Rabbonim and educators are calling on chareidi public figures to take action to spare Torah-true homes from unsavory Internet content in order to prevent family members from suffering irremediable spiritual harm.
Educators say various communications devices are becoming one of the leading perils the yetzer hora has foisted upon our generation, and undesirable content poses the greatest threat of all.
Chinuch figures point to the fact that even secular teachers and parents are appalled by the effect these things have on their children. Even overtly secular politicians, like PM Ehud Olmert and Knesset Chairwomen Dalia Itzik, are introducing regulations and legislation to safeguard youths from this material.
Due to ongoing risks educators are calling on public figures, especially Communications Minister Ariel Attias, a chareidi Jew with the means to handle the problem, to do everything in their power to eradicate the danger.
Education figures note that the problem of cell phone content was successfully overcome by requiring that all cell phone devices used by the chareidi public carry the approval of Vaadat HaRabbonim LeInyonei Tikshoret, which operates under and with the guidance of gedolei Yisroel, who had the prescience to foresee the problem and took strident measures to halt the damage.
All those who heeded gedolei Yisroel — the overwhelming majority of chareidi homes — spared their families by using only approved cell phones, whereas the secular and national-religious sectors are still spiritually imperiled by cellular devices. However other services available through other devices including home computers beg for a solution, and of course the problem poses a threat to the general population, and not just the Torah-true public.
(By G. Lazer for Dei’ah veDibur)
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32 Responses
Please dont ruin your reputation as a credible news source by publishing all the garbage that Yated/De’eh vedibur spews out.
This article mentions no names or sources, its the familiar Yated editor trying to make new Hock and recycle an old topic which he hasnt offered any new solutions for. It a waste of you time to post it, and a waste of out time to read it!
hey thinkasecond think a second longer……..
anything that brings about a public awareness about the dangers of the internet should be welcomed. this is one of the most serious problems facing society today . there is no solution and as parents we should be thankfull for this constant reminder .
I don’t consider any of the above garbage. It’a topic that all Gedolim have unanimously agreed upon.
Isn’t it a bit ironic that this article should be posted on a Jewish WEBSITE????
thinkasecond – firstly, please don’t think i made this screenname merely after seeing your post, i’ve never posted under one aside from this.
i’m sorry, but i don’t think this is an attitude to be taken in the present climate where we come onto the internet and are bombarded with what secular society deems appropriate. We are truly living in galus when a person does not give credence to those sidebars, and websites, full of pritzus and information to which bnai and bnos yisroel should not have to be exposed.
this has been a longstanding issue, and unless i am very much mistaken, yeshivaworld is posting a very pertinent issue here. one to which an answer has not been found as of yet, albeit one which does clearly need an answer.
in any case, whatever one’s view of the issue, it cannot be pushed to the side. rather than criticizing for posting an issue which has been given much debate already, why don’t we sit down and try to work out the answer? or at least just daven for the clarity that we hope chanuka will bring into our world the year…
Thinkasecond,
Did you?
This article bears reprinting on a daily basis if it will spare even one neshoma.
This follows the ad in this week’s Yated (US) and Hamodia (US), that was offering a new “Kosher” phone.
I am very confused, if parents don’t want their kids having access to the data services of the cell phone, why need a “Kosher phone” ? Why not just turn off – and not pay for – the data services??
The internet is like having a gun in the house. It can be at times very useful for protection and sometimes very necessary. On the other hand, if it falls into the wrong hands or just a simple accident occurs, it can be fatal.
But, don’t think that just because you don’t have the internet at home you’re protected. I know of a case where there was no net at home, yet the son was running a not so kosher web site from the library!
Sometimes, if the parents know more than the child (and that’s a major “IF”) having it at home in a place where it can be monitored may be better. Each case is different.
We can’t just put our heads in the sand and say “No internet”. Today that won’t work (see above example). Knowledge together with open eyes and plenty of tefillah is a must for all parents.
To Chaim Yankel. 7:12pm
What are you trying to do? Ruin someone’s business?
Heaven forbid parents should remain vigilant and actually watch their children so that they do not use the Internet without supervision, or perhaps, even teach their children about the dangers of the Internet. If we continue to tell our children that everything is taboo, without explaining why, or the dangers behind it, we are essentially giving our children an open invitation to explore on their own, and without parental guidance.
The internet like television should be banned from all Jewish homes. We must protect out children from the real world! If they are exposed to the derech of the goyim they may question the teachings of their parents and worse, they may stop listening to the all knowing Gedolim.
Thinkasecond,
1) You read it,
2) You commented on it!
You must have all the time in the world!!
Chaim Yankel
Many parents dont look at the bill and wont notice the extra charges. they may think its just a tax. (Try figuring out all the extra charges on your bill!) Also even if a kid gets one month in before his parents realize, its destructive. everything must be made possible to safeguard kids.
Also i personally have a filter on my computer(the filter net) so i can only look at koshew websites like theyeshivaworld.com !
The kosher phone doesn’t have text. I think that’s a mistake. Text saves a lot of bitul zman
the answer is simple yeshivanet is great i use it all the time the askonim should encourage it more
Mr Z: Obviously you have no idea what damage has been done by the use of text. The need to ban text is not because of those that use text to save time from bitul zman but the problem is that there many of those that use it inappropiately and therefore, it needs to be banned for all. No exceptions for the non-working adults. Because if you do, the one that you dont suspect many times is the one that is using it for bad things.
Speak to educators, Rebbayim etc and you will be shocked at what you hear – as i have been.
The entire need for our children having cell phones in the first place should be banned entirely. With few exceptions, there is no need for non working boys and girls to have a cell phone. It is giving them a nisayon that is very difficult to resist. They should not have cell phones period. Once you allow certain brands of “kosher” cell phones, there is no way for any onlooker to diffrentiate if the kid is useing a downloadable internet enabled version or not. Almost every cell phone can download pornography and TV / Movies. Why set up our kids with such nisyoinois? If you look for trouble, you usually find it. Every single yeshiva and camp has public payphones available. What is wrong with them useing the payphone? It comes out cheaper than paying the monthly cell phone bill as well. The truth is even adults should not have to have cell phones with them all day long (unless they need it for work) We are human too and should set an example that not every new taiva that comes along must be incorporated into our lifestyles. Certainly, bnai torah and all the more so, kollel yungerleit should do away with them entirely and when the need arises, just use a payphone.
Wow I thought that txt was only used to communicate.
um….I’m a teenager myself, i go to a bais yaakov school.
as a teen, maybe i can tell u exactly what’s going on. i have a cell phone for phone calls only- it’s not a kosher phone, but my parents look at the bill, they banned me from texting and the web.
at first i was steaming.
but then i took a good look at the circulating texts my friends were having fun with.
now let me tell you about what teenagers text- in FRUM circles, and i do mean absolutely FRUM, in homes where a TV is not only unheard of, but the little kids don’t even know what a TV is.
maybe 5% of things that teens text is for practical purposes. i can tell you for a fact,because i am surrounded by it right now, that teenagers forward texts to the world that have the most dirtiest jokes, disgusting language, etc.
and there are some who send off pictures…
AND PLEASE DON”T KID YOURSELF. even if your kid is not the kind who’s sending them, i find it very hard to believe that she/he has never been forwarded something disgusting…every teen knows the look, where u read a disgusting, but funny text, then, with a smirk, shows it to a friend, but says “it’s really dirty, don’t flip.”
and, i’m getting very tired of people saying “it’s only kids in certain schools.” i have friends everywhere, from the frummest houses, and don’t get me wrong- they aren’t straying from their family’s path, or going off the derech. it’s just you would never believe that a kid from “that house” would read such content. believe me, if they have texting, it’s happening.
and, if a teen really has never encountered an innapropriate text….still. the time-wasting i see coming from texting is scary.
torahhis1, Perhaps she is not feeling well-enough to go to school and/or infect others with a virus. Ever heard of DAN L’KAV ZECHUS????
whoa, torahis1, that hurt. i wish i could be in school now, i miss it terribly. i’m stuck at home with a bad case of mono, why would u think i would make that up?
Torahis, maybe she’s in a time zone to the west of New York? In Denver that would be 7:51, and in LA 6:51. Or perhaps she is in Israel, where it would have been 5:51 PM, or somewhere in Europe? HMMMM?
i can’t understand why u think i’d make that up.
i AM a bais yakov teen, home sick with mono, telling u what’s going on with texting from the perspective of a teenager.
u don’t want to believe it, don’t.
I belive children should not be exposed to the internet or cell phones. However, teens may have to given a little bit of leeway and more access given as they progress to adulthood. We can’t keep them in a cocoon. The yetzer hara entices them for the remainder of their lives. They must learn how to combat all the shmutz out there. We can only continue to educate and talk to them, expecially at home and impress upon them not to emulate peers who are doing wrong things. When they become adults and go to work and have their own families, they will have to excercise their frum training and resist these temptations. The same goes for bad language and loshon hara. Good parental judgment is the answer, not bans and threats.
chin up, don’t take it too hard. That is his modus operandi, in attack the Yid first, ask questions later. Not the first time either. By and large though, with a few notable exceptions notwithstanding (such as #21), we here at YW are a loving community.
There he goes again (#28) assuming the worst in people. Calls her sick “of course” in an unflattering way, assumes non-supervision, etc.
Chin up,
I haven’t had time to comment lately, but saw your comment and wanted to say you sound like a solid bas yisrael; I admire the way you were able to recognize the wisdom of your parents’ decision. This bespeaks maturity, and I hope that with the continued protections you take to preserve your Kedusha, you will be an exceptional role model for your peers.
Regarding the astonishing comments of the detractors- hopefully they will learn not to impulsively draw conclusions (you’re on the net at school, you’re browsing unfiltered/unsupervised, etc)- please realize that those who don’t like the message will attack the messenger rather than engage in thoughtful debate, so try to “filter out” these types of responses.
Refuah Shelaimah!
thank u im so happy u brought up this article. the internet shud crash and get lost. all its doing to today’s generation is corrupting us more and more. children as young as 12 years old are addicted to certain sites. we live in a very fragile dor and our yetzer hara is trying to chap us in every way. the internet is yet another trap for us to fall into.
tis1, there you go again, “if you are who you say you are”. Why don’t you start being DAN L’KAV ZECHUS and assume the BEST in people and not the worst (regardless whether you are posting as this, illini, Mechel or Moshe Fox)? And please don’t murder anyone over a difference of opinion!
thank you sarah and doc,
torah is 1, yeah mono is awful, i have a splitting headache and i miss my friends. as far as my “browsing the internet unsupervised”, we have a filter (and i’m aware they can be broken through, yes) and the computer is in an open place, in the living room. my mother is taking off from work to stay with me cuz everyone’s scared i’ll faint or something ( i owe her tremendously for this), so i guess u can call her walking in and out “supervising” me.
BUT i am not denying there is a serious problem about the internet…u get in the wrong places chas v’sholom and you are in one huge bottomless pit, CHAS V’SHOLOM. yes, i am aware. no, i don’t think restricting myself completely from the internet will work in MY situation- i’ve tried improving myself in other areas through total restriction before, and it totaly backfired.
i told u i have friends everywhere, in all circles. the biggest problem that is so much more hidden than internet is the absolutely disgusting, lewid texts that circulate through every teenager’s cell phone, regardless of whether they “invited” the texter to forward them that text.
that, torahis1, is what i was trying to warn everyone of, and i can’t understand why u’d go barking up my tree.
now i’m going to sleep for the next 12 hours, good night.
Guys, grow up! You sound like 2 yr olds!
I hope you are enjoying yourself.
Chin up refuah shleima.
Back to the main topic… This internet thing we all know is a scare… the txting is too. I have seen too much first hand how txting and internet sneak their way into shtark kinder and do some roller coasters within.
Forget the pics and other shmutz in txt. Even small little inapproriate relationships start over these things cuz it doesnt seem “as bad” to talk over txt. the rest is history. Same with the net. I unfortunately witnessed recently some tragic happenings from the most innocent of kids over the net. the kids spread the info and get swallowed into it. It’s a machala worse then physical sickness. I was involved in helping out a situation in one case and I was exposed to more then I would have liked.
Who are we kidding… Do you realize how many hours we spend on the net?? Its addicting and contagious. The net has alot of Torah and alot of good. Yet the tumah is overbearing and powerful and we must do what we can to protect the klal from the worst.
I sit here and wonder wht is going on in shamayim as ppl click away and within seconds are swallowed into a spinning world at a dizzying pace.
You leave your kids alone to be free and not breathe down their necks… and who knows what they are doing just feet away from you on their phones or the net.
Yes I have been victim before to this yetzer hara before it was as bad as it is now. I’ve been like Chin Up home sick and on the computer clicking away. Sometimes more freely then others
Baruch Hashem I didnt fall in. But I realize now how lucky I am that i didnt. I have been so close without realizing it.
Oh and that Yetzer Hara is a wise guy. I always was able to rationalize that I was doing a mitzva with each click… helping ppl etc.
need I say more? We are not dumb ppl. Its no use pretending this net is harmless. Let us work together to do something about it and protect our kids!
Shkoyach
Mr “torahis1” – i wonder if that username is a rehtorical one? Our Gedolim are our Torah Shel Baal Peh. They have looked into the mess that internet and text messaging has done and they say that it is one of the main casues of desruction among our youth. Instead of mocking chin 1, listen to what she is saying. Today, you dont need glasses to see what is happenning. Speak to Mechanchim. You are either living in a vacuum or you need an excuse to allow your children to use a phone with text.
Please wake up and smell the coffee. Do some research and come to us and tell us what you found. Don’t only speak to the teen agers but also speak to the Mechanchim that are out there and dealing with the problems. I hope to hear from you within the near future.