I See Naked People

By Rick Bundschuh • Kuai Christian Fellowship •  Koloa, Hawaii

The young guys at the skatepark were laughing and giggling at the cellphone. I knew something weird was going on, so I slowly wandered behind them to see what the commotion was about. Sure enough, one of the guys had downloaded a picture of a naked woman on his cellphone and was “sharing” his bit of art with his friends. His friends all seemed to want to become art collectors as well.

I bet this kid’s mom had no idea what was coming up on the screen every time he flipped open his cellphone. And I bet she would have smacked him back to electronic prehistoric ages if she found out.

If you use a computer or cellphone, go to the movies or have a TV, you will see naked people—whether you are looking for them or not. Most of the time what is being hurled at your eyeballs is pornography; pictures designed to show sex or to get your brain to think about sex. (As if most Middle School kids need assistance to think about that subject!)

A SerIous Subject
In the last chapter, we talked about love and romance. Now I wanna bring up something that’s related, but nowhere NEAR what real love and romance are. I want to be very honest with you about this subject and ask that you take what I tell you very seriously. You are being preyed upon—and you may not even know it. Somebody wants to put implants in your brain that will make handling modern technology in a way that is decent and honoring difficult—for the rest of your life.

Everyone knows that kids in Middle School—especially boys— have a natural curiosity and interest in sex. People also know that viewing pictures of naked people can become very addicting.

Some rotten and perverted adults have decided that this is a good way for them to make a fortune in spite of what it does to their “customers.” These people know that if you can get a young boy in the habit of going to naked lady sites or looking for places to get another jolt of electronic sex, you may just create a steady customer for life.

Of course, they start you off with a bit of free “teaser” material to get you hooked; then as a boy grows along with his “habit” of chasing down pornography, sooner or later those who are laying the trap will be able to get money out of the young man—he will PAY to see more and more of what they are offering.

Once you get yourself in the habit of viewing porn, breaking the addiction is really hard to do. Some little collection of sick brain cells in the back of your mind demand to see more, and more, and more! They cry and pout. They scream for their own way. Many people find that quieting those screaming cells is very difficult—giving into the begging of those twisted brain cells is far easier to do.

You’ve probably realized that those who sell flesh have flooded every possible area with their images. Even if you have no interest in seeing pornography, escaping it is hard as it pops up on e-mail messages or blinks on a website that by its name has nothing whatsoever to do with sex. (This is done intentionally by porn distributors buying website domains with innocent or even religious-sounding names to use as a front for their material. This way they can fool those acting as watchmen for kids surfing online.)

Website blockers and safeguarding software can help, but the slimeballs often figure out a way around those efforts. Plus, for every Middle School kid who is trying to avoid pornography, there are three others who are diving into it and, like the kids at the skate park, trying to share it with others. You’ll find that some kids who use computers in your school have figured out ways to get around the defense systems and are pulling up porn when the teacher isn’t watching.

You’ll discover that especially if you’re a guy, keeping from getting pulled into this whirlpool of smut will take real effort on your part. You will have to click off the website, avert your eyes, change the channel, or walk away. And if you avoid visual porn, songs with lyrics that are just as sick and twisted may assault you from a friend’s device. You will need a lot of discipline and self-control not to indulge your curiosity and interest.

While God has created us so that the average guy finds the image of a woman with little or no clothes to be very, very attractive and interesting, His plan is for that crazy wild desire to be something special and private between two people with wedding rings on their fingers, not something to toss on a public website.

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Don’t kick yourself for being tempted to want to see naked people. It is normal and natural. Kick yourself for giving in to the temptation.

Many guys who develop a porn viewing habit in Middle School will experience a lot of tears, flying vases, and swinging rolling pins later in life. That’s when he finds that even though he is married, his habit remains and that the nasty little habit is discovered by his wife. Or perhaps worse, the shame he would feel if his children discover it. Some people have their brains and souls scarred for life by plunging into the world of cyberporn. You should avoid it like poison.

If your parents haven’t installed one yet, ask them to buy a program that blocks this kind of trash coming from cyberspace. If you are hanging out with a bunch of guys who are turning into perverts or sex fiends, you need to find some new friends. Do the best you can to keep the naked people from coming around. Trust me. They aren’t trying to have a conversation with you when they pop up on your screen.

Cyber Fiends
The computer that gives you access to so much material, both good and bad, has also turned into one of the more popular ways to meet friends and talk with others. On the computer, you can chat with your friends at the speed of your fingers clicking away on the keys or by voice and video hookups.

For some people, the cyber world is more than just getting information or talking to friends. It is a chance to enter the
world as another person entirely, to make-believe and never be discovered. Some people create their new identity and post themselves online as a creature that is completely different from the person actually writing. Sometimes these new identities are goofy and mostly harmless fun. But sometimes they show a troubled darker side of a person’s heart.

As you may be aware, there are all kinds of strange people cruising the Internet chat rooms to find curious or vulnerable kids. The young babe whose picture pops up on the chat room may be a pot-bellied, greasy, sixty-year-old perverted man in pretend mode trying to lure kids into talking about sex—or in some cases, meeting with him. Some of these freaks even talk kids into taking photos of themselves with little or no clothes on and sending those digital snapshots to them. Imagine where all those photos end up!

Yes, such activity is super sick. Yes, it is illegal. And yes, those pervs go to jail if they are caught. But every year thousands of kids are baited into these online cesspools created by adults who are pretending they are somebody else. Yuck!

The best rule of thumb is to NEVER chat with people you don’t know in real life. If you go to a chat room, go to one that has rules or is monitored. (For instance, one church set up a weekly chatroom for kids to come online and talk to their youth pastor about any questions they had about the Bible—it was pretty cool).

Also, NEVER give away personal information while on the computer. There is absolutely no reason why anyone you don’t know needs your phone number, your address, your school, or your photo.

While I am talking about technology and devices, I might as well mention a couple more…

TalkIng WIth Your FIngers
Using a phone’s text sending feature is one of the most common uses of cellphones. A lot of people feel some kind of weird need to respond to a text no matter what they are doing or where they are.

For example, I was recently sitting next to a bunch of students at an action movie—but many of them were not watching the film. They were too busy texting in the dark. “Gee, kind of a waste to spend good money to not watch a movie but text in the dark instead,” I thought. Besides, the popcorn always leaves your fingers greasy.

Just like answering your cellphone in the middle of a conversation or meeting, texting while someone is trying to talk to you, or while other more important things are going on is rude and inconsiderate.

There IS a power feature on every cellphone—if you are one of those people who can’t resist checking text messages and then firing one back, turn the darn thing off when you should have your concentration someplace else!

SextIng—The Dark SIde Of Cellphones
The naked picture the kids were checking out at the skatepark turned out not to be a woman after all, but a fifteen-year-old girl —the ex-girlfriend of the older brother of one of the young boys at the park.

It only takes a moment of stupidity to click a photo of yourself in the buff and shoot it to someone who you think would be impressed by it. But it will take forever to get that photo out of the cyber world. Within hours, that low-resolution photo will be in dozens of phones—and within days, in the computers of thousands of slobbering old perverts. Kids at school who you don’t even know will soon be snickering behind your back and whispering in low tones as you walk by. They will be commenting on your expressive little photo. I bet that will make you feel special.

There are lots of reasons that kids will shoot a nude shot of themselves and press the send button. The world seems to
glorify as heroic those who pose in their birthday suit. Some dumb girls use this bit of naughtiness to impress others with their looks or to hook a guy.

Don’t be a sucker. Nobody will think that you are mature, suave, or sophisticated because you decided to click a shot of your private parts. They will think you are willing to give away your sexuality easily!

Remember, just because something can be photographed, doesn’t mean that it should be.

Oh, and be aware — there are some real idiots out there with their finger on the photo trigger of a cellphone. Kids have been arrested for snapping photos of their friends in the shower, while changing clothes, or even trying to sneak an under-the-dress shot of their teacher. Those morons think they are being cute or funny.

The cops don’t think of this a particularly cute or funny—they see it as perversion and a violation of a person’s rights. Parents too have a poor sense of humor about this kind of thing. And usually, the “friend” whose picture is being snapped and circulated is just a little ticked off as well.

The point is, be aware of friends who have a high idiot quotient and if one does snap a photo of you in your back-to-nature state, grab their cellphone and toss it in the toilet. That generally takes care of the problem. If you need to explain to the parents of your stupid friend why you ruined their kid’s cellphone, believe me, they will understand.

MusIc DevIces
Music-playing devices are getting smaller, cooler, and more powerful. Most play videos and store lots of pictures. Before long they will invent one that gives you a back massage as well! With all the music that is available and all the music that Middle School kids store on their personal devices or computer, you need to figure out what is worth listening to and what, while possibly musically pleasing, is full of verbal trash or worse.

While parents usually are concerned with the stuff their kids are putting in their brains, most of them have lost the ability to keep track of it all. They simply trust that their kids are making wise decisions in the music department. And judging by the four-letter foulness blasting through many earphones of Middle School kids, their trust is not well-founded.

I know that you can easily be convinced that you aren’t affected by lyrics, even bad ones. And I know that not all music is raunchy. But what you feed your mind is what grows there. Feed it trash and you will start to think trash. Feed your brain good stuff and good stuff grows.

If you want a good rule of thumb, imagine that Jesus asks to listen to what you have on your device. If you would be embarrassed to have Him listen to your music, if you would start making lame excuses such as “ah, um, I only listen to the sound,” then you need to do some editing of your music selections.

Better yet, do some exploring and be the one to discover new, cool music. There is a whole world of red-hot music that most of your friends have never heard, but would probably like if they were exposed to it. Young men and women who love music and who love God create much of that music. Sometimes it is called “Christian” music—but most of the performers would rather just say that they are Christians through whom God writes His music. Sometimes the songs may talk about God; sometimes they may talk about something else. But whatever they talk about, the perspective is much healthier than those songs written by the sick puppies out there.

There is also a great selection of music on the Surviving Middle School Spotify Playlist.

Trust me. It is worth checking out! Your brain will thank you. Your heart, too. Maybe your friends as well for turning them on to a hot new band they have never heard before.

And if Jesus were to listen to your playlist—well, I bet He would be stoked.

One Last Word
You know that by now these areas of life are pretty much out of your parents’ ability to control. It now all comes down to you. What choices will you make when it comes to entertainment and using modern technology? Will you use it for good? Will you feed your heart, mind, and soul with stuff that isn’t just sewer contents in a different package?

What you decide says a lot about you—for good or bad, for wise or foolish. I hope that you don’t join the “Idiot Circus.” It already has enough clowns.