I’ve been biting my tongue hard these past few months in a concerted effort not to be offensive. I’m not trying to be intentionally offensive, however, I feel there is an element in this situation that is being disregarded in favor of someone else doing your work. When I say ‘You’, Your’, etc, I mean it in the royal sense. So, warm up the downvote finger and man the flame throwers.

If it’s genuinely for the children, then when are we going to require parents to be parents? Look, you brought this service into your home voluntarily. You might say ‘Well I need it for work’ or ‘I need it for school’. Tons of people use hundreds of thousands of hotspots daily to do their thing on the internet. This service you voluntarily brought into your house, has both the ability to be highly beneficial and highly detrimental all in the same breath. Technology always, always, always wields a double edged sword.

And what do the majority of parents do with such power? They give it to their vulnerable, under aged, highly curious, children, un-monitored, uncensored, and uninhibited. Are you insane? So when little Johnny is caught surfing porn hub, the parents freak and cry out to their government ‘We need to ban porn!’ No! What we need is for parents to be parents.

There are literally hundreds of services, and ways to lock down your internet. I hear parents say ‘I’m not technologically inclined.’ Get there. The safety and well being of your children hang in the balance. Take a class at your local Tech College. I’d be willing to bet that when little Johnny’s mom was pregnant, she most likely did some reading on the topic. Some even take a class on childbirth. The internet should be no different. Access one or two of the billions of tuts out on the internet.

Now, will locking down your internet like a multi-billion dollar enterprise with a Brinks Kit keep little Johnny from seeing some skin? No! Why? Because it’s natural for humans to want to see what other humans look like naked. Children are naturally inquisitive. The prime directive of all life is to replicate. So, have frank, open, direct, and yes, awkward conversations with your children. Let them know in no uncertain terms what is acceptable on your network. Tell them why these things are not appropriate for their age group. This relationship with your children starts at Day 1.

You have 18 years of boot camp to equip your children with all the tools necessary to make wise, prudent decisions in life. You probably taught them how to ride a bicycle, or drive a car, or any number of teaching opportunities parents have with their children. The internet should be no different. We live in a technological time line that is ever changing, so it behooves parents to know exactly what is going on with their technology and how their children are using it. Get with it.

Being a parent takes work. Being a network administrator also takes work. Anyone who is a seasoned veteran of this chan knows, to secure a network in order to be as private, secure, and anonymous as possible on the internet, takes work. I find, a large portion of parents are unwilling to do the work and would rather fob off their responsibilities as a parent, to the government having jurisdiction. I’m not painting all parents with this brush. Kudos to parents who are very involved in their children’s lives. There are enough of them tho, that are not, and this is a big issue. It gives governments the justification they desire to surveil their citizenry.

Let the roast begin.