How Do I Prevent My Child From Seeing Porn Online?

In an ideal world, social media sites such as Facebook and YouTube would be safe and educational spaces for you and your family to enjoy without worry. Unfortunately, however, they may be times when you come across inappropriate content on social media, including adult, pornographic, or sexually vulgar videos. This can be distressing and concerning, particularly for young children and their parents.

If you or your child has been exposed to pornographic content on social media, you may be wondering: How do I deal with this? How do I stop seeing this type of content? And how can I prevent my family from being exposed to it in the future?

If you have these concerns, then don’t panic! There are steps you can take to take back control. Adult content, including nude and sexually explicit images and videos, breaches the community guidelines of most commonly used social networking sites and can be reported directly to these platforms. There are also number of resources available to help you with filtering and monitoring your family’s internet use. If you are particularly distressed about something you have seen online, there are places you can go to seek additional sources of support.

Remember, explicit content featuring young people under the age of 18 (Child Sexual Abuse Material) is illegal and should be reported to the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF). Intimate material shared without someone’s consent (intimate image abuse) is also against the law. Victims of this crime can report it to the police and seek help from the Revenge Porn Helpline.

Find out how to report pornographic content to commonly used social networking sites below: