👨🏼‍💻 Parenting In The Age Of Internet Pornography

Dadpack Digest, V14 🏊

It's hard to see yourself in Thor, but when Chris Hemsworth has to fully submerge himself under water to get a moment of peace away from his three kids, any dad can relate... mostly to the part where his 8-year-old son interrupts him anyways, as he captured in a recent Instagram post.

Just keep swimming, Hemsworth.

This Week From Dadpack

• 😱🙈 The unfortunate age your kid will view porn by: And how to prepare them to process whatever they might see long before then.

• 📰🗞 In case you missed it: All the dad news you missed when you were too busy modeling healthy screen time habits.

• 🎸🎧 The best music for dudes with broods: The name might offend you at first, but it is "essential" listening.

• 🎮🌞 Zen and the art of early morning video games: This underrated form of self-care might finally turn you into an early bird.

Welcome To Hell: Growing Up In The Age Of Internet Pornography

Back in your day, looking at porn mean't stealing a VHS of someone's elder, or gathering around a mythical Penthouse magazine that was hidden in the woods. But now when most kids have their own smartphones by the age of 12, it's not entirely surprising that a majority of them stumble across some form of online pornography by 13, according to a new report.

That said, when you consider how it could impact their future relationships (hint: it's not great), the implications are concerning. In order protect your kids, Common Sense Media suggests turning on search filters like "Google SafeSearch," using the "screen time" tab for Apple devices as Google Play for Androids for other parental controls, and investing in software like Norton Family and Net Nanny.

When in doubt, contact your internet service provider to ask about additional options. Who knows, they might have a kid at home they're trying to protect from the same thing. Or maybe you'll weird them out, but it's worth a shot.

The harder part is what happens when children are shown internet porn from their friends. The recent survey of 1,358 teenagers ages 13 to 17 indicated that 58 percent of them watched porn accidentally. Of these, 29 percent said their friends showed it to them, whereas 25 percent stumbled on it themselves.

Experts like Emily Rothman, a professor of occupational therapy at Boston University who studies pornography, recommends getting ahead of it long before adolescence, by warning kids about videos and pictures they might see on the internet one day. While some pediatricians believe parents should start this conversation started as early as age 5, it's crucial to have it before they get a smartphone or iPad.

"Before giving children access to an internet-connected device like a tablet or phone, it's a good idea to talk with them about pornography in an age-appropriate way," Rothman explained. For example, parents can say that there are things on the internet for adults called pornography and that "watching videos that show people without clothes on is not good for kids," Rothman added. "Some of those are too scary for you. If you see a video or photo of naked people, I want you to shut your eyes and call me or an adult you trust. I will help you turn it off. I do not want you to see it, even by accident. It is not your fault that you saw that video."

Sure, it's not the most comfortable conversation for parents, but it can be an opportunity to talk about their overall safety, and take a modern approach to the old stranger-danger conversation, by letting them know it's not OK for adults to show them these types of images, or record them in any way, and if that happens they need to tell you immediately.

In the end, it's challenging to parent in a hellscape. But look at it this way — even if you moved your family to the woods, teenagers would still find porn in them like the good old days. If you're going to have "the talk" either way, you may as well do it on today's terms.

Good News, Dad News

• 🍝🍩 NASA's Hubble Space Telescope recently captured the image of a star being stretched into the shape of a doughnut as a black hole consumed it, a process that astrophysicists refer to as "spaghettification." Now, who's hungry for a spaghetti-doughnut?

• 👎👤 First son Hunter Biden asked a judge to deny his 4-year-old daughter the right to use his last name, claiming that it would rob her of a "peaceful existence." It's one thing to be a deadbeat dad publicly disowning their kid (the guy has made enough mistakes for this to be less than than shocking) but don't pretend it's for their own good. That's not a dad move, it's a dick move.

• 🐧🏃Penguins get a lot of credit for their ability to commit to a one romantic partner forever, but when it comes to parental love, they can be jerks. Specifically, scientists discovered that the male erect-crested penguin, located in south-east New Zealand, often abandons their first kid because the second egg their mate lays is typically larger and a better investment of resources. In other words, birds of a feather don't always flock together.

• 📞🏅 Although it's not a power you want to abuse, sometimes being a Karen works. Parents burdened by Disney World recently learned this after an apology letter from Josh D'Amaro, the park's Experiences and Products Chairman, introducing a number of affordable new incentives in response to past complaints. The lesson is, if you're going to Disney World, you might have to speak to the manager.

The Best Tunes For Men With Kids (And Everyone In Their Car)

The term "dad rock" used to be considered a pejorative term, and by Jeff Tweedy's standards, a downright hurtful one. But now that most of the guys who would have looked down on the genre have had children and maintain a sense of humor about it, we can all take a collective sigh of relief and agree that dad rock rules. It's just good music for anyone who doesn't care about being cool anymore.

Enter "Dad Rock Essentials," a 100-song playlist on Apple Music that spans nearly 7 hours long in total. Whether it's a Flaming Lips song you forgot you loved, The National, Steely Dan, Pavement, Bob Dylan, The Shins, The White Stripes, and of course, Wilco, these classics can are great for a mid-day boost at the office, a trip to the gym, and the last leg of a road trip with your family.

Either way, if you're exhausted and trying to answer that question, "What do I want to listen to?" this mix of melodies is always a solid answer.

Parting Paternalism: The Morning Is A Dad's Best Friend

If you look at the habits of highly successful people, waking up at the crack of dawn appears to be one of them. But if you look at the habits of happy parents, the same thing seems to be true because it's the only time they get to themselves when they still have the energy to enjoy it.

Whether you're taking time to exercise or enjoy a good cup of coffee, even an extra 20-minute leg up on you family can do a lot for your psyche. And if you're as lucky as a few dads on Reddit, you might get a few games in on your PS5. A recent study showed that video games are linked with better cognitive performance in children, and there's evidence that a growing number of adults are gaming in hopes of staying sharp as they age. It's not exactly watching the sunrise on a morning run, but there are worse ways to greet the day.

So keep calm and game on.

Polling Your Leg