Pornography On The Internet example essay topic

Internet Pornography: Are Children at Risk? Are your children exposed to pornography on the internet? In a recent survey, one in four kids reported having at least one unwanted exposure to sexually explicit pictures during the past year, and one out of five reported receiving sexual solicitation. From the classroom to the courtroom, there is much debate over how best to safeguard children from sexually explicit material on the web. Adult oriented sites make up less that 2 percent of all content on the World Wide Web, according to an article in the journal Nature. Although such material exists in magazines, television, movies, and billboards, pornography on the Web is much more accessible to children.

Even the most graphic image can find its way onto a child's screen without being actively sought out. Most public debates surrounding this issue are focused on the adult industry which generates about $1 billion dollars in revenue each year from adults who pay to view content. About 100,000 of these sites are supported by U.S. based businesses and about 400,000 are supported globally. The impact of exposure to pornographic material on children is misunderstood because of the ethical and legal barriers to conducting related research.

A recent survey states that parents generally agree that the Internet is a good tool for children, but they are also concerned and worried about what children might read or see online. There is no technological "quick-fix" to protect kids from online pornography. Technologies such as filters can be helpful, but they are not as affective as they used to be due to the growing diversity of channels through which children may be exposed to inappropriate content. However, filters can be a highly effective, but they also block the vast amount of educational content because it contains words or phrases that are associated with pornographic content. One essential element in protecting children on the Internet that is largely ignored is the promotion of social and educational strategies that teach children to make wise choices about using the Internet. In traditional areas such as books, films, and standard retail outlets, society has limited the access of children to the sexually explicit material without restricting the constitutional rights of adults.

Overall there has been a lot of action taken in order to prevent children from viewing pornography on the Internet, but there is still a lot to be done to totally stop children from viewing pornography. Pornography will always be out there. We will not be able to totally remove it from society but we will eventually be able to control who gets to see it.