Grrr. Hamsters ate my post. Twice. Trying again…
I’m 39 and the father of two kids ages 5 and 6. I’m not offended by porn, but I do want to make sure that my kids only experience stuff they’re prepared to understand. While they may be able to understand some porn when they are 14, they’re sure not prepared for it now.
In my opinion, access is way up, which is not a bad thing. The problem, to the extent that there is one, is that exposure is way up as well. The perception that the big bad Internet is waiting out there trying to stuff porn into your inbox is not without some merit. The Internet itself doesn’t give a crap, but some porn site operators spam indiscriminately, or purchase keywords that overlap with non-porn searches. The result is that even those who weren’t looking for porn are being exposed to it.
I have no problem with teens finding porn online. I’ll be talking to my kids about what they do with the Internet and what they see there, of course – that’s part of parenting.
I do have a problem with the fact that, if they get an email address, the chances that they’ll start getting offers for Hot Mature XXX and Naughty Cheerleaders are pretty good. They’re just not ready for that, and won’t be for years.