Monday, September 24th 2007
Rheingold Tells Parents to Talk to Children Rather Than Censor Them Online
The internet is a wonderful place, especially when you consider that at least 60% of it is of a pornographic nature. Most parents, not wanting their children to be jaded by the porn, decided to install web filters to eliminate all but the sneakiest porn. However, Rheinegold, the author of The Virtual Community, thinks that this is not the best approach. He tells a compulsive community of people who devote all their time and money to sheltering their children that the best protection against the evils of the internet is not to eliminate it. Instead, he says, parents need to talk to children about what they can see online, and take an active role in their online habits. Censoring kids from the real world does more than leave these kids unprepared for the barrage they will face when their parental protection is relinquished. Censoring these children form the real world also puts them in a bad relationship with their parents.
Source:
SMH
11 Comments on Rheingold Tells Parents to Talk to Children Rather Than Censor Them Online
You're objectifying women (or men-ewww!) and in doing so, reducing them to less-than-humans.
Think of it this way: Every woman you see in porn IS someone's daughter (they didn't "harvest" her from the Porn-Chick farm-although it sometimes LOOKS like it:rolleyes:). What if she were YOUR daughter and you knew what men were thinking about when they looked at her.
Now, we are all God's children. How do you think He feels about what you are doing and, in turn, promoting (they aren't going to make more porn if there is noone to watch it). The human psyche and body, upon repetative exposure, loses sensitivity to the subject. It, in turn, becomes less of a "big deal". You move on to (stronger/weirder/darker) things that give you the feeling you had the "first" time you experienced this (cigarettes->weed, beer->booze, Victoria's Secret catalogs->porn:rolleyes:, etc.). It is the classic pattern of addiction.
We all have an inner knowledge of what is "right" and "good". When we do things that we know are bad, there is always some shame. Shame separates us from others, be it friends, lovers, parents or God.(Sounds like Yoda in Phantom Menace when he explains to Anakin:
Yoda: How feel you?
Anakin: Cold, sir.
Yoda: Afraid are you?
Anakin: No, sir.
Yoda: See through you we can.
Mace Windu: Be mindful of your feelings.
Ki-Adi-Mundi: Your thoughts dwell on your mother.
Anakin: I miss her.
Yoda: Afraid to lose her I think, hmm?
Anakin: What has that got to do with anything?
Yoda: Everything! Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. I sense much fear in you.
Now replace "fear" with "shame", "anger" with "loneliness" and "hate" with "darkness". YOu get the idea....
But there is good news. You don't have to live in shame. Ask for forgiveness, turn from the things you know you shouldn't do and ask the Lord to take over your life. Very simple, very easy.
Using filters may help to stop some unsavoury sites,but you still have to prepare for the worst case scenario and how do you prepare kids for this.Do you stop them using the internet until a certain age? Or watch them 24/7 online?Or teach them about porn from 10 years old?Agreed but that is where the sense of right and wrong that was instilled in your youth should help.Also everyone rebels a little bit,I know I did,I think that is just human nature.
To the second point. Hey man, they don't call it "forbidden fruit" for nuthin'!
Only by teaching younger kids can you keep them on the "straight and narrow".
It's refreshing to see some goodness in such a debauched world.:)
regarding censorship and kids these days..its the parents who stopped parenting and started letting TV shows, movies and games, etc do the parenting. now they are reaping what they sow.