Worried about porn in libraries? Do you know what your child is looking at on their phone?
Years ago, a big-box office supply store aired a TV commercial in August advertising its back-to-school sale.
The storyline was of gleeful parents frolicking through the store picking school supplies to the tune of the holiday song “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” while the children stood solemnly glib, eerily reminiscent of the spirits of the two girls in the horror movie “The Shining.”
The message was hilariously clear: Finally! Summer is over, and it’s time to send our kids back to school, and it is OUR turn for a break!
Keep in mind that no advertising agency in their right minds would propose such a comical plot unless they knew that everyone would not only “get it,” but they would also enjoy it, being prompted to load the kiddos into the minivan to buy school supplies.
Thus is the basis for my new thesis: We can complain all we want about the school system failing our kids, but is it the responsibility of the stewards who have custody of kids for the majority of time (i.e. parents and guardians)?
Until a child turns age 18, they will have spent about 34,993 hours at school and 122,454 away from school, which presumably means at home. As a percentage, that’s about 77.8% at home.
I have a question for the parents. It’s summer break, and you will have your kids 24/7 for the next 10 weeks. What are you going to do with them? Most kids do not have the discipline to exercise regularly, if any at all, manage sleep, eat well and to regulate the amount of time they spend on their devices doing God knows what.
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Here’s an eye-opening example of the destructive force of a smartphone ― something that I have not seen mentioned among the experts. Do you recall all the hubbub about pornography in public school libraries?
I challenge you to do this. Tonight, as your child’s phone is on the charger and your precious one is asleep, grab the phone. If you don’t have the passcode, therein lies problem No. 1. You should have access to your kid's phone ― the phone that you are probably providing and paying for!
On some questionable sites, you will be prompted to confirm or deny that you are at least 18 years old. However, there is no verification process; one only needs to hit the “yes” button.
Welcome to 21st-century pornography that makes the alleged library pornography books look like comic books.
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Shall we get into video gaming possibilities on the smartphone? Or how about social media? How many times in a day will your child glance at their phone? Envision with every ping from a notification, a sweet kernel of dopamine drops into your child’s brain.
There has been an avalanche of attacks toward schools and the public education system. But maybe the bigger demon is hiding in plain sight.
The present generation of teens to college students have been lab rats in perhaps the most dangerous human experiment that relates to child development ― the smartphone.
So, my question again to parents is this: What are your kids going to do this summer? And what adjustments are you going to make with the weapon of mass destruction that your kids have in their hands?
K. John Lee worked last year as a math teacher in Tulsa Public Schools.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Worried about porn in libraries? Parents, check your kids' cellphones
