Moms, are you aware of your kids’ activity whenever they go online? You should be, because, child pornography is among the fastest growing internet business today.
“Though many nations have laws that forbid child pornography, there are also many nations that do not, and indeed, in some nations, child pornography is legal,” Dr. John DeGarmo, author and foster parent for 13 years, says in his Huffington Post report.
He adds: “Child pornography has found a welcome home on the internet, and is in truth a multi-billion-dollar online industry, with over 100,000 sites dedicated to the crime, and is one of the fastest growing online businesses.”
In the digital age in which we now find ourselves, we live in a world without borders: we could be anywhere without leaving the comfort of our own homes, send millions of information at the speed of light, and give birth to new opportunities that weren’t before there.
But it could also be detrimental to the safety of our family and the values we want to instill in them. What’s more is that the minds of young ones are incredibly malleable: they are the most susceptible to deceit and wrongthink.
“With computer and online technology, pedophiles are able to gain access to a vast number of child pornography images, all from instantly clicking a button,” Dr. John DeGarmo also says. “In addition, this access can be done in a secretive and private fashion, and can be directed to others in an inexpensive fashion, through emails, social networking, websites, and downloading.”
Thankfully there are ways we can combat the negative side of the digital age, such as keeping the parent-child communication lines open. We should always be accommodating of our kids’ never-ending questions, as frustrating as they might be (a feat which is admittedly tough to bear at times).
Not only that. We should be able to give them a good enough answer—or they will look for it elsewhere.
Technology can also be our ally in this: the parental controls feature is now built-in in almost all internet browsers and operating systems. Basically it is a feature which lets us track our kids’ internet activity, as well as restrict certain sensitive material from showing up.
Want to learn more on how to help ensure your family's safety? Here are further readings.
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