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Psalm 101:3a --
"I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes..."
Filtering software that we are recommending: Integrity Online
The Internet is not a safe neighborhood. In fact, the Internet is a dangerous
place for Christians to spend their time. The reports are true regarding
widespread use of indecent photos on the Internet. Just as with television,
appropriate steps need to be taken to avoid exposure to indecent photos,
gratuitous violence, and profanity in each and every household. Some
households may elect to avoid use of the medium altogether. Overall, that is
a good decision, since being 100% free from exposure to obscene materials on
the Internet is otherwise impossible. Not having access to the Internet is
just about your only solution to be free from the sin on the Internet. The
Internet is a tool worse than television, videos, and magazines because it is
a medium that has no limits to obscene content and has the potential to
become a secret, destructive sin for anyone. You do not have to subscribe to
or buy anything on the Internet to view obscene information (pictures, text,
and videos) or to "talk dirty" with someone via e-mail or chat
rooms. Any person (husband, wife, or child) who takes enough time to
"surf" around the Internet, especially through the use of search
engines, will eventually find the sites that link to literally hundreds if
not thousands of other "free" obscene sites that offer samples to
entice you to come back again. Once those sites are found, it will be very
difficult to resist the temptation to view them again and again, no matter
how strong a person's resistance to temptation is. Even if your household has
taken steps to make the use of the Internet "safe" through the use
of filtering software, many sites will still make it through the cracks, such
as lesser-known international indecent sites. The following information will
help to round out what you need to know about the Internet.
You need to be suspicious of wrongdoing (viewing indecent photos, engaging
in inappropriate chatting, etc.) if a person in your household is currently
engaging in any of the following:
1. Late-night "surfing" for hours alone, especially after everyone
is already in bed, evident by a loss of sleep.
2. Spending hours upon hours per week on it, thus pushing off other household
duties and neglecting other family members. Addiction to indecent photos on
the Internet is many times evident by spending a large quantity of time
searching out indecent sites.
3. When entering a room, the person is hurriedly changing what is on the
screen.
4. The "history" function of the browser, which stores what sites
have been accessed, is being cleared out by that person on a consistent
basis.
5. The "cache" function of the browser, which stores the graphics
that have been accessed, is being cleared out by that person on a consistent
basis.
Trusting someone you love is important, but it MUST NOT be solely relied upon
when using the Internet. Time and time again trust has been compromised by
spouses, friends, and children who have given in to the temptations of the
Internet. Marriages have ended, children have been expelled from school, and
teenagers have become addicted to indecent photos for a lifetime based on the
sins of the medium. It has happened to millions of people already, even those
from supposedly "godly" homes.
Specifically, how bad can the situation of using the Internet be? Well,
consider the following:
1. If you were to type in an inappropriate keyword into a search engine
without some type of filtering software, you would immediately have a listing
of hundreds of indecent sites interspersed with other questionable web sites
to click on and enter.
2. Many workers are being fired for accessing and/or distributing
inappropriate materials on the job.
3. Many libraries have not installed any filtering software, and refuse to do
so, citing the First Amendment. According to the Right to Decency, Inc., a
local organization of citizens concerned with indecency, access to indecent
photos occurs openly on library computers in full view of patrons regardless
of gender or age.
4. According to an organization called Enough is Enough in Virginia, there
are over 100,000 commercial web sites on the Internet that are
"inappropriate" (to say it mildly), with 250 being added daily
(1998).
5. About 15% of the USA's 57 million Internet users visit indecent sites, 86%
being men, 47% being married, and 1.2% spending more than 11 hours a week at
such sites (from a study of 9,177 people, as reported by the American
Psychological Association in the publication "Professional Psychology:
Research and Practice", April 1999).
6. Unsolicited e-mail, many containing obscene references and links to
indecent sites, might be sent to your own e-mail account through direct
marketing, similar to the way traditional mail works.
Why is using the Internet as it is today a problem for the typical
Christian household?
1. The nature of hyper-linking through the Internet is addictive.
2. Wandering aimlessly through a sea of information can be dangerous.
3. Creative energy and time, which is God-given, is wasted by using the
Internet and computer games as "amusement".
4. There is a moral peril of gazing on sin at a distance and in secret as
David did on his roof long ago.
5. It diminishes the emphasis of exercising the soul and spirit against
secret sin, which is an important part of the Godly walk.
6. There is a lack of accountability when participating in the sins of the
Internet.
So, what can be done about the problem for your household?
The simplest (and some would argue best) thing to do is to not have access to
the Internet at all. If that is the case with you, take out the modem to
ensure that no one will ever get online. However, there are many good reasons
to use the Internet (believe it or not). To use the Internet, you need to
choose at least some of the following steps to be near 100% free from the sin
(many of these steps are emphasized in detail in the attached articles):
1. You must use some type of software filtering mechanism, whether it is
installed on your computer or is a part of the filtering options the Internet
Access Provider that you are using provides.
2. No one should stay up on the Internet while everyone else has gone to bed.
3. Put the computer in a central location in your home which gets lots of
traffic. NEVER let your children have a computer connected to the Internet in
their room behind closed doors.
4. Have a regular routine of checking the history files on your computer to
see where everyone has been surfing. Make sure your family knows you're
checking.
5. Men need to be in an accountability group where their buddies are asking
them about their Internet habits.
6. Do not leave your children, no matter what age, on the computer as a baby
sitter when you need to be away.
7. Spend time together online, whether it is with a child or a spouse.
8. Children should not use e-mail without a parent reading the message first.
9. Avoid use of personal information about your family on a home page. Why do
you need personal information to be displayed online? If you have pictures
and names of your children online, it will eventually be viewed by those who
you would not wish to see it. Once online, the search engines will identify
it for the world to see, and if it has your name or address, it's not good.
10. Do not allow the children to play online computer games. There are
secular games, such as poker, that may not be filtered out by Internet
filtering software.
11. Establish clear, easy-to-follow rules for using the Internet for
EVERYONE, not just children.
12. Have your children sign a Family Pledge.
13. Keep passwords, such as ones to turn off the filtering software,
inaccessible to children. They are smart and will figure out where you have
them hidden.
14. Change passwords when possible.
15. Do not save the password in the Dial-up Networking prompt so that it has
to be typed by the person responsible for it each and every time the child
needs to get online.
The Internet can be a great tool to use, if the above steps are taken to
ensure safety. Some examples of "good" Internet usage may include:
1. Selling or ordering goods and services.
2. Obtaining tax forms.
3. Planning and confirming vacations.
4. Conducting research for a school project.
5. Investigating makers of cabinetry for remodeling your home.
6. Looking up an address of a particular destination on a map site and then
having it show you how to get there.
7. Communicating with family or friends who are in college or another state.
Recommended solutions for those who have connections that are currently
not filtered:
Integrity Online
offers Web Browsing Filter Software called Puresight for those with existing
internet connections. Using advanced artificial intelligence technology,
PureSight screens pornographic and other obscene material, but nothing else.
It also comes with a password protected easy on/off function and the ability
to manually block or unblock specific websites.
Recommended
solutions for those who currently don’t have connections
Integrity Online is a filtered Internet service provider (ISP) that offers proven
and reliable protection against objectionable Internet web sites as well as
unsolicited and inappropriate emails. As the nation's leading filtered ISP, we
have been protecting tens of thousands of families since 1996.
Some Closing Quotes:
"(Inappropriate) images and troubling ideas may be just a few clicks
away. We quickly found "inappropriate" photographs, as well as
material about the Klan and American Nazis." Consumer Reports, May 1997
"We're really losing the war on the Internet." Kellie Foster, The
Community Anti-Drug Coalitions Of America
"We're going to see the floodgates of (indecency) open on the Internet.
This is not a good time to be a child." Kathy Cleaver, The Family
Research Council
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