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As they get older, kids need independence, and parents need the peace of mind that comes with knowing their kids are safe. How do parents know when or if to give their kid a smartphone in this porn-saturated, social media-obsessed world?
The truth is, many really aren’t sure. And this is for good reason, because parents have to balance navigating the social pressures of this digital age with focusing on the safety and health of their child. Smartphones that have access to the internet also have access to unlimited adult content, habit-forming games and social platforms, and even online child predators.
But what if parents didn’t have to choose between online safety and being able to communicate remotely with their kid? What if their first phone could be a safer phone?
Our affiliates at Gabb Wireless offer a solution to the problem of giving kids a way to connect without all the unnecessary extras. Just watch this recent video from them:
Gabb created a phone to give parents the best of both worlds: A phone with everything a kid needs with none of the stuff they don’t.
On Gabb phones, there’s no internet, no social media, no games, and no worries. But what a Gabb phone has is all the essentials for a child to be productive and connected in the best ways: unlimited talk and text, fingerprint ID for phone security, “Find my Gabb” GPS, 8MP camera, bluetooth for music, a calendar, and a calculator.
But how would this “smart for kids” phone work? Gabb explains their innovative product in this video:
Gabb says that with their product, “kids get a first phone they are excited about and parents can communicate without worrying about untethered access to the internet, pop-up pornography, social media pressure, online bullying, academic distraction, and cell phone addiction.”
They’re hopeful their version of a smartphone will give parents the peace of mind they deserve.
If you’re interested in a phone from Gabb Wireless, use code FTND to get $30 off your Gabb phone purchase.
Related: What Devices Do Consumers Use To Watch Porn?
Smartphones rule the porn scene
The reality is, if our generation and the next are watching porn, they’re probably searching it out on their smartphones.
It’s infamously difficult to get stats and numbers that detail how the porn industry reaches its consumers, so the best place we have to see the state of business is from porn site reporting their own stats. Are these numbers to be trusted? Frankly, we’re not convinced they can be, so we take this data with a grain of salt while also recognizing that porn truly is one of the biggest issues our generation is facing.
To understand how the industry is reaching consumers and what programs and devices the average consumer uses to access the free, most hardcore content on the planet, let’s dive into the stats shared in Pornhub’s latest “tech review” stats released on their insights page in April 2021.
Over the last several years, according to their data, phones and tablets have become the most popular way to access the massive porn site. In fact, since 2019, there has been a nearly 5% increase in consumers accessing Pornhub through their smartphone.
Take a look for yourself, over 80% of traffic to the platform uses devices other than computers and laptops:
Image credit to Pornhub Insights
These stats are very telling. Technology has changed not only the content of porn, but also how, when, and at what age they consume it.
Young adults are all presented with the issue of today’s porn, and according to a nationally representative survey of teens, 84.4% of 14 to 18-year-old boys and 57% of 14 to 18-year-old girls have viewed pornography, and many are watching it on devices they have with them 24 hours a day on their person.
Based on available data, the likely age of a child’s first exposure to porn is around tween years. The majority of kids are exposed to porn by age 13, with some exposed as young as seven, according to a 2020 survey.British Board of Film Classification. (2020). Young people, pornography & age-verification. BBFCCopy
Related: How Early Porn Exposure Traumatizes Boys And Fuels An Unhealthy Perception Of Masculinity
The argument that porn “is nothing new”—that it’s been around forever and never caused any great harm—seems pretty silly when you think about how different today’s porn is from anything that existed before. The Playboy generation is now dealing with the Pornhub generation, and it’s a completely different world.
Porn is incomparably more accessible, more available, more affordable, and more extreme than anything that existed even a generation ago. Those centerfold magazines that were passed around among youth in previous generations were nothing compared to what youth the same age have access to today, and the impacts of looking today go far beyond just hoping your parents don’t find out what you’ve seen.
What did we learn?
It’s all too clear that porn is more accessible, more common, and more mainstream than ever before, and there’s no real end in sight. It’s changing the way kids grow up and challenging the way caretakers parent. So what are we going to do about it?
Related: 9 Serious Issues Porn Culture Fuels In High Schools
Fortunately for us, information about the harmful effects of porn has also never been more accessible or mainstream than ever before. So while people are logging on to porn sites and adding daily to their massive stats and using various operating systems and devices, we’ll continue sharing the facts and raising awareness that porn is anything but harmless entertainment. And judging by the hundreds of thousands of messages we’ve received over the years, and the more than 6 million worldwide followers we have, this movement for real love has already made a huge impact in changing the conversation around this issue.
Soon enough, our society will be less interested in the most degrading and humiliating content possible, and more invested in real relationships. It’s only a matter of time. You with us?
