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My phone never leaves me. And, I mean never.
Whether I'm ten miles into the backcountry on a hiking excursion, at the mall, at work, in the bathroom, sleeping , my phone is my constant companion. Many times, the ease of carrying a phone has been a blessing. I've used it to phone for help when car trouble left me stranded. I've used it to find a reassuring and comforting voice when I've been isolated from the world on a multi-day backpacking trip. Cell phones are undeniably one of the world's great inventions.
However, as is the case with many inventions, their use can be abused and manipulated. Cell phones were great tools of communication when they were simply phones. But, then someone realized they could turn them into tiny computers with high speed internet and the works and suddenly we were never more than arms reach from the latest news, gossip, score, or email.
We received communication on steroids. It's the closest thing to teleportation that exists. 3G became 4G and now video streaming on phones is as easy and fast as streaming over a laptop. This high speed web access for a tool that resides in most people's pockets is exactly why I fear the phone more than any other device I own.
Pornography used to exist only in print, meaning access was limited. It made hiding pornography a bit on the difficult side. If someone from even 30 years ago wanted to hide pornography, they stood an excellent chance of getting caught. Of course, the advent of computers made hiding pornography much easier.
I remember when, at thirteen years old, I first discovered the "clear history" tab, I thought I'd hit the jackpot. I thought that I had been given the freedom to explore the web in any and every way I wanted, and later when I discovered "In Private" and "Incognito" functions, I was sure the web was mine to explore to my heart's content. Suddenly, the internet allowed pornography to take a strong hold in the secret lives of many men and women. But, with the computer, there was still always the chance of discovery. A missed file that didn't get deleted, a slow trigger in escaping pornography pages, or any myriad of situations could lead to discovery.
Then Wi-Fi and smart phones collided to provide the ultimate vehicle for pornography to enter homes across the world. The little fiend in our pockets made it nearly impossible to get caught in the act. Users had access to whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted it. Pornography abounds in secrecy, and people can find secrecy pretty easily , they just can't typically drag a laptop in there with them. A phone, on the other hand made the secret of pornography an easy thing to hide.
The phone is useful,oh, so useful!, but it's sneaky in that it harbors every bit of ill that our desktops, laptops, and tablets harbor while remaining the size of, well, a phone. In my house we have both children and hunting rifles. Because of this coexistence, I put locks on all weapons because it seems like the responsible thing to do and I couldn't live with myself if something happened because I didn't put up steps of prevention. The phone is similar to a gun; the device is harmless -- even useful -- when used correctly, but there are steps a responsible owner should take to make the device safe.
