Due to the various problems the internet pose, the haredi community has called for a full ban on its use. This approach will not work. We're already in the internet 2.0 age and the internet is becoming more and more essential. Look at the growth of the internet over the last ten years to get an idea of how big it will be in another ten years. Eventually everything will be on the internet and it will be unavoidable.
Even now, its a necessary or helpful for almost anything. You can get instant information on any topic, you can buy or sell anything, communicate with people, get torah shiurim, etc., etc. The internet is as ubiquitous as the automobile.
It's also like a car in that its dangerous, although in a spiritual way. But no one is calling for cars to be banned just because they can crash. Just like you buckle your seatbelt and drive carefully, you can do the same thing with the internet; in fact you can take stronger precautions. Depending on how much protection you want, you can put use adblock, image blockers, parental controls, web-tracking, or whitelisting. This is the correct way to deal with the problems the internet pose.
Some people think the internet is less like a car and more like the Television. The haredim have gotten along fine without TV. But the comparasion is flawed. Unlike the internet, the TV has barely any useful purpose besides killing time. In addition, a person can use the internet carefully and never see anything bad, while the television is filled with bad shows and ads.
The internet can best be compared to the printing press - it allows the proliferation of information, both good and bad, in a way never thought possible before. Just imagine how much less torah we would have if the printing press had been banned.
10 comments:
welcome back nebachcase.
It's been too long. Nice to see you back. Thoughtful post though I wonder if you underestimate the negative power of the internet. Cars can be dangerous but there is no great temptation to crash. On the internet, on the other hand, the temptation to crash is pervasive. One is only keystrokes away from an accident at any point. It is worth considering nevertheless, if it is productive to ban the internet or not. The Charedim of course, might argue that the issue is not the effectiveness of the ban but the ideal being articulated and striven for. It is a point worth considering.
cars arent exactly the same but in both cases safety measures can be taken to minimize the risk. with the internet, xtreme measures can be taken, such as whitelisting, which only allows the user to visit certain sites. there is no reason to call for a full ban if it wont work anyways and prevents many benefits.
PS I added a comparasion to the printing press to make my pont more clear. Torah Judaism has taken advantage of printing, despite its risks, and can do the same with the internet.
good point. btw who's anonymous?
could you at least give us some idea as to what the deleted comments were about? they couldnt all have been comment spam...
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