Porn Sites And Social Networking Access Of Minors And Online Restriction

Allowing a minor to have access to pornography is considered taboo in every culture and its effects to children need not be debated. The issue now is that there are thousands of free porn sites on the web, which can be accessed by anyone in the world as long as there is a decent internet connection. Moreover, it is not uncommon for a minor now to have their own computer in their private room. No matter how the parents supervise their children, free websites are luring these minors to have access to pornography. Clearly, restrictions of minor’s access to porn sites are neglected. Minors can legally be accommodated in social networking site, too. It may seem innocuous but its potential risks must not be undermined. Facebook, the top social networking of today, legally allows as young as 13-year-olds to be a member. In 2009, 37 percent of home internet users were reported to be aged between five and seven visited the Facebook (Deibert, Palfrey, Rohozinski, & Jonathan, 2008). In 2010, a 14-year-old Covina boy in Los Angeles County was molested by a 47-year-old man, Achilles Corelleone, whom he met through a social networking website Myspace.com (Fishman, 2010). The government, parents, and every citizen must stop this child abuse caused by social networking. In the first place, minors should not be allowed to become members of social networking sites. These minors must spend more of their time studying. Social networking sites must upgrade their age limit policies in a way that minors cannot break in (Torres, 2011). This is also the issue when it comes to porn sites. At least forty states worldwide use internet filtering along with related internet content control mechanisms. But no matter how many internet filtering softwares are developed, porn site developers still know better. Restrictions to social networking companies and legal porn sites must then be raised to a higher level. The onus is often thrown to parents when it comes to the supervision of their children. Parents, however, cannot set up 24/7 surveillance camera to monitor their children. International laws on porn sites and social networking sites must be upgraded. Minors must be denied access not only to porn sites but to social networking sites as well. Punishments for porn sites that allow easy access to minors must be given lifetime imprisonment. This is not merely an issue of morality. This is an issue of protecting every child in this highly technologized world. References: Deibert, Ronald J., Palfrey, John G. Rohozinski, Rafal, and Zittrain, Jonathan “Access Denied: The Practice and Policy of Global Internet Filtering.” 29 July 2008 Fishman, Laura. “Molestation Case Raises Concerns Over Social Networking” The Los Angeles Criminal Law Blog 9 Feb. 2010 Edwin, Torres. “Internet Safety: Ten Things Parents Should Know Before Letting Their Child Go on Facebook” Yahoo! News 6 May 2011