With our children off to college and gap years, and my constant motherly concern regarding the amount of leisure time spent with their faces in their phones, and my burgeoning fear of where they are going on the internet with their smartphones, I undertook an experiment which left me frightened, embarrassed and nauseous. I endeavored to see how easy it is to access inappropriate sites with an unfiltered phone. To my naive surprise, I discovered that all it took was a few Google search words, and a testament that I was over 18 (no one checking driver’s license). A plethora of prurient activities, endless scenarios and (again, my naivete) shocking visuals was available for free! I had thought that for such “entertainment” one would be expected to pay a price, hoping that our children would be required to use a credit card which would be monitored by a parent (we probably monitor our money more than our children’s phone activity). But no, just a few clicks can open the world of smut to our children’s unsullied minds.

I only lingered on a site for a few seconds, but I was bombarded with requests for personal connection and opportunities to pay for additional goods and “services.” The personal connection part was the scariest, since it could lead to (Heaven forfend) luring a child to greater danger. There is the further concern that the unsavory characters lurking around these sites may somehow insert a virus or worse into the phone’s software.

Please, please make sure your children have filtered or adult supervision software installed on their phones and the computers they have access to. It is unrealistic to expect that they do not have smartphones when all their friends do, but do not rely on the fact that your kid is a “good kid and knows not to go there.” I was once researching a paper for an art history class and accidentally stumbled upon a site that immediately warned me that it was “the dirtiest, smuttiest XXX site on the internet” and I had to be 18 to access it. Apparently it was a porn site that mimicked the style of the artist I was researching. I was so shocked and alarmed that I pulled the plug on my computer, not wanting it to even show up on my browser history (I don’t know why I thought that would help, but like I said, shock!).

This is just an example of how innocently one can chance upon an inappropriate site. It can happen to our kids, and curiosity could compel them to hit the “Are you over 18?” button. You may be reading this and thinking “Duh!” but I cannot be the only naive person out there. Some of us have had pretty sheltered upbringings, and until one is made aware of the morass of swirling snakes in the sewer of prurience that is available, the emergency is remote. I was left sickened, embarrassed and alarmed by my experience, but I feel that if someone heeds my call, it will have been worth it.

Name Withheld Upon Request