It was with some disbelief, we discovered a new Adult orientated Channel had launched on Snapchat. “Cosmo After Dark”, describes itself as, “an X-rated weekly edition that goes live every Friday at 6 p.m. and is exclusively dedicated to all things hot and horny.” The new channel is available on Snapchat’s “Discover” section. The content on this Channel, is not in any way suitable for children. It is also important for parents to remember, there are No Filters or Parental Control Options available on Snapchat, to prevent children from accessing this Channel. Any child, irrelevant of their age, who uses Snapchat, has full access to “Cosmo After Dark”.

The type of content being produced on this Channel includes, “The Steamiest Most X Rated Confessions Ever”, “5 Mind Blowing Positions Which Will Give You Multiple Orgasms”, “19 Best Porn Sites For Women”, “12 Songs You Should Have Sex To Right Now”. The Snapchat App carries a PG or Parental Guidance, Age Rating. In essence the providers of Snapchat, are leaving the decision of the Apps suitability for children, in the hands of each parent. To be fair to most parents, many of which do not use Snapchat, the majority will be completely unaware, adult content of this nature is freely available on the App. Parents will also feel pressured to permit their child to use the App, as all of a child’s friends and classmates use the App.

For some time now, the Pornography Industry has attempted to main stream its content. If adults choose to view and access this type of content, that is their own prerogative, they are adults. However, creating content which is this accessible to children, is completely irresponsible and should not be permitted. Children are very vulnerable. They learn from what they see and experience. Viewing adult material at a very young age, may cause some, to incorrectly anticipate what future relationships they have involve. The lines of what is acceptable behaviour and what is not, can become blurred as a result.

We have to realise Snapchat is a publicly traded company. Companies exist to make money. If they do not make money, they close down. The Snapchat App is also not as Free, as people believe. If you are not paying for something, you are the product not the customer. As a product, the user supplies a lot Personal Information, through which revenue is made. Cosmo, is also a company. The content featured in its pages is generally aimed at adults. When was the last time you seen a ten-year old reading Cosmopolitan. The boundary of what content is acceptable and what is not is constantly being moved. It has to be to get the attention of potential customers. However, the targeted consumers should not be young children.

Childhood should not be up for grabs. Childhood should be a time of innocence and fun, not a time for exposure to aspects of the adult world, children are ill prepared for. Children will have plenty of time to be adults in the years to come. For now, let’s just allow them to be children by keeping them from companies whose interest is more towards monetary gain rather than child protection. We would honestly ask all parents, to seriously reconsider, permitting your children to use, or access Snapchat as long as this type of content is freely available.

Please SHARE this Blog with all the parents you know who have young children using Snapchat.

Team @COTDAge