I hate porn.

This video caught my eye for several reasons.

One is that I know these situations are not uncommon. The husband used to work for a cell phone retailer, and I heard plenty of stories of refurbished phones being distributed with the same sort of material still stored on them. So when they say that they go through a rigorous screening process, I'm hesitant to jump on board with that-- it happens far too frequently for everything to really be screened and caught. My guess is that this story just got some attention because the family that received it wasn't desensitized to the material, which brings me to the second reason this video caught my eye--

The family reacted like this was a horrible, tragic thing to happen to their son, and rightfully so.

Living in several different worlds (one as a clinical professional, one as a member of society) I receive two very conflicting messages. The clinical side, supported by countless research on the damaging effects of pornography on both the individual (resulting in addiction, inability to engage in sexually appropriate relationships, escalating to increased risky sexual behavior, and eventually deviance) as well as relationships (relationship trauma, infidelity, disruption/destruction of the family unit) sends the message that this kind of media is inappropriate, undermines healthy relationships, and results in a far reaching damaging effect on society as a whole. As a member of society, though, the message is that this kind of thing is totally normal, totally healthy, and in fact, is encouraged, and those who argue otherwise are insecure and need to explore within themselves why they feel it is such a terrible thing.

Those who agree with said message from society, please let me know, and I'll be happy to share the peer-reviewed studies from well respected research institutions that identify how such a message is flawed.

What intrigued me again about the video was the end result-- GameStop decided to "make things right" and gave the child a brand new nintendo gaming system to replace the original machine that was filled with the pornographic images. While I applaud them for admitting a mistake and attempting to make amends, I am also saddened that nothing can really be done to undo the damage caused by being exposed to such images at an age where one is not equipped to handle those images. Good grief, at 26, when I'm exposed to pornographic images I still have a strong, adverse reaction, and while it would be nice to get a brand new shiny toy each time it happens, it doesn't erase the images or the trauma they've caused.

But the idea is an interesting one... GameStop acknowledged that exposing a child to pornographic images was damaging and restitution needed to be made. So now I wonder-- when is everyone else going to get on board with that? When I walk into a local shop and see an advertisement with a woman posed sexually, wearing little to no clothing, all for the sake of promoting a product and garnering attention, when will my sons be compensated for the inappropriate exposure when they are not at an age to consent to such imagery? When will any kind of compensation will be offered to me, as their mother, for attempting to protect them from exposure to such materials that have empirically been shown to have damaging effects on brain development, chemistry, and can potentially result in the development of deviant behaviors later in life?

I have a pretty good grasp on my responsibility as a mother. I don't allow inappropriate media into my home. I got into an email dispute with Spotify to remove my account from their services after my complaint of a large Victoria's Secret ad popping up on my entire screen when using their product was unavoidable, thus potentially exposing my child to everything they had to offer. A request to my pediatrician's office to remove a photograph displayed on the wall exposing a high school student's abundant cleavage in a very revealing top was responded to warmly and the image was replaced with something appropriate. I do what I can to keep normalized pornography out of my home, but all of it feels a lot like adding gauze to the wounds while something larger, something stronger, continues to stab.

How can we stop the cuts? When does that intervention come in?