It’s like watching a clown show. Maybe he should watch more porn and grow up.

  • RickRussell_CA@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    That headline is… incredibly inaccurate. They’ve pledged to each other to avoid porn, and have software that throws an alarm (visible to each other) if they view it.

    “Monitor Each Other’s Porn Intake” implies that they are seeking out porn and sharing it with each other, which is not what is happening here.

    I think there are plenty of legitimate concerns here, but father and son sharing porn links is not one of them.

    Also, I imagine young Mr. Johnson has at least 1 Android tablet or other burner device that is unknown to Dad.

    • Laticauda@lemmy.ca
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      11 months ago

      I mean when I read “monitoring each other’s porn intake” I assumed it meant “monitoring how much porn each other watches”. And considering who it was, I assumed that was for the sake of making sure that they didn’t watch any porn. I did not at any point think that they were sharing porn links with each other, because that’s generally not what monitoring someone’s intake means.

      • bemenaker@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        “It sends a report to your accountability partner.

        Depends on what is in that report. If it shows visited links. That would also make it pandering to a minor.

    • Clam_Cathedral@lemmy.ml
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      11 months ago

      No, what monitoring in this context means is to be made aware of each other’s porn INTAKE, or how much is being consumed and when, which the software is said to do. Nothing is suggesting they seek porn out to share content with each other, just that they are alerted when the other accesses porn.

      I’d bet youre right about the alternative devices though.

      • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        I wouldn’t be shocked to find there’s something to the jokes.

        Sexually repressed conservatives usually have freaking weird kinks.

      • RickRussell_CA@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        In any other context, “monitoring intake” implies that the monitored party is consuming a quantity of the thing under discussion, and that the monitoring party is getting a report on what, when, and how much.

        You wouldn’t say “monitoring food intake” about someone abstaining from food, or “monitoring alcohol intake” about someone maintaining sobriety. You’d probably say “fasting” or “avoiding alcohol”, or similar language. Such language should have been used here for clarity, IMO.

        People on the thread are responding like they are reviewing each other’s porn, because the language encourages that misinterpretation.

        • whofearsthenight@lemm.ee
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          11 months ago

          “son, i’m going to be fasting from my big tiddy goth gf porn, care to help me out?”

          Nope, still sounds fuckin weird my g

          • captainlezbian@lemmy.world
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            11 months ago

            Yeah, I don’t really care if it’s none. “Hey son, I know we’re both going to be tempted to look at porn on the internet so I’m buying us an application that sends random screenshots from our computers to each other to ensure we don’t consume any. Please hold me accountable if you see any porn on there.”

            Like no, that’s the most charitable and honest version I can think of and it’s still not something you should ask your kid to do. Even if the kid was 40, it’d still be fucking weird. Like you have a wife. Or presumably a church where they’d probably gladly help you with this.

            But also why do you need this at all? The whole covenant eyes thing just as a concept concerns me. It’s like if teetotalers had random breathalyzers despite never having drank. AA isn’t that invasive and they’re already addicted. They’re acting not only like porn is the most addictive thing in the world, but like you’re inherently addicted to it for existing.

        • Clam_Cathedral@lemmy.ml
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          11 months ago

          I just looked into the app being used here, called “covenant eyes” and it seems your interpretation of the phrase is actually more correct, unfortunately that makes the headline even less misleading. You are indeed able to see and review exactly what content was accessed that set off the alert.

          If you watch the “How it works” intro video on their site it seems they are literally monitoring and reviewing each other’s porn intake.

    • halfeatenpotato@lonestarlemmy.mooo.com
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      11 months ago

      Nah, I didn’t read the headline thinking that they were sharing links with each other. It read to me like he and his son are holding each other accountable for how often they pleasure themselves with porn, and that’s incredibly fucking weird and inappropriate. While I think it’s generally a positive thing to be open and honest with your children, there is definitely a line. And this totally crosses that.

      • captainlezbian@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        Yeah I was lucky enough to be raised by a sex positive mom. As a young child I called body parts by their names because they’re just body parts. Any questions I asked my mom got a truthful answer to the best of her knowledge and as appropriate as possible to my age. There was an understanding that if I was old enough to ask I was old enough to know. That was incredible for me. I have a healthy sex life in part because of this. I also don’t know anything about my mom’s sex life except for the time I found her copy of 50 shades, and the fact that my parents couldn’t stand each other for over a decade.

        This is so much weirder and honestly depending on the son’s age it sounds like it could be adultification. A child shouldn’t be responsible for holding a parent accountable in general, but for this it’s just yikes

    • drphungky@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      Also, everyone is reading this as some kind of creepy weird sharing kinks thing. Guaranteed this is just overbearing parenting 101. Anyone raised in or around extreme Christian groups reads this for what it is: child monitoring software and forcing your values on your kid.

      I am sure your 17 year old signed up, wholly voluntarily, to not look at porn. I’m sure this wasn’t pitched as, “I’ll even do it too, and set it up so you get alerts for me!” Right as they took away a near adult’s ability to explore his sexuality.

    • paddirn@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      I feel like the reason they’d have to make a pledge like this in the first place is because one or both of them already got caught watching porn.

    • TWeaK@lemm.ee
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      11 months ago

      I think there are plenty of legitimate concerns here

      Absolutely, Covenant Eyes is malware. Even worse, courts sometimes mandate it, eg in child custody cases. It’s commercialised spying from a business that has proven itselt not trustworthy.

  • SinningStromgald@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    While having weekly reports sent to your son on your internet viewing and getting the same on your son is creepy as hell I think the article raises a better concern of : who else at this company can see this info and is this on his phone used for government work?

    • Patches@sh.itjust.works
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      11 months ago

      Bro these people work for the government.

      I guarantee their InfoSec is worse than your grandmother who has dementia, and clicks on every single link.

  • PBPunch@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    I don’t know what’s worse. The fact that he has a buddy system to monitor porn intake or that its his son that looks at his porn history. Guys like this only get weirder as you get to hear more of their story.

    • FoundTheVegan@kbin.social
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      11 months ago

      How did this start? The conversation had to be at some point

      Well sort of porn do you look at son? Don’t worry, this won’t be a one way street. I love PoV cream pies. Now I need you to report to me everytime you look… at what was it again, trans gangbang? Oh thats a good one. Let me know if those temptresses get ya!

      Like srsly. What. The. Actual. Fuck.

      • ivanafterall@kbin.social
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        11 months ago

        The reality is that it’s a mechanism of shame/control. You teach the kid that looking at porn is sinful, masturbation is sinful/shameful, etc… Then you install “accountability” software that rats out the kid whenever he pulls it up. He’s just repackaging an authoritarian, abusive household as “accountability.” They also have devices that connect to your TV and will shut off the audio (based on the closed captions) if it detects a profanity.

        • drphungky@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          Yup. Same energy as a father daughter dance where everyone signs “purity contracts” and then they get a promise ring to save themselves for marriage. It’s about guilt and control and religious-based puritanism. People are making this seem like a weird sex thing with religious undertones when it’s totally not. It’s a weird religious thing with sexual undertones. Completely different!

    • dan1101@lemm.ee
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      11 months ago

      And all this regular effort in avoiding it probably just makes the son more motivated to find ways to avoid detection. Prepaid smartphone, that sort of thing.

  • BOMBS@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    Um, this is strange behavior acting as righteousness…WTF. Imagine if you were his son and got pinged that your dad is watching porn. I would be totally grossed the hell out if that happened between me and my dad. I’m grimacing as I type this. Or, imagine being the dad watching porn and knowing your son is actively aware that you are doing that. What the hell would be going through your mind to make that okay?

    Or, think about what the son is really learning from this relationship. Sex is bad and people should be monitored for sexual activity. Also, he’s learning that controlling others to that level is acceptable and celebrated. This kid might turn out to be a highly abusive partner that thinks it’s okay to monitor their partner’s phone at all times.

    It also tells us that Mike Johnson is probably interested in monitoring people’s internet habits, especially when it comes to accessing porn. Personally, that is not what I would like for a congressman.

    The whole thing is uncomfortably odd and seems like a major red flag.

  • mightyfoolish@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    This title is horrible. People complain that parental software is a huge privacy concern and not fair in a parent-child dynamic as the “spying” only works one way. Yet, here we have a Republican saying “rules for thee AND ME” and people are mad that a parent is risking embarrassment to teach his offspring something he actually believes instead of the usual Republican just pick an issue off **the list ** and force it on random adults.

    • DontTakeMySky@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      Yeah honestly this doesn’t bother me (caveat that I literally just heard of this today and have zero context). It’s funny and awkward and embarrassing but it doesn’t bother me at all. I have enough other reasons to not like the guy and this doesn’t make the list.

      Editing to add: okay the tool he is using to do this is weird and I’m worried that it might be running over secret government content. That parts not okay.

      • iBaz@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        Except he’s the Speaker of the House, 2nd in line of succession to the Presidency, and he’s given this app access to his phone, and who knows who else aside from him and his son have access to it and whatever sensitive information that may be on it.

        • DontTakeMySky@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          Yeah that’s the bit that bothers me more. If it were just his personal devices then meh, but I’m sure our officials don’t keep a clean separation there.

          Edit: the more I learn about this man the more I dislike him. Wow, it just keeps getting worse.

  • Furbag@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    “But you see, the real problem is drag shows and trans people!”

    • Dude who shares his porn habits with his underage child.
  • NounsAndWords@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    “It sends a report to your accountability partner. My accountability partner right now is Jack, my son. He’s 17. So he and I get a report about all the things that are on our phones, all of our devices, once a week. If anything objectionable comes up, your accountability partner gets an immediate notice. I’m proud to tell ya, my son has got a clean slate.”

    Am I just cynical that this sounds more like intentionally training your son to avoid a paper trail from “official” devices? He’s a 17 year old boy, he is almost definitely looking at porn.

    • Blaubarschmann@feddit.de
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      11 months ago

      I bet he is. He probably has found some ways to get around this monitoring system. This is just so damn stupid, how can you be so naive to think this would work?