Have we noticed that so many of us are makpid on so many things, zman krias shema and tefilo, large shiurim for tzitzis, reviis for kiddush and havdoloh, zmanim for ending Shabbos, etc. Try Cholov Yisroel, Pas Yisroel, Yoshon, and countless other kashrus stringencies. Such a list of chumros can go on and on. Why is it that we, such high level machmirim in halacha, need any filter on the internet? Wouldn’t we expect to be risk free regarding such serious violations as getting into schmutz?
It is apparent that the issue is with the privacy that is perceived in internet use. No one watching. What about if all internet activity is under scrutiny, not by the NSA or some other government body (it already is), but by a chaver, a rov, even a therapist? The filter should always monitor, not just block. People can find ingenious ways around a blockade. But the risk of embarrassment is a far greater motivator. Rabbi AJ Twerski addressed this in an op-ed some time ago. He cried that the missing factor is Yir’as Hashem. Good point. The chumrah of the month club has no claim to it. Keeping mitzvos does not create Yir’as Hashem. Rather the midoh of Yir’as Hashem brings one to keep the mitzvos. We should not confuse the precursor with the result.
As a society, we have become obsessed with image. We always need to “look good”. This comes at the extremely high cost of building up our characters, to where our neshamos are true and holy, through and through. Just peek at the photos that are spread of every Rosh Yeshiva, Chassidishe Rebbe, etc., performing their functions of their jobs, participating at simchos and other events, etc. When when was the last time that viewing such pictures brought someone to a higher level of Yir’as Hashem or Ahavas Hashem? If we can insure that others think highly of us, then the image obsession has been satisfied, and we are free to privately satisfy our other desires and gratifications. Yes, we need filters. But is that enough to insure that our Avodas Hashem is that which HKB”H demands of us?