Coming Soon - Dear Parents

For various reasons, I've discovered that there are real, physical dangers in today's internet pornography. As a parent, I realized that no number of firewalls, amount of content filtering, or advancement of technology was going to shield my kids from the insidious porn and porn-adjacent content that pervades not just the dark corners but the main boulevards of social media and the internet at large. Facing this reality, I was left with two options - ignore it and hope that my kids would survive or step up and educate myself so I can be a resource for them. The more I learn about brain science, development, societal influences, etc. the more I feel compelled to share with other parents and caregivers who, like the me of a few short months ago, aren't even considering porn in the scope of things we need to confront with and for our children. The goal of the posts that follow is to shine a light on a topic that thrives in secrecy and isolation. I don't know if anything I say will have a positive impact, but I know I can't be silent in the face of such a threat. If I've already convinced you to learn more, check out the resources below as a great place to start.

Fight the New Drug - perhaps the premier resource. A non-religious, non-legislative organization that uses scientific studies and personal accounts to help educate people on the true risks and dangers of pornography and porn culture.
Defend Young Minds - an excellent resource especially when relating to younger children.

Maybe there's a little Toad in all of us...

... or maybe just me. I read this line from "Wind in the Willows" and it made me think of myself.
"and Toad, with no one to check his statements or to criticise in an unfriendly spirit, rather let himself go. Indeed, much that he related belonged more properly to the category of what-might-have-happened-had-I-only-thought-of-it-in time-instead-of-ten-minutes-afterwards. Those are always the best and the raciest adventures; and why should they not be truly ours, as much as the somewhat inadequate things that really come off?"

And if you know me, you know it's true.

Tivo and evils of our time...

So it just occurred to me that Tivo (and other DVRs, I dont' discriminate) aren't what they appear to be. Not at all. They're supposed to be these great convenience devices. They're supposed to make entertainment fit *my* busy schedule. In fact, most of them offer this great service at a premium, some kind of subscription charge for the flexibility in entertainment that we all crave. But here's the kicker - I've got a busy schedule. We all do, don't we? Between work and chores and social engagements, we really don't have a lot of downtime. There's a reason we don't watch The Good Wife or Lost or American Idol during its scheduled slot. It's because we've got other priorities. So we let Tivo record all the shows that we can't watch. And then those shows sit in our Now Playing list. And we'd better watch them, if we don't then what's the point of having the Tivo at all? Why are we paying for it if we're not going to use it? So this leads us to the Catch-22 where we need more time to watch all of our recorded programs and we need to record more programs because we don't have time to watch them in the first place. Break the cycle. Shoot your Tivo!