Being a blogger requires that I use social media a lot. I enjoy social media and I think there is a lot of good that can come from it, but after the experiences I have had, there is one specific platform that I will never allow my children to have unless some major changes occur.
Which one is it might you ask? Well, you might be surprised (or maybe you won’t). It’s Instagram.
I Have been hesitant about writing this post for several weeks because I know it’s not going to make me very popular with some people, and I know I’m going to get the “Porn defenders” coming after me saying a little porn is okay. If that’s you, please just skip this post. This is for the parents that already know porn is harmful and want to be informed.
If you had asked me a year ago, I would have told you Instagram was my very favorite of all social media. I love the idea of it: sharing photos and being able to follow hashtags and see what everyone around the world is posting on that very same thought or subject. It really is a cool idea. Unfortunately, Instagram is doing a very poor job at monitoring what gets uploaded.
For the most part, with all the other forms of social media, you basically see what’s being posted by those you follow (Besides Twitter. Read what you need to know about Twitter here). If your kids have good friends and they post good things, your kids won’t see harmful things as often. I have been on Facebook for 10+ years now and have only seen porn or obscene things maybe a couple of times.
I have seen more that that on Instagram in the last month.
You see, the problem with Instagram is your kids aren’t just seeing what their friends are posting, they are seeing what the world is posting. And there is a lot of crappy stuff on there. Twice now in the last couple of months I have run into hardcore porn via very innocent hashtags. This means your kid could simply be doing everything right with absolutely no intention of seeking out porn, and have it show up (with hundreds of images mind you) right on their screen.
One time I was posting a craft project from my blog. I used a hashtag to describe my project, and clicked on the hashtag to see what other bloggers were posting. To my horror I immediately saw several pictures of oral sex, naked breasts, gay porn, and other forms of porn. Many of them had invites to their chat rooms or websites. At first I was very angry and started reporting the images, but after seeing that the photos were endless, and not wanting to have to see any others, I gave up. I did however wait several hours before checking back to see if Instagram had done anything about it and they hadn’t. That was about a month ago. When I decided that I needed to write this post, I checked the hashtag to see if Instagram had taken care of it. NO!!! It is now EXTREMELY obvious that this hashtag is being used for porn and Instagram still has done nothing to monitor or remove it. I have since read articles stating that there are all kinds of hashtags on Instagram that people know they can go to for pornographic images and content.
I really wish this weren’t the case, and I hope things change in the future, but for now…Instagram just isn’t worth it. Even as a blogger (who has to use Instagram for work), I now use it more rarely and I avoid following hashtags. I’ve considered giving it up altogether, which is a bummer. But maybe this needed to happen so that parents will take a stand and demand Instagram tighten their policies and monitor things more carefully. There is no reason why porn (that was reported HOURS or even days prior) should remain. If there’s just too much porn on Instagram to handle, then they need to hire more staff.
In the meantime, I’m not letting my kids near it.
***Side note. Whatever you decide to do in your own home….please, please, please….at the very least have a conversation with your kids and let them know what to do when they come across porn. Because of the world that we live in, it’s going to happen multiples times no matter what rules and regulations you have set up. Make sure your kids don’t feel hesitant to come talk to you when they see something. And I would highly recommend doing as my friend does and having a “family Charging Station” for everyone’s phones and tablets at bedtime. This not only keep them from staying up late on the internet, but also helps with temptation that can occur when everyone else is asleep.
For more info on the harmful effects of pornography, see the website Fight the New Drug.
And please inform and help share this article with other parents.
Copyright protected by Digiprove © 2015 Kristina Manscill
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Wow, thank you for posting this! I love Instagram but don’t really use or look at hashtags, so I had no idea!! My kids are young enough they don’t use it, but I am so grateful to know this for the future.
I agree! Instagram needs to block all porn and prositution. It is appalling how much is allowed on their site!
It seems like all social media is ruined in some way. I’m going to be one of those mean moms who doesn’t let my daughter have a phone or social media accounts until she’s really, embarrassingly old, lol.
Thank you for your post. There should be more people in the world like you who are brave enough to be a voice of warning.
Instagram has always been my favorite, but today I had this same thing happen. I clicked on a hashtag that should have been the definition of family friendly and was bombarded with porn. So sad.
Wonderful article!! I totally agree that Instagram has no controls. I use it for blogging but still do not let my teenage kids have an account because of this. If Instagram becomes more and more trashy, I’ll be quitting too. Thanks for this!
Why would you not let your teenager on Instagram? That’s literally the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard why do ‘baby boomers’ think it’s okay to control their kids? You’re gonna ban them from sex? They’re gonna experience themselves. Teenagers are NOT children.
We are trying to protect our teenagers from the emotional and psychological harm that comes from viewing pornography. For me it’s a moral issue, but if that’s not enough reason for you, check out a recent Time magazine article titled, Porn and the Threat to Virility. This article shares the stories of men who grew up viewing pornography and now cannot get aroused by being with a normal woman.
If you don’t think your teenagers already know what porn or sex is, then you’re absolutely oblivious to today’s society. If they want it bad enough, they are going to do whatever it takes to get it. Maybe it sucks, but times have changed so much and I think older parents fail to realize this. It’s sad, but unavoidable. It’s unreasonable to think they are never going to partake in sex or porn as a teenager.
There’s a huge difference between knowing what porn and sex is, and overexposing oneself to it because of a lack of maturity. It’s simple psycology. Don’t marginalize; entirely dismissing the danger makes you the oblivious one.
Anytime a person “will do whatever it takes” to get something then they have a problem called addiction. If a teen especially is “doing whatever it takes” to view porn than he/she definitely needs intervention and to be banned from any site that easily accesses porn. Btw, porn and sex are not one and the same, at all. Porn is strangers acting out fantasies for others to watch and is completely fake and undignified (to put it extremely lightly). Sex is an intimate and PRIVATE experience between two people who love and respect each other and trust each other and are committed to each other. To say they are the same is to belittle and normalize how damaging porn is to individuals as well as relationships. Finally, to insinuate that just because a teen (not adult) knows what porn and sex is then they should be allowed unlimited access to it because otherwise, “they will do whatever it takes to get it” perpetuates the incorrect assertion that teens A) know better than the adults in their lives and B) are mentally/emotionally mature enough to watch porn or see pornographic images and not have it negatively effect them long-term.
I’m a Millennial, and so is my husband. We waited to have sex before marriage, but a few months into our marriage, I realized we had a serious problem because he never wanted to have sex. I later learned he was addicted to internet porn, which has been around since we were teenagers. We went to couple’s therapy and learned this is a very serious – and unfortunately common – problem for couples our age. Praise God, he has overcome his addiction, but we are making a very conscious effort in our household to not let our son be set up for the same traps. Thank you for this article – it’s very insightful.
Thank you for this article . We live in a sick world and need good people like you to make a stand against filth.
I sent an email to Instagram about a year ago about this very same subject. Of course I never heard back from them. I asked that at the very least they have a way to set up your child’s account to block the “explore” feature which is where I see the majority of the porn.
My husband and I have been reading about Instagram. Our teenagers have asked if they can each have an account and we told them we’d research it. Neither of us have an account. I’ve heard that you can choose the private setting which allows them to choose friends who will follow them. Even in the private setting, would our kids be able to search all hashtags and potentially stumble across porn?
Hi Mary,
Unfortunately even with the setting to “private” your kids would still be able to click on hashtags and find images from ANYONE. The private setting just means that your kids’ photos will only be seen by people they allow to follow them. It’s a good start, but it’s not enough. I agree that Instagram should remove the “explore” feature for people under a certain age.
I’m a social media director and the other day I posted something completely harmless for work and used a hashtag that was appropriate for the content. I went to the hashtag page and saw several pornographic posts – it was disturbing!
Hope this helps.
Wendy
Yes, Instagram has no security features set up to control searches and what not.
Yes, they are still going to be able to see everything that is posted by whomever & follow the hashtags as this article warns about. The only thing limited by the privacy settings is who is able to see what they are posting.
I noticed this by accident one day and reported a bunch of photos but I didn’t know IG doesn’t do anything about it. How awful that they allow their platform to be used this way!
Thank you for this post! It is refreshing to know that there ARE other people out there who realize and care that porn is a very big problem and very damaging to everyone, especially children. I have only been using Instagram for less than a year and so far I’ve only followed people or bloggers I know, so porn images and the like haven’t shown up in my feed. . I haven’t explored hashtags much and I don’t use a lot but it’s scary to know that I could be using a hashtag that most people use for porn. Yuck. I am not going to tolerate this and it’s sad that Instagram isn’t doing anything about it.
Wow. Just wow. I use instagram sparingly as does my daughter, but I’m going to have to rethink that. I was going to use it for my blog, but….you’ve given me some pause. Thanks for posting this!
Very well written. 3 of our kids had Instagram about 4 years ago. Even then our kids ran into porn. They still do not have Instagram to this day.
I recently experienced this same thing. I thought Instagram was one of the safest social media apps. I searched a hashtag of s place I want to visit and was shocked at what I saw. I reported several accounts right away and when I checked back those accounts were gone. I’m hoping there was a glitch when you reported the ones you saw and that Instagram has a better handle on it. After reading this I am going to try to contact Instagram and persuade them to have a parental setting where parents can “turn off” being able to see anyone’s account other than friends on their kids accounts.
They are fairly quick to remove reported photos. (Report by tapping the triple-dot menu above a picture and pressing “report”) The problem is that the offenders are equally quick at creating new accounts and reposting all their porn with the same hash tags.
I also think Instagram can be scary. A major problem is the “Explore” option — a whole host of horrible images can come up, and they’re not all from people that you “follow”. Another red flag is the DM mechanism. I found out that a guy who had graduated from high school was Direct messaging my 16 yr old daughter on Instagram and they didn’t even follow each other. He had seen her tagged in a photo of someone else’s and DM’d her. What the heck?! I told her how dangerous it was, even though she didn’t see is as creepy or threatening. Kids can delete DM’s and parents have no way of knowing who they are talking to. I finally had my daughter delete all social media from her phone. She can log onto her IG on my ipad when I am in the room — and I am still hesitant about it.
Get accountability software. That way you can see what your kids check or block content. I recommend Accountable 2 u and covenant eyes for android. Covenant eyes also works on iOS
we recently got a french bulldog and so I wanted to see other pictures of french bulldogs so I used that as a hashtag. 90% of them were other proud dog owners but there were some bare chested pics of ladies inviting you to their chat pages. I was horrified! They are not just using hashtags that could be misconstrued as something naughty. They are purposely using hashtags that are popular even if they have NOTHING to do with the content of their photo. I think that is important to note. I no longer click on hashtags. It is so sad.
This is not just with hashtags.
It can happen when IG shows you the “most recent” posts, they just pop up, there it is, having not followed any hashtag.
Also when you follow larger groups, teams, pooular sites, etc. And like or comment on a post. Others can just click on your name and request to follow you. In turn it pops up you have a request, you can click on their name, not knowing if its someone you know, because a lot of people don’t use their exact name. And then bam, just a flood of photos because their accounts obviously arent private.
I would hope we can be more careful with followers we are unsure of, but sometimes we or our kids just click to see if we do know them.
Its super sad. I mostly use IG, and dont use hashtags. I liked how people I didnt know could see, get, copy pictures of my kids (like on FB) but anymore for these very reasons discussed I beginning to think just getting off social media is better for me.
I understand my children will have the day they are confronted with it and can only hope I’ve taught them enough of what they need to know when it arises, cause it will.
Thank you for your post, its nice to know there are others out there with the same views.
A lot of auto correct in my comment, sorry… 🙂
I had no idea because I don’t have a smart phone or whatever type it takes to do instagram and therefore can’t do it. If you want your kids to at least be able to text or call get them a cheap tracfone. I spend $20 once every three months for 120 minutes. I got a double minutes for life card and buy 60 minute, 90 day cards. It’s plenty fine for emergencies and touching base when necessary.
this is a great idea, especially with the seeming necessity of having a phone, I love this!!!
Great article and I appreciate you sharing! I find most parents are very uneducated about social media in general. They assume their kids won’t see that, but they will and the conversation about this is so crucial. My teens typically skipped Facebook and opted for IG and Twitter. Don’t even get me started on Snap Chat!! Thanks for starting the conversation!
Can i ask what hashtag you used?
I find it funny that facebook (who owns Instagram) will punish people who are conservative and try to expose liberal lies (never scene it done in reverse) yet they do nothing about porn. Unbelievable.
I learned a few months ago about how Instagram is a way to view porn undetected. A very straight arrow good kid teen, someone you’d never in a million years think of, came to me and told me they had been viewing porn on Instagram. I have wanted to shout from the roof tops but at the same time protect this teen from embarrassment and shame by posting publicly. The thing is as parents you can do everything right, follow them, check their postings, but this was not something that their parents could view or their friends. I’m glad the teen had the courage to reach out to me and recognize the problem but I wish they could scrub the images from their mind and be able to rewind the damage done.
I don’t follow hash tags or go see what my friends are commenting on other posts…my account is PRIVATE and I follow friends and some boutiques…and some baseball players, or teams for my sons-BUT three times in the last month I have gotten a follow request from a pornographic person. Their profile picture is obviously obscene-though barely covering essentials. I have reported and blocked each time and still have gotten more. Super irritated.
Thank you so much for posting this. I have an instagram account, but hardly ever use it. I had no idea! I really appreciate you being brave to help the rest of us! Keep it up!
This happened to me. I am a florist and found that the hashtag (floral/florals) that I use quite often was predominately hardcore porn when I clicked on it.
Thanks so much. I don’t click on hashtags either so I had no idea this was such an issue. We just got our son a phone and I’m very concerned about what he’s seeing and doing so this is going to be a great discussion to have. Just FYI for others, we have regular discussions about pornography and I asked my son (eighth grader) if he had seen porn and where and he said he had seen the most as pop-up ads on websites his TEACHERS had given him to homework and research. So you’re right, as well as being cautious about specific sites like Instagram you HAVE to talk to your kids and make sure they know what to do when they see it. Because they will!
This is unfortunately a huge problem. I’ve noticed in the last few months the amount of adult content on it has skyrocketed, and shows up not only in the explore tab, but in hashtags that should be safe to use. I’ve reported a ton of content, but its like talking to a brick wall. Nothing comes of it. Instagram at this point should not be used by kids. Its not safe.
A note to parents…it may take only one time for your child to begin to be sucked into the world of porn! It not only destroys individuals, but families, because when they get hooked as kids the harmful, destructive effects are carried into all relationships. Please, please, protect your kids!! I was going to join Instagram, but discovering their lack of concern for the well being of our children (and others), I have changed my mind!
At my kids schools, they are often doing projects in class that require looking on google for images for their projects. On more than one occasion, they’ve come upon inappropriate pictures and the firewall doesn’t always catch the image because it’s not what was typed in their search bar, it just has a similar title. .. similar to your hashtag point. It’s so difficult!
Unfortunately, FaceBook is the same way. I’ve reported numerous inappropriate photos and only once did FB make the person take it down!
I had no idea, thank you for sharing, I’ll be talking with my boys, thank you again!
Thank you so much. I just had my son sign out of it, deleted the app and then put a restriction on his ipod so that he can’t download apps. I am so sick of everything on social media being full of porn. What is wrong with our society?! I won’t get my teenagers smart phones. Too tempting for them.
What did you download for the ipod/ipad?
Literally just had the very same experience with Instagram this last week. I too used an innocent hashtag and wanted to see what other posts had used it as well. I will also not let my children use it. Thank you for such a great article. -Sadie
Thank you for this article, I myself have just set up an Instagram account, but we have let our son use it for a while thinking it was safer than Facebook
Thank you for this post! My sons just turned 13 and just got smart phones (“required” to do research in class). We are trying to figure it all out slowly. One son has begged for Instagram, and your post makes that decision easy! I cannot even believe IG hasn’t taken those posts off!
What do I think? Hmmm… Well, you asked for it.
I think this article, and most of your blog, is absolute garbage. You’re a controlling and manipulative psychopath who is arrogant enough to think that a social network cares at all about any given individual user (and of course that user is, who else?! You! You special snowflake you!)
It seems to me that you are a stay at home mombie that has never worked a day in her life and has no firm grasp on how businesses (or life in general, really) work. There is absolutely no possible way in the world for a company to employ a person (or even a group of people) to moderate each and every Instagram post. Even if there was, it would be superfluous because no one would use a site that did not allow them to have any semblance of freedom. (But you don’t like it, right? So they should take away everyone’s rights! To make you happy! Right? Right?)
In addition, if you are so upset about Instagram simply because there is some content on it that you (back to you, you, you, you- cause that’s what this is about, right? What YOU want and making YOU happy) deem inappropriate, maybe you should be writing blog posts about Google… Google, man. Don’t even get me started on them! Porn everywhere! If you so much as search the word, you’ll get SO MANY RESULTS!
Maybe we’ll get lucky and you’ll spend the rest of your life trying to report and block all of the sites that include anything even minorly pornographic. I say lucky because it’s likely that will eat up… oh, I don’t know, every one of the (hopefully!) few remaining years you have left and then you won’t be wandering about the rest of the internet spreading slander and propaganda about websites that you think are “bad” simply because you’re too dense to fully understand them.
I hope for the sake of your children (and their future sexual partners, because… that’s going to happen someday, you know!) that someone else teaches them about sex, because it’s clear to me that your skewed views on it are not going to earn them the education they both need and deserve.
Kindly, get a life you fucking moron.
You, are an incredible jerk. Believe it or not, she has a right to HER opinion on HER blog. If you don’t like it, leave. You are one of those trolls who lurks in the shadows of the internet commenting, but would never have the guts to say anything like that to her face. You are obviously extremely uneducated on the dangers of porn. There are actual scientific studies that show how addictive it is, and how it can actually change your brain. It is a terrible thing, and more people need to be aware of how evil and dangerous it is. I have seen it tear families apart. The porn industry itself is also extremely dangerous to those involved. Young children are abused, older girls and are sexually exploited and abused. They started off with smaller things, but it got to the point where they couldn’t say no. Next time before you spew utter nonsense, educate yourself on the real dangers of the issue, before being offended that someone said something was wrong. And next time think before you type. Would you want your mother to see what you wrote? How about your friends, boss or children? I know if I knew you I’d be ashamed of you, and your mother most certainly would. Grow up and try to add something new, honest or good to the conversation. The world has enough jerks, try to be courageous for a change.
My mother would likely agree whole heartedly with everything I said.
If you are ridiculous enough of a person to allow porn to “ruin your life” simply because it is available to you, that reflects on your terrible character, not anyone else’s. I feel certain that if I wanted to I could fine heroin easily and allow that to ruin my life, but I’m not a complete idiot, so it isn’t going to happen.
If I ran into you on the street, I would be quicker to set you straight in person than I would be online. Don’t be presumptuous.
I am not a troll lurking in the shadows, or I wouldn’t have bothered to say anything. I keep seeing this post shared on Facebook (imagine that, a social media platform full of ignorant, middle aged moms sharing a blog post written by a fellow, ignorant, middle aged mom!) and it’s absolutely ludicrous. Clearly everyone commenting here is delusional, so I figured I’d be the breath of fresh air everyone was waiting for! (:
By the way, I don’t think I said she wasn’t entitled to voice her opinion on her own blog… Just that her opinion is garbage and I will absolutely not stand by and allow her (and you and you and you!) to propagate ridiculous ideas of what is certainly going to ruin her child for life and that the idea that it is okay to police your children so aggressively is acceptable. Your children are going to grow to resent you and you will have no right to be angry about it because you brought it on yourself.
I have a policy about what I say on the web. I refuse to write things that I would not say to someone’s face in person so let me tell you right now, if I were speaking to you face to face, I would have no problem saying what I’m about to say to you.
You impudent, delusional, low life slug.
Who would ever read this blog post and come away with the erroneous accusations and fallacious arguments that you have somehow gotten in your head?
Your response had sincerely shocked and surprised me to the core. I cannot fathom what she might have said that would elicit such a vile remark.
Her words are meant to assist and galvanize others to action. Your words are derogatory and undignified. She means to remedy a serious wrong, a disease, which is recognized and proven to be exceedingly harmful by not only numerous scientific studies but from personal accounts of its victims. But you, you use malicious words and sardonic tones to tear others down, people you have never met.
I don’t know who you are, I don’t wish to, but may I suggest two things to you. First, know your audience. What was your thought process as you spat out your diatribe? Did you honestly think anyone was going to back you up? Did you even bother reading any of the other comments posted? And second, learn the difference between an opinion and a tirade.
Oh… I’m… What was that? I offended you? I’m sorry, that must be so hard for you. Maybe next time you’ll think twice about using the big, scary internet. Wouldn’t want to see anything that might make you upset, right? 😉
Wow! You are not a particularly nice person. If you are the voice of “work” and healthy sexual relationships then I think we have a problem. Please try expressing your disagreement using logical arguments rather than insults and anger.
Norm, I can’t even be nasty to you because you not only failed to thoroughly read my post, but you failed to pull together your own pathetic response. The only thing I am angry about now is that I have run out of idiots to set straight!
You… Are… HILLARIOUS! I literally laughed for a straight fifteen minutes. Being a stay at home mom clearly holds no value to you. Neither does the innocence or sanctity of children, with which mothers are given the charge to protect. Regardless of your view that this is solely her opinion, she is actually speaking for THOUSANDS of stay at home parents who take seriously the charge they have been given. Certainly, healthy and informative discussions about sex with your parents never took place. Why else would you think that porn was a healthy expression of ones sexuality – or that the viewing of it by children was merely a sad trade off for the freedoms of others. Protecting the minds and emotions of our children is our most important task. One we should strive continually to achieve with as much success as possible. I hope you can understand where this blogger – and thousands of parents are coming from. Otherwise, you really are the one who has no idea about life – beyond your precious profession.
I’m so glad I could have entertained you!
Being a stay at home mom absolutely holds no value to me. You are not a special snowflake because you chose to reproduce. It is unbelievable how arrogant most mothers are in thinking that the entire world should change how it functions to appease you and the outrageous standards you set for your children.
Never did I say, “oh, yeah, let’s give kids porn to watch!” Clearly children don’t need to be watching porn. That is the sole view point that I have seen that isn’t absolutely delusional. However, there are people commenting on this story that they are reading through their 16 year olds’ phones every night. That is unnecessary and ridiculous.
There are tons of comments stating that they expect Instagram to monitor every single post that is made to make sure that it’s safe for their precious spawns. It isn’t Instagram’s obligation to make sure your child stays sheltered well into their twenties.
The entire basis of this post is that there is porn on the internet… This is not news to anyone. If you needed to read a blog post to know that there are things on the internet that your children shouldn’t see, you have a long way to go until you can actually be worthy of the title #1 Mommy!
If only you knew that there are videos of people killing each other with hammers and other disgusting things!
Point is, it’s your job to make sure you children aren’t exposed to these things, not anyone else’s. Not Instagrams. Not “the internet’s.” Yours.
And as for attacking the discussions my parents had with me regarding sex, I was born to an unwed teenage mother. She strived her entire live to make sure that I never had to go through anything that she did, including educating me about sex and safety early on. Not abstinence, because that is entirely unreasonable, but how to be responsible. I’m now married, college educated, salaried and child and disease free, so I’d say that I am both healthy and informed when it comes to sex. That was a good attempt at cattiness on your part, but not quite good enough. Keep practicing!
Thinking it’s fine for children to stumble into hardcor porn says everything about your lack of compassion, lack of intelligence, and lack of fitness to raise vulnerable, impressionable young humans. Your unwarranted hostility demonstrates you must be among those who expect to make money ruining the innocence of children. Your rant makes one sorry for your own sex partners.
This is so upsetting to me on all social media at this point, and I think Instagram will lose many parent and their tween/teen users if it continues to be overlooked. You’re absolutely right…it simply is not worth it to participate in social media when you’re likely to be hit with these images involuntarily. Is there any way to start a petition somewhere like change.org for this issue? If you’re a blogger with an Instagram demographic of followers, you may have more influence than most in getting the word out. Thank you for the informative post!
I recently had a similar experience on Instagram. I searched for a travel hashtag and found porn sprinkled among the otherwise relevant pictures. Regardless of your opinion of pornography, parents deserve to know that family members with Instagram have such easy access to pornographic images so that they can make informed decisions.
I have noticed this as well. So frustrating!!!
Facebook uses hashtags also. Please be careful letting children use open internet
My oldest son got a little media device from his father (we are divorced) about 2 years ago. He had Instagram on it, even though I have always had a rule that they cannot have any social media until they are 16, and then I have full access to it as long as they live in my home. Unfortunately, their father doesn’t feel the same way. His view is “Kids will be kids. You can’t stop them, so why try.” Grrrrrrrr.
How do we take a stand on this?
It’s amazing what the world accepts as appropriate! The other day on Instagram, a dental website posted an instructional video of a surgery and Instagram blocked it, but they won’t block porn! My youngest who is 11 has been begging for Instagram because his friend have it, but I refuse because of this very reason.
I am in total agreement I have never been a fan of instagram…
I haven’t run across this much on Instagram, though I have once or twice… however I find this problem on all other areas of the web. Google images for example, one time I was drawing something and wanted to find a reference photo for one part of the drawing, so I googled what should have been innocent.. to normal people… I got an eyeful of image after image of men wearing nothing below the waist.
As an artist, I’m not particular horrified by a glimpse of the human body when it is tastefully portrayed (though I myself don’t do that type of art, or spend much time looking at it, I’ve just accepted that in artistic circles, I will inadvertently see it from time to time), but what came up with my innocent search was NOT tasteful, it was awful!
I guess my point is that whether its Instagram, Facebook, or an innocent google search… its out there and kids will stumble on it. Talking to them is essential, as is praying for them.
Unfortunately Twitter is way way worse than Instagram. I finally deleted my Twitter because I couldn’t log on with out having a message from a porn site or seeing that some half naked girl with an xxx user name decided to randomly follow me.
Pinterest can end up taking a turn for the worst pretty quickly too. I don’t let my kids on it unless I’m there with them.
Hi. Thank you so much for your article. It hits the very core of my heart. We are going through this painful journey with my 17 year old son who says he became addicted to porn after having it be so easy to access off of Instagram. I do not have an account that I use. My kids set me up an account a year ago or so and never learned the value of it so I never used it. We have are deep in the valley with his addiction and it is tearing me apart on the inside. I just pray that some parent will read your blog and put up the appropriate measures to protect your children and your household. Unfortunately I did not and am suffering from my lack of good parenting. Praying no one else has to ever go through this.
“suffering from my lack of good parenting.” Please don’t believe that for one second. You sound like you’re a great parent. Your son is probably a great kid, too. The world is ever changing, and we can’t control how others behave in it. Sometimes great people stumble, but it doesn’t turn them into failures. Usually they become greater as they get back up. Your son needs you now. This is something that he can work his way out of, and it’s essential to have the help of others who love him. Even if it’s just knowing that you are aware can be a big help. Keep at it. Don’t look back anymore, just look forward. There can be light at the end of this tunnel.
Agreed agreed agreed. My husband does not have the app on his phone anymore and doesn’t use his Instagram anymore because of porn being in his face all the time on it. I am thankful that he knows his limits and is able to cut it out. He however would use it if this were not the case. Bummer.
Thank you! I made the decision the FIRST day I got on Instagram as a 41 year old that my almost 11 year old will not be allowed to have an acct. I do nails for a living and thought “what a wonderful way to see some nail art tutorials.” Well! Turns out you see things based on what people you follow like (ex: famous people, ect) like A video of people having sex- YES less then 24 hours of signing on! I am not prude at all but what in the world!! I tried to tell my friends that let their 11 year olds have accts. what’s up..they either think I’m following something bad or just don’t believe me.(I’ve started taking screen shots for proof ?) I don’t really know what I’m doing on Instagram but now I have more info to share as far as hashtags go with my doubting friends. Thanks again!
You must not have Twitter then. Or snapchat. Twitter allows porn pictures, links to porn sites. As in mistakenly click and link and there’s a naked vagina in your face.
Thank you for the warning about porn! Yuck! (I hate the gross pics on conservative news facebook posts, too.)
Who wrote this? And when? Need some creds.
Have you thought about sending in this concern and article to several news stations. If anything they may go for it and cause instagram to give a response. Praying for our youth and raising them under Jesus’ authority is something we must do.
Very good info. Have for quite a while disliked the fact my grandchildren could use bad language on Instagram. But my children felt they should use it to safely post picture children. Trouble there I couldn’t save or print those pictures which was good but when children can read things off Instagram shouldn’t needs to be better control!
I am almost daily having to block requests from “porn stars” and sites on Instagram. The profile pic is enough for me to say no to my boys being there, plus God only knows who’s really behind those accounts.
I was super sad to see hat my sons initials, JGV, which we often call him, also stand for “Japanese Gay Porn.” I had to go back through a years worth of my sons pictures and delete that hashtag when I realized that!! 🙁
Thanks for the heads up. I had no idea and I think it’s great that you are spreading the word.
I also use Instagram for my blog and for fun. There are definitely predators on there who purposely use what should be safe hashtags. Another problem I have is porn accounts following me or liking my posts. Whenever that happens I report them and block them, but it’s a downer that I’ve already seen their gross profile pic. This article has made me reconsider Instagram. I used to post only a few of my grams over to Facebook, but I think I’ll post more of them over there so that people who are avoiding IG can still see my posts. Thanks for writing about this. Alysa @everead
Wonder if you could do a petition of some sort to get them to have to take them down. Like on those petition sights.
Sorry to crash like this, being a Dad and not a Mom. Being a recovering porn addict, I cannot agree more. “A little porn” is TOO MUCH – especially when we’re talking about what our kids are exposed to. Even after 20 years, I have to set very strict boundaries on what my online experience looks like. And I have been very blessed that my two teenagers are very conscientious about what may be inappropriate for them (THEY set their own boundaries beyond what I would have). We discuss with them what is and isn’t appropriate, how modest dress is respectful of themselves and those they are around, and how God has a really good plan for them if they’ll honor His word and our parenting.
I almost thought you were over reacting as I personally have seen some trashy photos on instagram, I wouldn’t consider them porn but some might call them softcore porn. You weren’t kidding though, a quick google search of ‘is porn a problem on instagram?’ clearly shows that it’s a big deal.
While I appreciate the thought that one can stop porn by just saying ‘no’ to instagram (or anything for that matter), I would much rather have seen the approach of talking to your kids about it. This is the single most underrated option used by parents with regards to pornography. As someone who spent years addicted, porn will find you, you do not have to search it out, if its not on instagram, it’ll be somewhere else. Anywhere else, while avoidance should be a big part of the conversation, dealing with porn when it comes to you is FAR more important. I wish my parents had spoken to me openly, honestly and often about how to deal with it instead of just saying “if you see it, click out of it”.
Porn is a road I wish i’d never had gone down and it was insanely difficult to escape is grip on my life. Make sure you’re kids know you’re there to help them and not condemn them if they make a mistake and hopefully they will be open with you when/if they do.
Couldn’t agree more!! Go to:
Pornharms.com which is run by NCOSE (National Center on Sexual Exploitation). They are doing amazing work and their website is chop full of information. Every year they create a Dirty Dozen list and put pressure on these businesses and organizations to make changes. They have been incredibly successful! Let’s rally your followers and get them to add Instagram to the Dirty Dozen List. it would be a HUGE victory for society but more importantly our children!! Thank you for being brave and speaking out truth!!!
Thank you for sharing. I learned that Pinterest is also full of porn, and they will place a board on your page without your knowledge. It happened to me. The pictures were close up, hard core porn – but when I reported it to them, they did nothing.
UGH, I agree completely! It’s horrible and disgusting. There was one time I was viewing the popular posts from a hashtag that was very innocent and a VIDEO came up. I was appalled. I reported it, but the same as you, went to see if it got taken down and it was still there. Instagram needs to do better. It’s a scary, scary world that our kids are growing up in. We just have to keep fighting against it!
I have come across more porn on instagram than I have ever seen. period. and I don’t go searching for it. I try to safe guard myself and my family. But if I am seeing it without trying, then imagine what children are exposed to. So sad. And Instagram is at fault. They have deleted pictures of mothers nursing (fully covered) but they won’t delete porn. Double standard?
We have run into this problem recently. Luckily, my son’s Instagram shows up on my phone and we both noticed it at their same time. Very hard porn. I reported it also, haven’t had quite the same problem in the last few weeks but what we saw over a few weeks was unexeceptable. I brought this up to our Jr High PTA, several mom’s were not aware. Please share with others so their aware.
Wow! Thanks for writing this post because I had no clue. I use it mostly for my blog & herbalife business. I do have friends that allow their kids on it so I’ll definitely be sharing the word. It makes no sense that pornography is every where we turn. I have reported things on Facebook only for them to say it didn’t violate anything when it was visible to see that it didn’t need to be online. We just have to work to keep ours kids safe. My kids are 7 & 2 (definitely not old enough for social media) and as they grow up I’m trying to teach them to navigate cautiously on electronics & even in the real world. Thanks again for sharing, God bless.
I have recently found that it is ridiculously easy to find porn on Pinterest too. Ironic, considering that site advertises itself as wholesome and family oriented.
Very good and sadly too true!!! I just wanted to put out there that this is also the case with Pinterest. I know many, many young people who spend tons of time on Pinterest, but it can also be a dangerous place, whether from things popping up or innocent (or purposeful) searches, even though Pinterest supposedly moniters content and many parents think it ‘safe’. Parents, please be aware and careful!!!
Quite recently I opened Instagram and my feed was full of porn posted on a PASTOR’S account. My first thought was that children following them were probably going to see these images before I had a chance to inform them that their account had been hacked. Everyone who thinks they can use blocks and restrictions to keep the porn out of their feed needs to realize that it will NOT guarantee they won’t be bombarded with inappropriate images. We can’t avoid every single bad thing out there but maybe what Instagram has become just isn’t worth the risk.
Can I add that I recently found out my 12 year old son had been playing minecraft online without my knowledge. He never had interest playing online before and I guess curiosity got the best of him one day. I always assumed that he was playing with a friend that I knew. Well, long story short, I think minecraft is great in many ways, but I also found out that there are worlds on there that kids can go on and the language is very inappropriate. One girl asked, “where’s the weirdest place you have had sex”. Of course, maybe she is older, but my son is not and I told him that was not acceptable conversations for him to be involved in at his age. I don’t know that he was actually talking to her but that was what was said. He is no longer allowed at this point to play online other than with the friend I personally know. I say this, because as much as I think I know about the internet and what my son was doing, I didn’t. It scared me. All the things that should have been in place but weren’t, are now. My kid has always been a rule follower and I never dreamed he would have gone on to something that would have exposed him to that world and more especially minecraft. I guess I was naive but have learned a valuable lesson. Thank you for sharing your post. I think it’s an important reminder and we definitely have to be involved with what our children are doing and have an open dialogue with them for sure.
I am a blogger too. I don’t have kids yet, and am honestly not sure how to handle this issue when I do…it is so ridiculous how obsessed our world is with sex. Like seriously, so much of it everywhere. I just don’t get it. People are such weirdos. But I do use Instagram a lot and honestly I haven’t ran into this kind of stuff very often. I have learned that if you see something questionable on Instagram, DO NOT CLICK ON IT. Even to report it. Instagram will think it’s something you like, and you’ll see more and more. And you will get weird follower requests and stuff. Just avoid that stuff altogether. just leave the explore tab alone. That kind of stuff is out there and you really can’t do anything about it.
Ivy I agree with you! I don’t understand the obsession either. Crazy world we are living in right now for sure.
Wow that’s horrible, I’ve used IG for years now and I love it. I have seen a pornographic image before when looking for a celebrity hashtag. I rarely ever use IG like that though, I never search the hash tags. That is completely unacceptable that the pornography was still there after you reported it. Sounds like a conspiracy to take over the minds of our children! But what do I know?? Thanks for making your post, if there are really parents out there that think pornography is okay, please stay away from my family!
I totally agree! I have come across very inappropriate accounts that had very “innocent” sounding names and profile pictures. I came across picture of a teddy bear with a very benign hashtag. When I opened it I saw hundreds of pictures with jokes about pedophilia!!! I reported as many as I could but there were too many. Yet Instagram has removed pictures of moms nursing their infants claiming that they are inappropriate and pornographic! Who makes these decisions?
Same thing happen to me….an innocent hastag and lots of poen under it. I also did not report (I have in past) because I did not want to see more porn.
Disappointing.
Oh my gosh, thank you so much for the head’s up! I don’t use Instagram personally, but I do have 4 kids in the house who will surely want to explore it someday. Thanks to this article- that answer will be NO!!
I literally just had a conversation with my son the other day about exactly this; that he can innocently stumble upon it.
Thank you, I didn’t know this.
I LOVE Instagram. I currently have 3,588 posts there…but I did not know this. And I was so skeptical after reading this article that I immediately went to Instagram and clicked on the last three hashtags I’ve used (hashtags that should be harmless!!!) – and on all three – just as stated in this article – some of the tops posts were porn! ?
Wow! I honestly had no idea! I had to check it out and almost immediately I found 2 pictures of nude women. I will definitely be sharing this with others. So sad. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.
Thank you for this pertinent information! We need more people like you!
Just came across this article. I definitely have had the problem you’re talking about. I have made my account private so that not anyone can follow me. I feel like that makes it a little better. But this is an issue that needs to be dealt with. Instagram needs to make their filtering system more efficient to effectively get rid of the pornographic posts. If I knew how, I’d start a petition.
I’m kind of late to the game of Instagram and just joined in the last week or so. This is good to know because I allow my child (11) help me share things to Instagram. It’s my account for business, but she’s my Instagram poster. I’m the mom that refuses to allow my child to have social media accounts, so she was thrilled when I told her I needed help. This is good info to know with the hashtags. We’ve had it happen with YouTube searches…my other child was looking up horse riding videos and well….hmmm….
I’ve seen people post pictures of their babies with any type of hashtag and when I look at them it’s like all weird pics on there! People need to see WHERE they are sending their pics!
Omg ! I never even realized. I came across a suspicious video that looked like it was porn but I didn’t look at it long enough to find out and immediately blocked the user it was coming from. Since then I haven’t run into anything like on it again. But this is super good to know!!!!! Thanks for sharing your experience.
It’s so disgusting to think that our youth are being indoctrinated into the filth, evil, and immoral behavior that should be banned on these sites. It’s sick, really sick for the people who post this garbage. It’s no wonder this country is in a mess..why do we allow this?
I also blog and I have an Instagram account. But, I never use it anymore for exactly the same reasons you stated. It is such a problem and as I was reading this, I was thinking about Fight the New Drug, too! I am so glad that is out there to help educate people. Porn is so detrimental and it is everywhere. I have all boys and I worry about how porn is everywhere, whether you seek it out or not. We, as their parents, need to do all we can to have open conversations with them about it and help them understand the harm that can come from it. I was actually shocked to find out just how much is out there on Instagram and on Twitter, too! Thanks for the post!
Is there anyway to view what your child has already looked at? I never knew this about Instagram and have let my 13 year old have an account bc I thought it was one of the safer, more innocent apps. We have a rule in the house that I’m to have all usernames & passwords, and all apps have to be preapproved. I also do random phone checks. I would like to see what she has looked at but don’t know if there is a ‘history’ of sorts, like Google?
I know it’s a little off -topic, but Instagram really sucks about what they allow on their platform. I ran into very hateful, offending racist photos and messages and I reported the account more than once and it’s still there. Is racism against white people OK these days and rules don’t apply to that? I thought any kind of racism was bad…
I had no idea. 🙁 Thanks for posting this. I’ll have to re-evaluate my daughters usage of it.
Thank you for posting this!!! I wish more people were talking about this. I also wish more parents were aware and would take the time to address this with their kids. We started talking about porn with our boys in 2nd grade. People argue it makes them curious, but I don’t agree and that hasn’t been the case for us. They are informed and know when it is something they shouldn’t be looking at and why. By 4th and 5th grade many of their schoolmates were already looking at it enough that it was disrupting their daily activities and many were exposed because of sites like Instagram and you tube. This was told to me by my children who overheard this at school. This should be an ongoing conversation with your kids. Not a one time talk. They will have new questions and concerns. They are taking about this in health in middle school, but sadly by that time it is too late for many kids. Hopefully articles like this will bring attention to a big problem facing our kids today.
I recently used the hashtags “wallart” and “watercolor” for a post and when I clicked on them….so so much porn. It’s so incredibly frustrating. I can only image how frustrating it is on Instagrams end. I have no idea how they’ll stop it.
I agree completely. But it’s not just the porn. People are addicted to social media. And that is a huge problem. I want to explode when I have friends or family visiting and they are on their phones texting 24/7. I get tired of trying to get their attention or figure out if they are even listening to what I’m saying.
Or you could; you know not search random hashtags…I only see posts my friends or accounts I follow post because that keeps me busy enough; no need to search random hashtags…
You are not every teenager. This is a warning to parents to know what their kids are exposed to. Many people DO click on hashtags. Plus it’s not just hashtags, porn fills the “trending”as well.
Thank you for this! Unfortunately I’ll share another that has disappointed me with its lack of filters for kids.. Pinterest! I have a 15 year old son who asked for permission to create a Pinterest account and seeing as how I adore the app I allowed it. Well he used for a week and mainly for art tutorials, but then he searched drawing muscle definition… Needless to say he gave me his phone and asked me to delete the app. I did some research and they have no restrictions.
But thank you for reiterating this topic!
This message could not spread far enough. I’m still expecting my first child, but had the same experience not long back when I clicked on a hastag meant to follow cute fluffy puppies… I was appalled. And my heart broke for all the young boys and girls that we’re going to encounter it unsuspectingly. But I think more so, my heart broke for the teenage girls that were posting pornographic pictures of themselves in hopes for “likes”. Thank you, Thank you for sharing this message.
Thank you for this post. I don’t have kids yet, but have been apalled by all the filthiness that I’ve seen on Instagram and am deeply concerned about it. Children definitely need to be aware of the dangers of social media – not only pornography, but also of child predators and the like. I appreciate seeing other people take a stand on this issue, and hope parents and guardians are taking the correct steps to help their children.
Its the 21st century you think your kids don’t know about sex? regardless if it’s on social media or not. Kids talk. So what. If you teach them early maybe they won’t be having children at such a young age. Plus, I’ve literally never seen any hardcore porn that you’re describing. I’m glad this generation of parents won’t be so obsessed with their kids and feel the need to stalk them and control them. Don’t hide things from them, teach them.
I happened to stumble upon my son’s account, and it was most definitely hard core porn, penises going into both orifices, zoomed in. Some of us are not obsessed, just aware and worried about understanding a healthy sexual relationship. I thought I had his phone under parental controls, these apps are getting around that!
Thank you for your posting. This is pathetic because they are making billions off social media websites ” they do nothing to protect our children ( our future ) maybe reporting it to better business bureau and contacting the attorneys general office might help. I’m checking today on my grandchildrens instagram and if I see one porn that my 11 and 12 year olds are seeing ” I’m reporting to both! Thank you so much for posting because you could have just saved a lot of life’s and or trouble for a lot of kids/teens.
Yes! I don’t have kids myself yet, but I have teenage sisters who are often on Instagram. I come across porn enough myself on there, there is no doubt they have been able to avoid it! Not only just underhashtags, but just on their “trending” page too! I love the app and love using it as a personal photo-journal, which I also have Chatbooks set up through too. I am thinking about printing what I have posted on the app, and then deleting it! I feel like it’s really gotten out of control!
I’m so glad you wrote this! I don’t have a blog but I tell everyone I can exactly what you have just written. It’s terrible how EASY it is to find porn on Instagram. Parents, please remember that a phone is a computer. Please don’t give your child a ‘portable porn device’. Put on filters, block stuff etc.
I’m not a mother myself, but I was very shocked when I decided to try out instagram and search some hashtags. The actual hashtag I searched was love and you would think nice loving things would come up (well one would hope) like dogs, nature, hearts, friendship etc but no… Pornagraphic images came up and I was shocked to find this as I too thought Instagram was monitored.. Very disappointed and will not be searching hashtags again on this platform..
It’s a shame that this is not monitored more strongly as this is a big problem especially if a child or young teen were to stumble across these pictures.
Love this post! Thank you for sharing. This is exactly why my kids aren’t on there. Keep up the good work!
Hashtag less. Or even better if you want to hashtag something just create a unique hashtag which only you will use. Sure you can’t see other people’s content but you can use it as a search for relevant topics you create to organize your ideas under one hash.
could any of you recommend a web site, or two to learn about instagram, snap chat, hasc tag….my kids know more than I do, so i’ll be having them teach me as well, yet I’d like to have my own resourses in place as well. I realize there are countless good resources, yet if any of you have a solid place for the bare facts, how each social media works, the dangers and benefits, I’d like to hit the trail with a focus. thank you!!
So glad I saw this today! My 13yo son has been asking for an Instagram account. I don’t use it myself, so I have been putting him off until I could learn more and discuss it with my husband. Decision made!
Can we repost this on our blog and link back to you? We would love to help spread awareness. Please let me know.
I feel like such a fool. Instagram was the only social app that I allowed my daughter to have thinking it was safe. Not sure why I assumed that. Caught her tonight spending an awful long time in the bathroom watching porn on Instagram. Ug. I deleted that app right away and no phone for a while. Thanks for writing this post. Facebook is so much better at not allowing this crap. They need to spread their porn catching resources. It’s terrible.
I use Instagram for work as well, and my kids aren’t allowed near it for the exact hashtag issue you detailed here. Kids of any age have no business online or even watching TV without close parental supervision; giving them access is no different than offering them drugs.
They have at least removed profiles that aren’t okay… so if you go straight to someones profile and report that (rather than picture by picture) it does the job quicker and you see less. :/ I really don’t like this about instagram, but have reported a lot of profiles and thy have all been removed. I don’t let my kids search alone though.,. Or google searches either. :/
I agree that Instagram has allowed so many naked women and porn in this social media that’s outrageous and out of control. I even had my kids remove there accounts because of this. I have it my self and it’s out of control. I think that instagram needs to look through people’s account. You report an account and it’s still there. But if you report the picture they will remove it. I really feel that something has to really be done.
I really appreciate this! I honestly started using instagram as a means to post bible verses of the day for both encouraging myself and what this world needs. I do get some followers with legit background and/or decent pictures…but for posting BIBLE verses, I get “liked” by spamming porn solicitors because of it! WHAT???
WHY??? Found out that some specific hashtags are used to target you for solicitation. I honestly don’t know what it is that I use to cause this, but all I’ve been doing is blocking and reporting them. I’ve had four “likes” in the last 45 days from it (3/1/17), and it’s terrible for several reasons:
1) I don’t want to see it, PERIOD!
2) I don’t want to see it, because I’m happily married to an amazing man to share intimacy privately, NOT publicly
3) I don’t want to see it, because I’m called to be better than falling into the “it’s all about making myself popular” game
4) I don’t want my Christian friends to see these likes and accidentally click-bait them
5) I don’t want anyone I do/not know to think that I enjoy profiles with people wearing practically nothing finding me, because I DO NOT!
6) I don’t even attempt to seek these “pleasures,” but it finds me? For using biblical references to my DEVOS, of all things? I could understand if I used specific hashtags of attempting to solicit these profiles, but I’M NOT EVEN TRYING!!!
These are the people that I pray for, because they have reason to believe in popularizing and glamorizing sex and nudity to gain the ideal attention. I unfortunately know that “sex sells,” but this is overkill. I’m trying to set a godly example BECAUSE of people like these, and it’s getting ridiculous of what’s popping in my feed. Instagram REALLY needs to revamp their security and filter them out!
#Instagram #PleaseFixYourSite #PleaseChangeYourSecurity #StopSolicitors #StopThemCompletely #PrayForThem
I just checked the specific hashtags for their affiliation, and none exist currently, so rest assured for now (4/15/17). I’ve included my positive IG account in case anyone wants some encouragement in their feed. God bless ❤️