A filter which can be turned off at will is not sufficient in halacha.
While it helps in some circumstances (like for women only if there’s ALWAYS a lot of people around in an office setting – as heard from rav belsky) there is a chiyuv in halacha to prevent nisyonos whenever possible.
This obligation is derived from many sources, notably bava basra 57b, regarding one who has two roads to go on, one with nisyonos in shmiras aynayim, and another without. Not only is a person obligated to take the road without nisyonos, he is even called a rasha if he chooses the other road – even if he does not look, because it is sinful to bring one’s self to a yatzer hora; maybe he won’t succeed? And even if he does, he will have wasted energy that could be used for nisyonos presented to him min hashomayim, that are part of his life plan.
Now if someone went down that road… He’s supposed to watch his eyes and do teshuva for going down the road, not give in and say “why should i bother, I’m going to be called a rasha anyway,” that’s pure yatzer hora at his finest.
Shmiras aynayim is a pasuk with the same obligatory weight as any other negative mitzvah in the Torah.
Chazal are full of statements which proclaim the frailty of man when it comes to taavos. Ain apotropus le’arayos; there is no safeguard against cohabitation sins. Al.taamin beatzmecha, do not believe in yourself (that you can enter nisyonos) until you’re dead. Dovid hamelech was chastised for this, after asking Hashem to test him, to be like the avos.
Those who think one can go into the outside world(or even inside..a chasuna, a kiddush) without practicing tools to fulfill the mitzvah of ahmiras aynayim, are just as folly as those who say that abstaining from lashon hora makes one a “frummie”.
because whenever one actually triea to practice shmiras aynayim, they “open their eyes” to a huge breadth of challenges that they had never addressed. Their vision was left to rote, and they had no idea what they had let into their eyes, much like when one begins to examine their speech after years of neglect, they soon discover how much work they need to do to avoid lashon hora, nivul peh, etc.
Telling people to just “be strong” and mock those who have filters as “weak,” is not only against the Torah, but it leads others to sin and not protect themselves.
May Hashem grant every yid the power to resist the yatzer hora in all of his machinations, from within and without, during this time pf introspection and be zocheh to build the beis hanikdash with the tears cried in teahuva for our sins.