No matter how wholesome their family life is, chances are Muslim children will be exposed to online pornography at some point unless their parents take proactive measures. As a previous Sound Vision parenting article explains, “According to the most recent statistics, 49% of young adults ages 18-24 say all or most of their friends use porn on a regular basis; 62% of teens and young adults report receiving a nude image from someone else via email, social media or app. And porn use is widespread regardless of faith practices, Muslim youth included.”
Some children come across explicit material completely by accident. For instance, my friend’s son was doing research on Washington, D.C. for a school report when he stumbled upon a porn site by innocently googling “white house.” Additionally, kids are often shocked to find unsolicited pornographic material in emails or text messages sent by schoolmates or even strangers.
We must also face the fact that sometimes kids seek out porn deliberately. It is as addictive as any drug, and sadly Muslim kids aren’t immune from the temptation. “Statistically,” an article in Medium states, “a Muslim teen is far more likely to be addicted to pornography than to alcohol.”
Given this disturbing data, it is clear that we Muslim parents must take decisive steps to block explicit material before it corrupts our children’s innocent minds. Here are five steps we can take today:
1. Carefully monitor tech use at night.
The number-one time children view online porn is at night when they are alone in their room. Here’s one simple thing you can do, starting this very evening: remove all devices (smartphones, laptops, tablets, etc.) from your child’s room before bedtime and put them in an inaccessible place. You can explain to your child that even if he/she is not doing inappropriate things at night, they will sleep better without the distraction of technology at their fingertips. And in the meantime, you can rest easier knowing they don't have unsupervised access to the dark side of the internet.
2. Turn on browser filters and parental controls.
Most devices allow parents to block specific apps and websites. Google SafeSearch is a feature that acts as an automated filter of pornography and potentially offensive and inappropriate content. Apple devices have a Screen Time option that allows you to restrict certain apps, games, websites, and more. Android devices allow you to set up controls on Google Play and Google Family Link. If you haven’t already, dedicate 20-30 minutes to checking all of your child’s devices and making sure you have enabled parental controls and filters wherever possible.
3. Contact your internet company.
Inquire about parental controls, content filters, or other screen-time features to limit access to explicit material. Many carriers have good resources.
4. Discuss porn with your kids.
It might be an uncomfortable subject, but kids need to hear about it from a mature, Islamic perspective. When discussing the dangers of explicit online material, our attitude should be calm and loving, not angry and shaming, so that our kids will feel comfortable talking to us. They may have encountered people who have downplayed pornography as a normal part of adolescent exploration. We need to explain – firmly but kindly– the Islamic stance against pornography and any explicit material. There should be no doubt in our children’s minds that it is unacceptable to Allah, and to us.
5. Remind our kids that Allah is always watching.
We won’t always be there to see what they’re doing, but our kids should know that Allah is the All-Seeing and All-Knowing. We must remind our children that none of us can hide our actions from Him, no matter how secretive we try to be.
Also make sure to tell your kids that Allah sees and appreciates their self-control, as well. He knows when they are tempted to do something, and He rewards them if they avoid it for His sake. Remind your kids that when they give up something for the sake of Allah, He will always give them something much better in return.
Laura El Alam is a freelance writer and editor and the author of the book Made From the Same Dough, as well as over 100 published articles. A wife and mother of five, Laura lives with her family in Massachusetts. You can visit her online at www.seaglasswritingandediting.com.
Add new comment