I think the line between "erotica" (healthy and good for you) and "porn" (unhealthy and debasing) is somewhat blurred.
@ oliver:- I applaud what you have done with your son's computer.
So far my 13 yo son has only saved some bikini girl pics but I am sure he has had a peek into my folders at some stage. My tastes are hetro and aligned to beauty and I believe there is nothing harmful there.
Through peer groups, Face Book etc our children can be easily seduced, for want of a better term, into the dark side.
I was a TAFE instructor for a short while with prevocationals who were allowed internet access at TAFE. I found it hard to believe the facination some of these 16 y/olds had with things like rotten.com. Gruesome images of bodies of people who had walked into an aircraft propellor blade and the like.
My young bloke has shown fairly strong character to date and is very involved in Scouts, soccer and rowing. We as parents strongly support him in these activities financially and morally. He unfortunately spends too much time, in my opinion, on X Box live playing shoot 'em ups.
I do remember as a kid playing a lot of cowboys and injuns, cops and robbers, war games and doctors and nurses. There was a lot of imagination involved and we usually played in the back yard or in adjoining bushland out of our parents sight and earshot.
So as a parent it become difficult to know where to draw the line and today, know whether drawing the line will have any effect with rebellious children.
As for Andy Muirhead, innocent or guilty, his life is ruined. I liked his TV persona and I feel sorry for him. There is a big difference between looking at images and acting them out but once a person is tagged for either their life is effectively over.
I do not condone either regarding child abuse but I think there is much over-reaction in our society.
For what it is worth, I believe a person who murders a child's parent is just as much a child abuser as the kiddy fiddler.
P.S. oliver, I have added your link to my faves.