Discussion: Internet Safety #4

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2014-03-11T13:40:46-06:00

OK, the last few topics for us to discuss! BTW, notice that as yet we have not talked at great length about online pornography. This is not because I don't think it is a problem. In fact, I think it's one of the more serious problems afflicting modern society. However, I know you have probably already heard and learned about pornography to a great detail from our church leaders, and I can't really add to what they have said other than confirm that it is a very serious problem that begins typically around age 7, when youth are first exposed to it. And it's afflicting more and more women as well as men. My advice for that is the same as those from our church leaders: Install filters (filters like OpenDNS filter at the router level, filtering for all web-enabled devices), guard yourself, and don't let it begin and don't give it an inch, because the habit will grow. Also, consider that pornography doesn't have to always be visual, but can also be text that creates similar illusory feelings that imitate proper marital feelings. It also doesn't have to be creepy stuff on the Internet, accessed late at night as you always see in the Mormon Messages videos. It can be in plain daylight in the movies you choose to see. So just be careful. Remember the 13th Article of Faith. We seek after uplifting things.

That being said, it is important for us to talk about some of your legal responsibility regarding sexting and child pornography, which is the emphasis of this great presentation from Wendy.

Sexting

Additional Links (for those who would like further information):

U.S. Sexting Law and Regulations by State: http://mobilemediaguard.com/state_main.html

Legal Analysis and Advice for Teachers and Administrators: http://www.nsba.org/SchoolLaw/Issues/Technology/IA-Feb-10.pdf

OK, on to Internet Security and Cyberbullying, which is related to sexting in many ways, in this presentation! Please view and then there are a couple of questions to respond to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDUXEFh5yg8

If you would like to read a little more about what I think are some guidelines for helping us all be more civil online, here's a link to an article I wrote for the McKay Alumni magazine on this topic.

Virtual vs. Real Life
And last, but certainly not least, I would like to end by talking about Virtual vs. Real Life. I think one of the greatest challenges of our times will be understanding how to not let virtual reality overtake our desire to engage fully in Real Life! Pornography, in a sense, is exactly this: trying to imitate real love with virtual lust. But it manifests itself in other ways too, as people talk more to their virtual friends sometimes than their real ones. They play virtual sports more than actually getting out and exercising. They find entertainment in the Web instead of doing real things that have value. And so on. This isn't bad, but it is addicting, and can overtake us if we aren't careful. I think Elder Bednar's talk on Things as They Really Are is exactly spot-on. You're familiar with it, but I would recommend re-reading it every year. We do in my family with my kids. Here's a snippet to remind us:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CstRqAlAZf0

This can be harder than you might think. It might be easy to say "Kids shouldn't play video games! They shouldn't have web-enabled devices! They shouldn't do X, Y, and Z!" but it is the life and society we have, and these technologies are not going away. So finding the balance is something that I think we all struggle with. I think teaching kids to be aware of the need for this balance and the need to value real-life interaction is very, very important.

Discussion

How can you prepare to prevent and respond to the issues of cyberbullying and sexting? Also, please feel free to share any other questions you have.