by Matt Bird

Created on: December 08, 2008   Last Updated: August 08, 2009

Once upon a time, the Internet was a simple place. Tranquil, easy to navigate and safe.

Then, as with all things, perverts found their way onto it. And they quickly discovered that the Internet is an effective way-station for all things smutty. Ever since then this digital domain has been home to all manner of pornographic material, from the everyday straight stuff to the downright bizarre. And as long as there are foul-minded individuals online, that isn't going to change.

Consider how you found this page. Chances are good you were interested in Internet pornography on a strictly social level, and not to gratify yourself. You wanted to peruse some well thought-out, interesting articles on the subject.

Chances are EQUALLY good that you came across some pretty raunchy search results looking for those articles. You can tell the quality of the site just by reading the link, and you'll know right away whether to click that link or not - but the fact remains that those sites are there, and less wary souls can easily be drawn into these shady dens of iniquity.

Parents looking to protect their kids by eliminating pornography from the Internet have unrealistic expectations. By this point it's virtually impossible to wipe cyberspace clean. As long as there's one guy (or gal - let's be honest, here) left with lewd pictures on his computer the cycle of skin will continue.

Why? Because the Internet is huge. It spans the entirety of the globe, and every country has different laws. Every country can, with a bit of finagling, access one another's web pages. In other words, even if one government could manage to completely clean out their own servers, there would be other, easily accessible servers abroad to use. It can't be done.

And that's only if said government is successful within their own country. To do so they'd have to sift through the activities of millions of Internet users inside their borders, activities that fluctuate constantly. They'd need to monitor the surfing habits of every last person, a staggering undertaking requiring manpower beyond the stretch of any budget. And even then, who is watching the watchers? Like any virus, the spread of Internet porn can't be stopped unless every last user is purged of pornographic material.

Even IF they were successful, this government would quickly realize that images and videos can be found outside run-of-the-mill pornography sites. Personal sites, blogs, message boards, person-to-person services, chat rooms:

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