Safeguard the Web for Children
I came across this movement to call upon providers of adult content on the web to password-protect their sites to reduce traffic from children from the thinking blog and eastcoastlife. It’s a cause worth supporting and I’m lending my support to this cause. To quote from the Blogger Power site:
Let’s take a look at the statistics (according to Jerry Ropelato, CEO of Top10 Reviews):
- 4.2 million pornography sites – 12% of all sites on the worldwide web
- 2.5 billion pornographic emails sent daily – 8% of all email
- Pornography is a $57 billion industry worldwide
- Men admitting to accessing pornography at work – 20%
- US adults who visit Internet pornography websites regularly – 40 million (!)
- Adults admitting Internet sexual addiction – 10%
- Breakdown of male/female visitors to pornography sites – 72% male, 28% female
So pornography is indeed pervasive in our adult culture. But the real tragedy is that porn is increasingly pervasive in children’s lives:
- Average age of first Internet exposure to pornography: 11 years old
- Largest consumer group for Internet pornography: 12-17 year olds
- 15-17 year olds having multiple hard-core exposures: 80%
- 8-16 year olds having viewed porn online – 90% (most while doing homework)
The idea of this call is for webmasters to:
Please require a password-protected login before allowing even free access to explicit adult content. We understand that selling porn is your business and we respect your right to make a legal living. But understand our legitimate concerns and work with us. You already have the “warning adult content” on your websites. Yet kids, who are not legal customers of your product, ignore the warning. So to prevent them from having direct access to explicit images, texts and sounds, the simplest way is to have a password-protected login. No more “free tours” before a visitor supplies basic information.
I have a 6-year-old child who is starting to use the internet. Right now, he will use it under supervision but sooner or later he will start using it himself. For young, impressionable minds, control is still necessary to prevent exposure to pornography. Stumbling across adult sites is quite easy, as anyone using the net will know. Also, there are spam mail that invite users to go to adult sites. Requiring a password to enter adult sites should not deter adults who want access to the sites but will be helpful to prevent children who are exploring the web.
If you share the same sentiments, please go to the Power Blogger site to support this cause. You can find the link on the sidebar as well from now on.
Update : Happysurfer is supporting the effort, here.
Thanks Doc for your support and for linking me! hehe…….
With few laws governing the internet, it’s difficult to regulate, but I think the ISPs could do more if they tried.
eastcoastlife, it’s a good cause.
Capt Picard, i’m sure they can. What about programs we install on our client side. Do they work?
i also came across this today…more than 1/3 of kids under 13 watch porn. we need to do something about it
http://fly2.ws/boys-view-porn
Joysie, thanks for sharing the link. You can put this appeal on your blog too if you have one.
Good cause and I’ve blogged about it and linked you.
Best wishes for a Happy and Healthy Chinese New Year.
Happy, thanks for your support … and I’ve updated my entry too
Hmm .. I can see where they’re coming from; but I’m not quite sure I agree with the sentiment. Would YOU password-protect your blog to make sure it’s only visible to a closed community? I wouldn’t, and wouldn’t expect other people to do it either.
Let us say, for the sake of argument, a webmaster DID password-protect his/her website; how would he/she know who to give the password to? Would you expect someone wanted access to post them a notarised copy of their birth certificate?
If under-18s want to get onto their website, they will anyway; I remember how ingenious I was as a curious teenager … I prefer focusing on educating my children, rather than trying to keep them in a padded cell to make sure they don’t hurt themselves.
A friend once told me that raising a child is like having a butterfly in your hand. You don’t want to open it, for fear that the beautiful creature will fly away. But if you hold it to tight, and don’t give it enough sunlight, the pretty butterfly will perish and die. Give your kids their due, they are might brighter than you think!
Owen, of course kids are ingenious… and thank God that you educate your children. And don’t ever keep them in a padded cell.
That’s why I would let them roam and look around. It’s the curiosity that makes them explore. So password-protecting is not the complete answer but is just a measure to let kids identify that this is actually not for them. Collecting payment for view is probably a way to prevent unintended explorers from returning to the site. So use of a credit card verification is one way to open the site to intended explorers only.
I hope you understand what I mean.