Bring Back the Monkey
January 25, 2016 | Calvin Bryant
In High School, when we went to blocked internet sites, this little monkey popped up shaking his head "no," telling us we weren't allowed to go there. Usually I was online filtering through music videos, ESPN, or joke websites, but occasionally when I clicked on one of those sites I would "get the monkey."
In today's world, one of the most damaging and relevant things today within the student (and adult) culture is the ability to view free and anonymous pornography. And most times, the monkey probably isn't there to block it. Think it’s too early to talk with your student about pornography? IT’S NOT. According to the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding, “the average age of first exposure to internet pornography is 11.” In case you didn’t get that, the AVERAGE age of first exposure to internet porn is ELEVEN YEARS OLD. ELEVEN is the AVERAGE…meaning many of our kids view it earlier than that. Not in 8th grade. Not in High School. And not college. ELEVEN. For a few brief stats and effects on porn as well as what to do about it, click on the link below.
Discussion Questions with MS students: What's your experience like with this sort of thing? What kinds of things are your friends doing? Have you ever accidentally run into these types of images online? How did you handle it?