not, sex sells.
Experts say parents need to understand the technology they are putting in the hands of their children. At first, kids browse materials with sexual contents out of sheer fun and curiosity, but little do parents know how these materials affect their children. Thus, I believe that parents should be responsible on watching their kids' online activities, as this is not only an issue of decency and morality but also a cycle of bad activities which children may suffer toward the period of their adolescence. At home, parents should start a culture that protects their kids' innocence and values human relationship and sexuality. Nobody knows how porn would morph into as tech wind shifts but then again at least parents have solidified their kids' moral ground.
Posts
5 comments:
I agree with all you say, but how can we really protect our children against individuals such as the older man you mention? Our world is awash with pitfalls for our children and many lose their way. It is a sobering fact. I agree parents need to work to "solidify their kids moral ground".
Sadly, yes, when our kids go out of the house, they literally go out into the world on their own (parents don't have control of their environment). But if parents have instilled a solid moral foundation, chances are, kids will not go astray. After all, bringing up kids to be good citizens of this waned world is the only thing parents can do so far on this issue.
I felt uncomfortable with my sis-in-law having a computer in her bedroom. For two years I tried to convince my husband to take it out of the room and now it is in the kitchen. Every time I am in the kitchen she click on a different screen or quickly type something on the chat screen. I don't think that she watches porn, girls are less apt to do that, but I know that at least some of the chats or picture are sexual. Not only that but cyber bullying is a big concern.
I try to let go of my worries, she is 17 and will be leaving for school in the fall. The problem is that with so much time spent on the computer kids today are not learning mature social skills. I am ready for her to leave and make her own chooses but I wish she had a stronger emotional intelligence.
I really agree. It is a great concern for parents nowadays and a wake up call should really be issued but with the current global crisis, it seems that the wake-up calls would fall on deaf ears. With both parents out to work, they have no idea what their kids are doing or where their kids are hanging out. Sad but true.
What's more degrading is that some pornographic sites use known Filipino areas to market their sites. Some of the links would mention these places. This creates an idea among the ignorant that these places in our country are areas for sex and pleasure, when in fact it really isn't.
Whoa! very well said cuz! Saan b un? hehe
Post a Comment