Where your children are being exposed to porn, sexuality

Porn and sex are everywhere

Porn and sex are everywhere. It’s displayed publicly on billboards (1). It’s advocated for on news sites (2). But this last one might surprise you. Porn and sex are all over social networking sites like Instagram (3), Pinterest (4), Facebook (5), Twitter (6), and Tumblr (7).

Now many of these sites block explicit content. But just like the billboard, it’s first allowed to exist before it’s removed.

Reacting

Displayed in Time Square, the billboard drew eyes for several hours, exposing tens if not hundreds of thousands to it’s porn promoting message. Now, it was eventually removed due to complaints. But the company behind the ad simply went on to look for other billboards to promote it’s message (8).

The same behavior is seen on social networking sites. Users are enabled to post whatever content they want. It’s dependant upon other users, like you, your spouse, and your children, to first view the sexually explicit content and then report it. Once reported the content is reviewed by employees who ultimately decide what stays and what goes on the site.

Not only does the reviewing process often take time, allowing the images to spread, but it also guarantees that users will first be exposed to sexual content before being removed.

This is why your kids are being exposed to porn and sexuality at what seems to be an earlier and earlier age. The consumer driven world is more than happy to push the sexual envelope, in whatever way possible, even if they get their hand slapped in the process.

And that’s not even the worst of it. Much of what exists on social media sites commonly used by all of us is far worse than the billboard advertisement.

No nipple no problem

Don’t believe me?

Here’s an example of what Instagram allows (Use caution, while it’s not showing any genitals it’s about as close as it gets) view image. Facebook appears to have a similar standard. Pinterest is even worse–whether thats because their response to reporting is extremely slow or they just have a lower standard I don’t know, but you’ll often find posts showing full nudity. Twitter and Tumblr simply allow porn. And in case you’re thinking, “I use those sites all the time, and I never see images like that,” well, there’s a reason for that. But I’ll save that for another blog post.

Protect your loved ones

When it’s midnight, and your teenage son or daughter is exploring Instagram and comes across an image like the one above, they are going to be tempted. Add raging hormones to the mix, and that temptation will be extremely powerful.

Now I’m not encouraging a ban on social media, the news, or being outside. But if we don’t choose to protect our loved ones from the advancing sexual agenda, someone you love will fall victim to it.

The sexual envelope most easily enters your home through smartphones. They can easily be used in private, and in those settings, the temptations that are normally quite easy to ignore can often become too much to bare. That’s where Truple can help. By keeping your family accountable, your loved ones will find added strength to reject those temptations. While it’s not a silver bullet, it is an important step in protecting those we love.

To learn more about Truple and how it could help strengthen your loved ones against porn, sexually suggestive content, and all the other negative stuff on the web visit Truple’s home page.