<p>You guys talk about porn like its the only source to choose from if a boy feels like havin a little fun with himself. You seem to be forgetting the extremely attractive girl with the mini skirt in school, or the actress in a skimpy outfit in the latest Charlie’s Angels film; all nicely accessible in short term memory for those late nights in bed.</p>
<p>Sailaway,</p>
<p>Peeking at porn might be the least of your troubles.</p>
<p>“We’ve gotten to a point where, statistically, virtually all of the spyware that you get is being planted onto a system by browsing the Web,” says David Perry, global education director for security vendor Trend Micro. “The most available Web sites to undertake this kind of thing are those Web sites that are willing to do anything to make a buck off of you. And those have a tendency to be pornography and gambling sites.”
When users browse such sites, they wind up silently installing adware, keystroke loggers, Trojans and other nefarious programs. A person browsing pornographic Web sites from an unprotected machine could pick up 50 or 60 pieces of spyware in just 30 minutes, Perry says."</p>
<p>[Porn</a> sites and spyware go hand in hand on the Web - Network World](<a href=“http://www.networkworld.com/news/2005/110705widernet.html]Porn”>http://www.networkworld.com/news/2005/110705widernet.html)</p>
<p>Fwiw- Even a protected machine can get infected.</p>
<p>Mafool said:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The obvious “ergo” to your argument is: Lesbian and gay pornography is acceptable or at least less objectionable. </p>
<p>Wow.</p>
<p>I hated that my son, at 16 also visited some of these sites. However, when discovered, I just told him that I objected because I did not think it was victimless, and did not want him to think he can treat women that way. However, I also felt I should explain it was normal curiousity, but that I expected he should outgrow it.</p>
<p>That being said, it is so true that these young men are being inundated with sexual images everywhere they go…even at home–have you watched soaps lately? Or evening news with shots of Brittany Spears getting out of her car? And yes, definitely at school. Personally, I think our society is losing all sense of decency and boundaries. My son has his own laptop, and at 19 and at college, I cannot, and at that age would not put restrictions on his computer. We can only hope that what we taught them over the years sinks in.</p>
<p>[One of the first novels I read that wasn’t one of the Little House in the Big Woods books](<a href=“http://www.bookpage.com/9710bp/fiction/valleyofdolls.html”>Book review of A Ballad of Love and Glory by Reyna Grande)
I think I was 11.</p>
<p>A lowbrow society is hardly a new thing.
But kids pay much more attention to what is learnt in the home than many realize- if the structure is there, they will use those tools to help them make good decisions.
Some of them have to throw out the book first though.</p>
<p>toblin-</p>
<p>I do not intend to deal with the entirety of porn in my comments about the objectification of women. I suspect, however, that female/female porn is produced primarily for the enjoyment of men.</p>
<p>I mean only to comment on the difficulty of raising sons who do not objectify women in a culture where such objectification surrounds us all.</p>
<p>My very strong preference is that no one be objectified.</p>
<p>emeraldkity-</p>
<p>we actually agree, and I read the same book at a very early age. My point, earlier, was that it used to be easier to distinguish between external “low brow” culture and our family’s norms than it may be now that parents are actually paying for the the porn conduit. Perhaps the distinction is not significant; I certainly have no proof, but I feel that it is.</p>
<p>“Erewhon, if you add ad-aware, mcafee, or norton and spybot, you shouln’t have a problem.|”</p>
<p>Not necessarily. A trojan, etc., can be so new the anti spyware programs haven’t updated their defense. There is a lag time. And if an individual hasn’t updated their anti-spyware programs, a new nefarious bug can easily affect a computer</p>
<p>trojans, spyware, etc., can infect your computer regardless of what internet websites you peruse. it is not limited to porn or gambling. it can come from email, a link from a google search, a download, etc. it’s not just going onto *pornographic *websites that increase your chances of getting malware–it’s using the internet in general that does.</p>
<p>Related article on cyber snooping in The NY Times today:
<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/16/opinion/16coben.html[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/16/opinion/16coben.html</a></p>
<p>
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<p>This forum is so full of nannies that to want so desperately to protect their “pure little babies” from everything, it seems. I’m glad my parents weren’t like this. </p>
<p>And, as with every generation of mothers, most here seem to think society’s going to hell in a handbasket and that the end is near. Get off your self-righteous high horses. Your plight is not unique or distinctive. This new generation of hardcore-porn watching people will be saying the same thing when they find their kids doing something: “I mean, we had hardcore porn in my day, but NOTHING like this ______”</p>
<p>^XD I couldn’t agree more.</p>
<p>I haven’t read all the posts, but I think you should consult your husband for advice and tell him to tell your son that porn is unacceptable.</p>
<p>i want one of those old school, early-twentieth century ‘dirty magazines’. You know, the ones with stuff you’d find in a 1970s Sears catalog. </p>
<p>haven’t we come a long way. avert your eyes, child–her kneecaps are visible!</p>
<p>oh, the depravity.</p>
<p>Post #16 mafool:
“The objectification of women is separate from the the fact that the “actresses” chose to be there. The objectification is the entire point of most porn: the notion that the women are there for the purpose of fulfilling the desires of men.”</p>
<p>I call B.S. on this. It’s an antiquated notion that sex is a one way street, with the man getting the most fulfillment.(quite the opposite, in fact) How difficult is it to accept that women enter the adult film industry for similar reasons as men? Actresses actually have all of the star-power, fame, and make far more money than male porn stars. </p>
<p>Isn’t being objectified relative as well? </p>
<p>What about other types of porn genres where men are objectified?(S and M)</p>
<p>Why not say that porn inherently objectifies the act of sex for both males and females, with some types leaning towards one or the other? Either way, porn by its very nature makes sex a trivial past time, and thus objectifies the participants as mere “actors” in a rouse.</p>
<p>I am not making myself clear.</p>
<p>Regardless of whether the women in the films are having the times of their lives or not, usually, the purpose of the porn is to foster in the male viewers the objectification of the women portrayed in the films. </p>
<p>Yes. Objectification can happen both ways, and I deplore that, as well.</p>
<p>The point I was making and continue to stand by relates to the porn that plays into the societal objectification of women. I am NOT talking about the actors. I AM talking about attitudes.</p>
<p>If I have not yet made myself clear on this, or if anyone chooses to ignore my statements and attribute attitudes to me that I have not stated, I guess that’s that.</p>
<p>^Let me counter with this, then.</p>
<p>I know that several of my guy friends have looked at porn at least once in their lives, and I KNOW it’s a habit for some of them. But they still treat women with respect. Why? because they separate truth from the way porn portrays things. They understand that it’s not okay to have sex with a woman just because they can, and that women are not just there for sexual pleasure (well, most guys…but there are going to be guys that think that with or without porn. We call them chauvinists).</p>
<p>I find this kinda similar to parents getting upset with their kids reading Harry Potter. Do we wish Hogwarts was real? Heck yes! But we know it’s not, and we’re not going to go out and buy a broomstick and jump off our house to try and fly, just because it was in a book.</p>
<p>Along that same line: do most people wish sex was that exciting? Most likely. And some of them probably try to make it so. But for most people, I think it’s just a way to get quick sexual gratification and harmless (unless, as I said earlier, it becomes an addiction).</p>
<p>But their subconscience is influenced by the porn, and as much as they try to separate their thoughts from their actions, their mentality will still be shaped by it. This mentality is the foundation of sexism. I’m not suggesting that he stop watching porn… there’s porn out there where both parties are in equal control.</p>
<p>HisGraceFillsMe,</p>
<p>I feel that it is complicated enough for a young person to figure all out this emotional/hormonal/social stuff without the addition of porn.</p>
<p>Do I think that our son has not seen porn? No. I’m sure he has. But, I felt I should convey to him our values regarding sex, respect, etc., and that included not viewing porn on our computer in our home. </p>
<p>I don’t see why parents who decline to pay for their kids’ porn (by supplying the hardware and the internet connection) are stirring up such a reaction.</p>
<p>Oh, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with what you did. 
It’s perfectly within your rights as a parent, and I know my parents feel the same way.</p>
<p>And I do agree that being a teenager is complicated…but I just feel that it’s not necessarily the evil thing you’re making it out to be. I mean I don’t think it’s wonderful…but I do think it’s normal for teenagers to be curious about these things and to look at porn a little.</p>