Societal Breakdown
The rise of social networking, blogs, chat groups, and even texting all threaten to destroy the traditional relationships that are still so vital to our societal wellbeing. Family and friends are forgotten as people come to rely more and more on the companionship and approval of their virtual counterparts. But these companions are only a superficial, false substitute for the healthy relationships we still need.
The internet is presiding over the breakdown of our family, friendships, and society as a whole.
Depravity
[this was shortly after the Holocaust from which the Rosh Yeshiva escaped]
To this Torah giant, a forbidden sight was worse than death.
Unfortunately, there have been innumerable stories of people who have not stopped at seeing. These were individuals who would never have dreamed of compromising their lives and characters in such a manner before they began using the internet. In recent years the dayanim who deal with gittin have begun
to deal daily with divorces in which the internet was the root cause.
The element of anonymity that the internet provides allows people to bypass the natural, inborn shame they would normally feel when involved in inappropriate behavior. Therefore, Harav Shmuel Wosner, a senior posek of our generation, ruled that one must observe the halachos of yichud, seclusion with a member of the opposite gender, in regard to the internet.
Negative Character Traits
Criminality
There is much more that we have not touched on yet in the limited space available here. We have not even touched upon the internet as a gathering for criminals, cults and worse. It is a means by which innocent people are unwittingly trapped, and cheated. Copyright infringement and piracy are a reality every nanosecond. Gambling has shattered the lives of too many upstanding individuals within our own communities.
Conclusion
It must be underscored that the internet is still in its infancy. The web first became available some 20 years ago and only became popular in the Jewish world more recently, over the past decade. The potential for it to overtake our lives and society entirely in the foreseeable future cannot be underestimated.
By following the call of our leaders, our gedolim and rabbonim.