Saturday, October 26, 2013

Parental responsibility

The Mail is off on another of its paedogeddon rants this morning with a warning about Argos and Tesco selling pad style computers to anyone with the cash to buy one.
Mail. (usual caveats)
Newly-released tablet computers from Tesco and Argos could put children at risk of stumbling across porn because they do not come fitted with filters, an expert warned last night.
Tesco has brought out a cheap device called a Hudl, while Argos has introduced MyTablet which is aimed specifically at ‘tweenies’ aged from eight to 13.
Both are expected to be bought by hundreds of thousands of parents for their children at Christmas.
Amazingly enough the Mail doesn't appear to consider that the tablets actually do come with filters, they just need to be switched on. Nor do they appear to believe that it's the job of a parent to monitor what their kids get up to online. The Mail also appear to have missed a massive target in that Apple products don't have preset filters either, but then again I suspect that the Mail is simply obsessed with scare stories as kids rarely stumble upon porn, they actively go looking for it...
Actually a quick check soon tells you that few if any computers are sold with preset filters, the manufacturers seem to believe that if you want to filter something then that's the job of the person who buys it. After all, why make a product that is going to irritate an adult, they tend to be the ones buying the things?
What it boils down to is that paranoid parents will set up the things to filter stuff they don't want their kids seeing (the kids will soon figure out ways around this if so inclined) and those who don't will keep a check on what their kids are up too by occasionally glancing over their shoulders. For those who do neither, well caveat emptor...
If people (or kids) want to look at porn, they'll find a way, filters or not, all parents can do is protect their kids and allow them to be kids for as long as possible. Yet it has to be pointed out that ignorance is not bliss either, education and guidance from good parenting is the key, trying to stop it by blocking it never works because sooner or later they will see it or figure out ways to see it. If they have good guidelines they'll usually end up good people, if not, then a filter won't help.

7 annotations:

Bill said...

"an expert warned"

If you see these words in any article or hear them in any report then its a fake.

JuliaM said...

"... The Mail also appear to have missed a massive target in that Apple products don't have preset filters either..."

They do actually mention that, but the 'expert' considers them less of a danger because of the expense..!

Fahrenheit211 said...

Back in the day, would the Mail have wanted to ban hedges, on the grounds that porn was sometimes to be found abandoned under them?

The Jannie said...

@Bill
Other dead giveaways are "an insider said . . . " and "a pal said . . .". The former when dealing with madeup stories about organisations, the latter when expressing faux outrage over the grubby doings of "celebs".

Anonymous said...

Fahrenheit comment made me chuckle because it was exactly the sort of thing I remember me and my mates finding and thinking ace minus the sticky ones porn was part of the journey and didn't stop me wanting a nice girlfriend and to treat sex or that kind of fumbling with respect just part of growing up

Ted Treen said...

So why aren't they screaming for the banning of cheap TVs?

Who knows, kiddies could buy them for their bedrooms, and watch Desmond's mucky channels or even the smut found on channels 4 & 5

James Higham said...

Can you get them with a BS filter?