Protect Your Family from Pornography
I have been working on this blog for four years now. I think I have helped a lot of people. I am glad to continue to help people and answer questions. However, I have not addressed the “Elephant” in the room. This is the reason most of you are visiting my site. It is because you are a concerned parent and want to protect your kids and family from Pornography.
Not my Kids. Not my Family.
It is so easy to think that you KNOW what your kids are doing and what your kids' friends are doing. It is easy to think that your loved ones would never get trapped into “that sort of thing.” However I have been able to hear first hand from parents and wives that have discovered and usually a little too late, how deep their loved ones have fallen into this addiction.
The Ugly Truth.
It is true that the average age for exposure to sexuality explicit content is 11 years old. One in five mobile searches is for pornographic material. 9 out of 10 boys were exposed to pornography before 18 and 6 out of 10 girls were exposed before 18. The average age of exposure to pornography is around the age of 11. These kids that may have been exposed have carried the habit into their adult years. 68% of young adult men and 18% of women use porn at least once every week. Many studies have been conducted to prove the addictive behavior of pornography.
It is ugly, but it is the truth.
Pornography is out there and readily available for our family to access it.
Prevent Exposure to Pornography.
I have stressed and reiterated … repeated.. time and time again. There ARE ways to prevent exposure to pornography. You don't need to be helpless or overwhelmed. You DO need to realize that this is a REAL problem.
How do I Prevent Exposure to Pornography?
Check out my Internet Safety Checklist. It is FREE. It includes links to tutorials on various subjects and how to implement secure settings on your network, computers, and mobile devices. It will help you understand that there are so many things to consider to prevent exposure. These images can come in through so many devices, websites and mediums. I have tried to explain the most common scenarios. The Checklist is not all inclusive, but I tried to cover the big and most common areas to prevent exposure.
How does the addiction start?
There are many well-meaning parents that have discovered too late that they had an X-box in the basement that had access to the Internet. Parents have been shocked when they found out that their child had stored pornographic images on their smart phone and was looking at them at school. Some parents were surprised at the pornographic images available on Instagram and Facebook. Many families have run into trouble with YouTube. Despite their good intentions, it doesn't take much for your loved ones to get trapped in the path of addiction.
You cannot rely on just a Web Filter.
I love the OPEN DNS web filter. Check out my tutorial Here. However, there are so many other ways that this content can come into your home. YouTube is a HUGE problem with kids. There is not a setting or filter that will protect your kids on YouTube. You need to develop a strategy for your family to protect you from these sites that may have a lot of great value and content but also contain pornographic images and videos.
You need to be Vigilant.
Every couple of months there is a new social media trend which pulls millions of teenagers to their sites. SnapChat (You can read my post about SnapChat here), AskFM are all social media sites that may not encourage the best behavior in your kids. Actually, they are promotion tools for sexting and sending inappropriate material thinking it is without consequences because it is not “stored” on their mobile device.
Kids are trying to avoid their parents on Facebook. As long as they can have enough fun on Twitter and Instagram, they will stay there. Once their parents join those networks, there are plenty of social media developers that will provide a place for Teenagers to meet and interact. Sad to say, sometimes they play on a teenagers' base desires to attract a new crowd. You need to be involved in their digital life. In order to do so, you need to …
You need to do Something about it!
Sometimes it's difficult to know where to start. There are so many things to consider! How can you tackle the WHOLE Internet for the safety of your family by yourself?! You are not alone. I am here to help you. I have developed a risk-based program to get your family safe online. Checklists are a good start, but are not customized to your family or situation. I have been working in the Information Security field for over 10 years and helped companies and banks be more secure. Here is my LinkedIn profile. I'm legit and I can help YOU!
Find out more about my Individual Internet Safety Guide. Every situation is different. The way and devices you use to access the Internet is different. By choosing this service, I can help you on a concrete path to protect your family and loved ones on the Internet.
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