Inflight Entertainment to be Filtered?

If recent trends are any indication as to what direction the airline industry is going, it's a wonder that inflight entertainment outlets are still trying to make passing time on flights a little more entertaining. Already airlines like JetBlue have been streaming DirectTV channels into the plane so that passengers can watch live TV over a variety of channels at the touch of a button. It is certainly worlds apart from the early days of airline travel which I remember meant a single movie for the entire flight shown on a central screen at the end of the aisle which I could never see since I was so short.

Then came the televisions in the ceilings at periodic intervals and then seatback monitors. They have all been steps meant to make flights entertaining and enjoyable but it has not precluded passengers from seeking their own forms of entertainment. I can attest to carrying an abundance of reading material and music to pass the time and now with the advent of the iPod, I can have both at the same time. Still, for the business traveller or someone seeking to attempt to do work somewhere along the line, carrying laptops has meant not only can you pretend to work on your spreadsheets but you can watch movies in downtime as well. But things are going to get better or worse depending on your perspective. American Airlines is now seriously considering providing WiFi connectivity in flight for passengers to begin surfing the web during flight. I view this as a blessing and a curse but the airlines also look at it that way for different reasons.

I see it as a blessing because then at least you can continue to check e-mail, surf the web, watch YouTube or do whatever else it is you want to do while flying. The curse portion is that you'll constantly be in touch whether you want to be or not. On the occasions where I've travelled for business I viewed the flight time as time that I didn't have to respond to e-mails immediately; that may soon change. But the airlines look at it from a different perspective; they look at it from the point of view that more passengers will be enticed to view porn inflight due to access to the internet. Now I grant you that it's a common enough concern. Just check out your local library and I'm sure you'll find the same debate going on about fears of porn being viewed on public computers. There are filters in place there to prevent that sort of thing but I think they are making an issue of a non-issue.

Sure there will always be someone who will view porn in midflight because they want to and they can but that doesn't mean that everyone will. I have been to the library enough number of times to know that very few people are sitting there viewing porn in the middle of a crowded library. Honestly, other than the occasional student researching something, kids are all playing online games and adults are checking their e-mail accounts. Why should airline surfing be any different? There would be ready access to this smut but it would be up to the individuals to restrain themselves or not. For that matter, why stop at WiFi or web browsing? With the numerous movies available on certain flights these days, you're almost certain to offend someone's sensibilities with what you're watching. My brother relates the story of when he was flying back to California one time and was watching the remake of "The Hills Have Eyes". During a particularly violent scene his seat-neighbor (a young woman in her mid-20's) was shocked and appalled at the violence that was shown and her boyfriend proceeded to give my brother the stink-eye.

No one told them to look at what my brother was watching nor did they complain directly to him or request him to change the channel. In my view he's paid for the seat and is viewing what he felt was appropriate. He was sitting next to two adults and knowing my brother, had he been seated next to a pair of children I'm sure he wouldn't have watched the film. But the fault isn't with my brother, rather I would hold the airline accountable. If passengers are complaining about fellow passengers seeing movies filled with sex and violence then don't show those movies and if you're going to show those movies regardless, then don't put filters on the WiFi connections to block porn sites. Those who choose to see that type of material can do so already using their laptops to watch such DVDs or read such magazines that you can pick up at stands at the airport. Just because the possibility exists doesn't mean it will come to fruition. And besides, just think of all the money they'd make if they come up with the sensible idea of charging for WiFi access to porn sites in midflight.