Having talked to parents about Internet dangers for many years it seems that they keep a closer eye on what their boys are doing online, especially when it comes to porn, than they do their girls. I guess it’s understandable. Most people think porn is something that their boys would get into, but not their girls. Well the numbers tell a different story. Nelisen/NetRating say that 1 in 3 visitors to adult websites are women. Hustler reports that 56% of their business at their video stores come from women. And in America, 13 million women visit porn websites at least once a month. So have I’ve blown your conventional thinking about girls and porn out of the water?

So why do I bring this topic up? It’s because I don’t want parents to leave their daughters behind when it comes to Internet porn. Daughters can slip through the cracks as parents think about what Johnny is doing on the computer but not Jenny. As I talk to parents at my seminars one thing I bring is a 35-page report listing 67 teachers that have had sex with their students. Why? Because in this report the teachers are all female and it illustrates my point about girls and porn. It seems like every few month you hear another story of a female teacher that has been caught having sex with one of her students. Parents need to be aware that you can’t think that you don’t have to keep a close eye on what your child is doing online because she’s a girl. It doesn’t matter what sex they are. A Focus on the Family article said, “Sex addiction is not limited to men. Those who research addiction believe there are as many female addicts as males; it’s just that few have yet been courageous enough to seek treatment.”

Something else parents need to be aware of. According to a USA Today/AP/MSNBC poll 49% of women gave chat rooms as their preferred destination for erotic interaction. I can tell you I have seen some chat conversations between 13 years old girls and teenage boys that were so pornographic in nature it was shocking. And the girls were the ones doing most of the dirty talking. So even if your daughters aren’t going to porn sites do you know whom they’re chatting with and what they’re chatting about? I suggest you find out.

So parents don’t ignore your daughter’s online activities. Jenny may just be getting into more porn online than Johnny.

Previously posted November 2009