Online P0rn affecting children ?

Thank you Brit E. Miss mami does have a point.

My point is that children need to be nurtured, monitored AND educated.

Parents should be open and approachable on the subject.

A child should be brought up with the concept that 'coitus' is a regular part of life which is valuable, beautiful, needs to be treated with respect and responsibility and not a tabooed subject at home.

In most cases it's curiosity due to the lack of home support that causes people to initiate their 'internet habits'.

I believe I'm implying that miss mami's point on the environment, that it is the primary focus on a childs view and actions on the subject.

play 'Snakes' ? :(

oh dear, i say u r a great Snake charmer...:)

Don't Hijack :/.

Edit your comment. lol

at my time of teens we used to have Motorolla and then the infamous Nokia 3310. All I used to do play 'Snakes' or use it as a self-defense tool in case of brawl :P

I didnt see online P0rn, i feel like i am still a kid :(

exactly brit...all the more important to instill values in your kids.

Besides, IF a kid really wants to do something, he/she WILL find ways to do it, no matter what.

Therefore it is, IMHO, important to make sure if and when that happens, the kid can handle it properly.

Well said piston..

Monitoring and awareness are the answer. however, as Miss Mimi says, environment can also be a major factor. One other aspect is that especially in the West, where both parents may be working, children spend a lot more time alone or with their peers without supervision.

I have to say though. While I don't agree with the Daily Fail's stance the online porn is turning kids into rapists, and I do believe in absolute freedom of speech and free internet access. A little part of me is glad I'm raising my son here. It's going to be so much easier to keep him away from porn! :P

Excellent topic. Many factors to consider.

One of the main ones being parents giving their 5 year old an iPod, mobile, pc...etc.

I don't believe in filtering. It happens here but for acceptable reasons..or so I shall state here.

Parents should monitor and limit a childs freedom.

It's not the internet that's ruining your kids. It's you!

Your 12 year old doesn't need a smart phone and a full time internet connection.

People should stop blaming the internet. Many of us here have been using it for a considerable amount of time but we didn't turn out to be rapists or sex freaks.

You should teach your kids values. After all the sites in topic don't open themselves and take you kids to them. For such access the childs initiative too is required.

That was a good topic indeed. My parents always have a check on me whenever I use my laptop. Sometimes I hate their check and observation but now I feel that It is very necessary and due to these porn sites and sex promotions the parents have to look after their children. They have to be strict.

Qatar sensor board has made an effort to stop this shit which is appreciated but BB service is still playing its role to ruin the children

This was indeed a topic worth reading.tfs Brit,and thanks to Mis Mimi and all others who commented on it!

Have a good day.

Yes,that indeed is a real challenge Britexpat,We could try Norton Safety Minder,app to keep an eye on what our kids do on their smartphones,Its a new, Mobile Edition app for Android expands the power of Norton Online Family by letting us see all the websites our kids visit or attempt to visit using their smartphones. It will enable web monitoring and blocking of certain sites, social network monitoring, Android smartphone monitoring etc..

Ummm...don't buy it?

Smart phones are an issue. I wonder when they will make filtering apps for them? Because I see the point in kids having a smart phone, some of the apps are great. But perhaps they should make ones were you can disable the browser?

Khanan mind to share the info with me in PM's plz...:)

laptops or desktops are useless if young kids have access to smart phones.

With instant messangers (BBM, Whatsapp, viber) on phone, all kind of material are accessible.

porn is virus in disguise

If your kids know about proxy servers then surely they know about deleting history too, no?

Wow!

A well thought out intelligent discussion on the issue well done QL'ers

Me personally would agree with the majority, it's up to the parents to ensure you kids are protected and educated against these risks.

I personally check regularly the history (once a week)and to ensure what my children accessed and warn them regularly. They are more smarter then us and even Qtel to access through proxy sites........better be alert and protective.

The internet should not be for children.There is no need for them to use it. If its important then you should monitor them while they are using it. They shall never be given laptops unless they turn mature.Moreover mobile phones such as smart phones shall also be restricted. A simple phone with features such as SMS and calls is sufficient enough.

Those were the days when we have to watch TV together as family as there was only 2 or three channels and some come on in the afternoon and would be off air by midnight. :)

Now when you look back. it reminds how our parents did not want us to see kissing scenes to protect us?

and did you closed your eyes UkEng ? :)

As Kids we were told to close our eyes when some one kissed in a movie!

the movies we see these days along with our family and kids has mostly porn in it ! :(

A hero running towards the herione in a garden and suddenly starts kissing, hugging etc. etc and our kids sees all these and obvioulsy their behaviour changes and they do the deep study/research on this subject by exploring various oppourtunities available on the internet using 'Google' option...in the search option type "kiss" or Hug or anything related and u find millions of pics....:)

Very true...it's only in the recent years, what with all the bettering of laws, educational advancements, and introduction of various centers and organizations, that more and more people are having the courage and strength to report crimes, even those that were considered "taboo" and "shameful", in the past.

Does internet porn influence the behavior or are the kids already influenced and that's why they are so hooked on internet porn?

Despite what the Daily Fail would like to believe, there are no easy answers.

However in recent times, porn and internet related evils are now often highlighted to be the cause for the rise in many a social evil, when in actuality porn itself, has been in existence and easily accessible for decades.

And in cases like mentioned in the OP,it's clear that it's not porn in itself that can be blamed, as much as it's the incorrect upbringing of these kids.

Monitoring at home is possible, but with many kids carrying smart phones etc .. It becomes more difficult..

Rikz. Porn is when your corns starts poppin.

wat is Porn ? :(

u mean PopCorn ?

Fatimah I would disagree that there is a rise. Most stats show that there is actually a decline in these types of crimes. And again, sex crimes are very hard to look at, because it's only in the last couple of decades that people have begun coming forward with it.

Having read this and a few other articles, I don't think that "all is being blamed on the internet". What they are saying that internet p0rn does influence the behaviour of some children..

http://www.apa.org/monitor/nov07/webporn.aspx

More than a decade has passed since pornography first became readily available on the Internet, there are still no enforceable laws that require persons who commercially distribute pornography on the Internet to take reasonable steps to restrict children’s access to the material.

I fully agree with MM,as monitoring is the only way to keep our kids away from such filth. We must tell our kids that we will be monitoring their online behavior with them. Just don’t tell when we will monitor, and how often.As the crux of safety is communication, if there is a problem-online or off-our children will be more likely to talk to us about it!

I wish I had you on my high school debating team! In all seriousness there maybe a rise in kids committing sexual crimes, but blaming it all on the internet and porn seems far too condensed a view to have.

just install Net Nanny or similar software!

I am a working mom, and I still moniter my daughter activties on skyp , i share screen with her , and her TV channels. She is not allowed to use laptop in her room, its TV lounge where she is gonna use it.

but my daughter case is slightly different, and the precautions i m taking are slightly different too.

Continuous parental supervision and a good computer monitoring program for your child’s pc is a necessary evil these days.

parenting concern

No I don't Brit, and I think, given the lack of evidence, that that was a rather stupid comment to make. And given that it's in the Daily Fail, I wonder how much it's been misconstrued.

To say that porn leads to a distorted picture of what relationships are, sure, there's evidence to support that, to say that it leads to kids raping each other is HIGHLY simplistic.

Let's look at this: there were 357 arrests of children 18 and under for sexual assault. Now for one lets assume that these are ALL cases of attempted rape, rather than kids getting arrested for sexting, having consensual sex and the parents reporting it as rape, or just parents over-reacting about kids playing doctor.

So, 357 arrests.

There are 13,111,023 under 18 year olds in the Uk.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7575869.stm

I would say at least 95% of them have access to the same porn that those 357 have.

Now, according the NSPCC, nearly a quarter of these 13 million kids have experienced sexual abuse from an adult:

http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/resourcesforprofessionals/sexualabuse/statistics_wda87833.html

Now, one of the main tell tale signs that a child has been sexually abused is:

Displays knowledge or interest in sexual acts inappropriate to his or her age, or even seductive behavior.

http://www.helpguide.org/mental/child_abuse_physical_emotional_sexual_neglect.htm

Now, where does the Daily Mail and this "spokesperson" from the NSPCC get off telling people that kids watching porn will turn them into rapists? The stats don't show that. The facts don't show that.

I do...all the time. Yeah I know I have it easy(as people often point it out to me, when we get on this topic) cos I have just one daughter and I am not a working mom, but I do.

OK.. then here's aquestion..

How many of us on Ql(parents) , monitor / supervise the internet usage of our kid ?

Mind you, Kids in Qatar can watch all the porno they wish to on their BB service.

Filtering is not and never will be a foolproof solution, because those who wish to beat the system will do so with ease. Yes even kids!

The far better solution is that parents/guardians take it upon themselves to "child proof" their environment, be it real world or virtual, as much as possible.

Educating children about sexual related matters should always be the duty of parents', to make sure one's kids get a healthy and informative idea of their sexuality as opposed to the warped,malignant and destructive notions they can gather from corrupt sources. Being shy and awkward will not help in this matter!Teach them not only about the birds and the bees, but the predators and demons too.

And of course you need to constantly monitor your kid's actions and activities. It's becoming far too easy for some folks to make the computer and television their nannies, leaving kids to entertain themselves unattended for hours on end even. This is by far a disaster waiting to happen.

Finally do not overestimate or underestimate kids..ever! And don't judge them by your own character. I know people who have given far too much freedom to their kids to do what they wish with the notion that "I didn't go astray so they won't" or "I am God fearing so they will be ok" BAD IDEA!

Also, before Spock comes on line, I am going to say 'Relevance to Qatar?'

I agree with MM - the parents have responsibility. Parents in the west seem to abnegated all responsibility for disciplining their children and instilling moral values. As for the Daily Mail - just the mention is enough to get me going...... typical DM fodder.

I note DC is also proposing some 'pornography awareness' introductions into schools.

Would you not agree with the NSPCC comment that "there was ‘undoubtedly’ a link between children carrying out sexual assaults and easy access to online pornography, which gives them a ‘distorted picture of what sexual relationships should be about’"

and it was going to happen.

as storm pointed out, no filter works perfectly. you get these spam msgs all across the internet even trusted pages.

Parent should monitor but that too is becoming harder.

Sure. But I'm not the Daily Mail who should be checking their facts and not putting out a misleading opinion.

This article is just fear mongering nonsense designed to sell papers at its best.

The good the bad and the ugly side of Internet!

Are you not doing the same by assuming that some of these were abused at home ?

I agree to Miss Mimi , on the fact that parents should moniter their kids internet activities.

Secondly i dont think any fliter can help to stop pronographic content, as its widely spread , even if I am on Facebook , i recieve an ad daily "try me free" with some really lucrative picture .... I know its spam , but for kids its not and they will definetly click, and same goes for many kids gaming sites , and then windows of infinite porn sites open ....

so their first impression of sexual activity , really can lead to frustration and then abuse... or may be victim

it surly is a parent job to moniter... for me no fliter nothing can work.

Oh the Daily Mail, what is a day without daily mail fear mongering.

While I think the issue is more parents not talking to their children openly and honestly about sex, I do think that porn can effect children if they have access to it to young.

Parents need to monitor their children's internet activity. Full stop.

However, reading the stats in the Daily Mail article, I question how many of those children were being sexually abused in some way at home, and given the more widespread education of children about sexual abuse, are being reported when they abuse a fellow students (something which before was passed off as "playing doctor")

I mean look at this: "The figures, obtained by the Daily Mail under a Freedom of Information request, highlight growing concerns at the influence of online pornography on impressionable young minds."

The figures CAN'T give you an impression of anything, they are just stats. They don't say the reasons why the crimes were committed, that's totally conjecture from the Daily Mail.

Yes, there is no other way than filtering.