In recent years, the spread of the Internet has made it easy for children to access adult content, and this has become a global issue as children are learning about love and sex from adult videos (AV) and are no longer able to distinguish between reality and fiction.
The New Zealand government has set up a website to support parents on how to tackle this issue, run primarily by the Department of Internal Affairs.
A commercial created to introduce this initiative has become a hot topic around the world.
→ Pornography awareness ad reaches millions around the world
This commercial has been featured in overseas media and has become a hot topic. In Japan, it was featured in the Japan Times.
→ New Zealand online porn safety campaign goes viral
A naked AV actor suddenly shows up in your house!
This commercial is the one that is the hot topic.
Perhaps due to the strong New Zealand accent (lol), there are many mistakes in the English subtitles, so I have transcribed the video below.
A woman is relaxing at home when the intercom rings. When she answers it, she finds a naked man and woman...!
Suddenly the woman began introducing herself, saying, "His son searches for us on the Internet and watches us." Yes, the two of them are AV actors.
The stunned mother said, "Your son is watching you guys...?"
Woman : "That's right. Your son uses a laptop."
Man : "Even on iPad or PlayStation."
Woman: "On my smartphone, or even yours."
Man: "And a smart TV projector."
Woman : "Usually we perform for adults. Your son is still a child. I don't think he understands what a relationship really is. We go ahead with it without discussing anything about sexual consent."
Man : "That's right. I don't do things like that in real life."
At this point, their son appears with a laptop in one hand and looks surprised to see the two of them.
Here is the mother's inner voice (calm down, you know what to do here, right...?)
Mom: "Now, it's time to talk to your son about how what he sees online is different from real-life relationships!"
Final narration
"Many young Kiwis are learning about sex through adult videos. Get support and advice from Keep it real online."
Face to face conversation with your child
What's great about this commercial isn't that it focuses on how to prevent children from accessing adult sites, but that it appeals to parents to "face their children and talk to them properly."
Of course, the website also provides information on how to set up computers, smartphones, Google search, etc. for children, but the content on the site is also
→ How to talk to your child about pornography
is the main focus.
As this is a topic that is difficult for parents to talk about, the site provides advice on how to have the conversation.
Choose the right moment
Choose the right time to have the conversation
Listen to what they say
Listen to the children's stories
Let them know porn doesn't reflect reality
Communicate that adult videos do not represent reality
Discuss sexual consent and respect
Talking about sexual consent and respect
Be patient
Be patient
We also introduce various sites that will show you how to proceed with the conversation.
It is important to prevent children from accessing adult sites, but as the commercial shows, they can be accessed from all kinds of devices, not just computers, and not all devices around children have protection measures in place. As parents, we believe it is important not to just force them to "keep it off their devices," but to convey the reality and provide support.
The site also features content on cyberbullying and online grooming by older adults.
Adding a little humor to a difficult task
The commercial was produced by the award-winning creative collective Motion Sickness . Director Hilary Ngan Kee says that a little laughter can help solve the problem.
We Kiwis often tackle difficult problems with humor, and that's powerful. If you can laugh, maybe the problems you're facing aren't so scary. Maybe if you can laugh, you can tackle them more effectively than you thought. So I think it's important to add a little humor.
Apparently the idea for this commercial came about at an early stage.
What if a naked porn star suddenly showed up at your house? It's actually happening. They're already here, in your home, through your device.
An awkward topic has been transformed into a brilliantly humorous commercial, which seems to be creating laughter and more open communication in households.
This topic reminds me of the in-flight safety video that Air New Zealand produced in 2009. Nowadays, many airlines broadcast slightly unusual in-flight safety videos, but I feel that this video by Air New Zealand was a pioneer.
Everyone in the video has their uniforms body painted, which was a great idea to grab people's attention in what is otherwise a boring, but important, safety video.
