Retailers should put kids before next sale: By Mark Dawson

Woman holding digital tablet, closeup picture supplied credit: GETTY IMAGES ROYALTY FREE

AMID the amusing and flirtatious trivia that largely makes up the early evening TV show Seven Sharp, there was a very pertinent story last week.

It was about a man who bought an electronic device - a Thomson tablet - at Warehouse Stationery in Auckland as a Christmas present for his child.

Checking the device out, pre Santa's annual visit, he was shocked to discover that with just three simple clicks he was facing a lurid display of hardcore pornography. His complaint to the manager elicited a promise to take the tablet off the shelves immediately, but two weeks later it was still on sale and so he called in Seven Sharp's under-utilised newshounds.

The TV reporter found that the device was now on offer at half-price and advertised as "great for kids".

Needless to say, when the TV show approached Warehouse Stationery in Fair Go mode, the device was removed from sale.

All of which demonstrates the power of television; Warehouse Stationery's concern for its public image; and how the profit motive can trump moral responsibility. And, of course, the pervasiveness of pornography and its easy online accessibility.

It is a huge worry for parents, many of whose children now inhabit a cyber world that the adults can scarcely fathom. Keeping impressionable young minds away from the bizarre and brutal world of porn has become a constant challenge.

That's without worrying about the endless diet of gruesome serial killers served up on television ...

One can't be too harsh on the Thomson tablet, as these days three clicks on any number of devices will land you in a virtual Sodom and Gomorrah. However, retailers surely have some duty of care. And The Warehouse and Noel Leeming have acknowledged this, vowing earlier this month to stop selling R18 computer games and DVDs.