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Far Too Easy
One Family's Brush With the Internet's Dark Side
By Maggie Roe
My best friend, after some difficulty trying to get the words out, turned to me and sighed. "Maggie? It's Jack. He did something with Matthew."
"What?" My heart and stomach rolled in unison.
"He showed him some Internet porn, and then they thought they'd check each other out at your house."
My assumption that my kids were OK was gone forever.
Pornography is entering our households and infiltrating our children's minds at an alarming rate. The method that introduced our 10-year-old son to this filth was Yahoo instant messenger. He signed up in April because he felt left out when his sister talked to her friends online, and he wanted to annoy them. Within a few days, he was sent a media link from a stranger with the message, "Take a look." Naturally inquisitive, he found his eyes popping out at images of a girl and guy involved in "the act."
Of course, he had to tell his 8-year-old best friend about it too. Neither boy had been taught the facts of life. The 8-year-old ended up having nightmares, partly from the shame and guilt of keeping such a thing a secret from his mother. Our son had begun acting more rebelliously and had begun the habit of awakening earlier than everyone else simply to look for some more of the same. Now it was June, and his friend had ratted him out. It was a relief for our child to repent and to know that we would protect him from finding more.
We had always thought the Internet filter was on. It wasn't. My husband must have switched it off for something and forgotten to turn it back on. We thought he would be safe on the computer, as it has always been in the most used room of the house. We thought