Flying has become more dangerous, and it’s not because of the recent incidents with Boeing. Flying has always been dangerous, (though much safer statistically than driving) but a new threat has emerged in the last ten years or so. That threat relates to Sex Ed Reclaimed and poses a real reminder that we need to talk to our kids regularly, as they’ll get sexual education from culture if not from us. You might already be guessing what this threat is when we fly.
What do you get when hundreds of people are stuffed into a plane with their own lifestyle choices and faith backgrounds plus a plethora of media options? You get several overtly sexual scenes on display for anyone who can see it, including your children seated nearby. Many domestic flights, and almost all international flights, include screens on the back of seats. This helps the flight go by quicker and is naturally convenient, but no one has filtered out the media options on airlines. Therefore, pornographic scenes are an issue on flights.
Last week, a missionary parent emailed me. She lives in Africa so she had had a long flight. Her seatmate had flipped through a ton of shows before deciding on a movie with explicit scenes, including a sex act. Not only could she see the act take place, but she noted after some time that the scene was still going on. It was not quick! She also mentioned she couldn’t wipe the image from her brain but was incredibly thankful she wasn’t flying with her kids. But she wondered what children would do if they saw this scene play out. Would kids be…
curious
disgusted
mortified
scared?
For some, this will inevitably be the beginning of their sex ed experience which begs the question: How would your children respond? If your teen was flying alone and seated next to this man, what would they do? What if there was nudity in the row in front of your elementary aged child?
Many of you are nodding your head at the likelihood of seeing porn on someone else’s airplane movie. You’ve seen yourself or noticed it a few rows ahead. Extremely popular shows like Game of Thrones laud nudity, porn, and violence. In addition, Christians choose to watch it, even in public. Please recall my brothers and sisters that we are commanded in Philippians 4:8 to guard ourselves:
“Finally, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things,” (NIV).
Media consumption undoubtedly impacts our thought lives. Scenes like the one above can also be a trigger to dive into regular porn use. A choice to consume pornographic material leads to anxiety, depression, anger, secrecy lies, sexual dysfunction, loneliness, and isolation. Do your children know what to do if they see porn? My 6 year old has watched my curriculum, so she knows to STOP if she sees it (shut your eyes, tell an adult, open your eyes to something happy, play something else). This acronym is a part of the education I have in the toddler curriculum. Teens can have a more robust education on the topic. I offer a 5 dollar teen talking deck to begin conversations with teens, available here. In addition, I have a teen curriculum here. Don’t let summer or fall go by without asking your kids these types of questions:
Have they ever seen explicit material at a sleepover, school, or a friend’s house?
What did you and your friends do when they saw it?
Do they know why porn is bad for families?
Whether you have one last trip for the season or plan to fly over the holidays, get talking to your kids today! You never know when they might see something. You’ll thank yourself later.
Kristen