Porn Culture: How It is Targeting Our Kids

I’m going to guess that the majority of us don’t give our kids access to a smartphone because we want to protect them from seeing porn. That’s a great first step, but if you’ve noticed lately our society has become hypersexualized. The dangers of pornography has infiltrated into just about everything. What does this mean? In a nutshell, our kids (and even us) are being influenced by porn culture whether they’re looking at porn or not. 

How Porn Culture is Targeting Our Kids

I recently read the article, “10 Ways Porn Culture Will Target Your Kids in 2020 (Be Prepared, Not Scared!)” by Protect Young Minds and found out there are so many more ways kids are being exposed to porn than I thought. In the article, it states children are being exposed through livestream gaming, exploring the dark web, streaming apps like Netflix and Prime, and the porn industry is even rebranding pornography to make the vocabulary more appealing. Articles like this can be tough reads, but what I liked about this one was that it also addresses ways to protect our kids! 

Of the 10 topics, there were a couple that really stood out to me.

Dance Studios

Finally, this is being addressed! After years of attending my daughter’s dance competitions, I have been surprised at some of the costumes little girls are wearing and the choreography that involves sexually overt moves. I guess some people think it’s cute, but I’ve sat there with my hand on my head wondering if I’m the only one that thinks these little bodies are being objectified.

It was interesting to find out that this is a big enough issue across the country that there is a foundation dedicated to speaking out against hypersexualizing children with dance. Mary Bawden, founder of Dance Awareness: No Child Exploited, says she is convinced that pornography is fueling the rise in sexualized dance for kids. Because of this, she encourages parents to be selective with the type of studio they choose. 

“If you want your child in dance in 2020, please thoroughly vet the dance studio you’re considering. Make sure you talk to the instructors about their policy on sexualized dance moves, think of the time and influence those teachers will have on your son or daughter, and make sure you protect your kids from sexual objectification through dance.”

Child Sexual Abuse

I know hearing the truth can be hard when it comes to things like this, but knowledge is power and if we want to really be protectors of our children, we have to be aware of the ugly. According to the article, children who are viewing porn are at greater risk for acting out sexually on other children and that child-to-child sexual abuse is on the rise.

Fortunately, a new study from the University of Melbourne reports that by educating our children on the negative effects of pornography, it can help prevent harmful sexual behavior. As parents and protectors, having this talk with our kids should be at the top of our list! The article states there’s no end in sight for stopping this disturbing trend, so educating our kids is key to protecting them.

These are just a couple of ways our kids are being targeted by porn culture. Knowledge is power and as we come together as concerned parents, we will empower our children and pave the way for them to be agents of change!