No really, mom, I was just on eBay!

Posted by Ken

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Every so often I visit eBay — the worldwide flea market. I got the bug over summer this year and have enjoyed the savings and variety it offers ever since.

Viewing the site with parental eyes, I got to thinking about some of the stuff that’s sold there and how a teen might be able to circumvent suspicion from mom and dad. Not that they would have to necessarily apply sinister tactics, but with a name like eBay, parents might not be aware of all that’s sold there.

Specifically, it’s the photos that you can buy there that concern me. You can buy tons of photos of attractive young women in suggestive poses, inexpensively, too. These are sure to catch the eyes of interested male teens everywhere.

eBay does have a policy about what you can’t sell on their site. In fact, an excerpt of their policy reads as follows:

Materials adult in nature or otherwise not appropriate for minors (individuals under 18 years of age) may only be listed in eBay’s Mature Audiences area. Some items, though legal to sell to adults are still restricted….eBay requires that a user provide credit card information or alternative verification in order to enter the Mature Audiences area.

That’s good. At least they recognize that while there are people who wish to buy and sell such materials, it’s not appropriate for individuals under 18, therefore they do what they can to restrict access to such things.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m not bashing eBay at all. It’s a fantastic site and I applaud them for their ingenuity and great service. However, I just want to make parents aware that it is possible for teens to obtain these sorts of things.

“So what?” you might ask. “These girls have got their clothes on and it doesn’t hurt to look at a pretty girl.” Sure, but consider these few points:

This could be the beginning of online pornography addiction. The further down this road you travel, the more difficult it will be to take the next exit ramp.
I’m making an educated guess here, and I have no information to back this up, BUT I can imagine that once a purchase has been made, the seller could offer the buyer a chance to purchase other more explicit material not on eBay. Kind of like the way a drug dealer might entice a kid with something to get them hooked to buy more drugs.
And if you believe that scenario, what if the seller asked the buyer to either pose or submit photos of someone else for money?! I’m not kidding here and I’m not saying the it’s happening on eBay. All I’m saying is there are some dirty people out there that care only of themselves.
Consider the girls posing for these photos. I suppose it’s possible they could have given their permission to be posted on eBay. But, IMHO, I thinks it’s more plausible to think that they might not have even considered the possibility of having such worldwide exposure. What you do in private should stay private.
If you have a daughter, would you want her to be posing this way?