Is the internet dangerous for adults ?

amother

Springgreen

Sun, Aug 07 2022, 3:27 pm

mental health. So much trauma happens to adults too when they see something they didn't mean to or didn't want to. Can lead to increasing anxiety as well. Relationship issues can be improved by reducing internet usage and reducing access to things that are filtered out.

amother

Sun, Aug 07 2022, 3:36 pm

I once heard a story how someone became very close to someone else on Facebook, after a long time they made up to meet. One person was naive and the other was a rapist or something like that

They ended up killing the other person

Can this be true(obviously I am missing alot of details) and is this part of what makes internet dangerous

amother

Honeysuckle

Sun, Aug 07 2022, 3:39 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

It’s happened other ways too. It might be true but rapist have always convinced people to meet up with them with or without internet. They do it through newspaper ads, texting, parties… everyone needs to learn basic safety and not be naive. The internet is part of the world now, better learn how to use it safely and not be vulnerable.

shabbatiscoming

Sun, Aug 07 2022, 4:03 pm

I know I will either get hugs or tomatoes thrown at me or the like, but I dont think adults need filters. I was never part of a community where this was a community wide things. Yes, there are MO / DL people and families that have filters, but it is not community wide. It is each family's decision. No schools are asking families to put filters on their computers and nobody has to have a kosher phone.
I think if you feel you need a filter great, but the internet does not have to be a dangerous place. I have never come across a website that I shouldnt see by mistake. (I truly never understand when women say this happens). IVe been using the internet for 26 years. never felt I needed a filter. And I feel like the internet is what you make of it or what you use it for. It does not have to be dangerous.

amother

Maize

Sun, Aug 07 2022, 4:12 pm

shabbatiscoming wrote:

I don't think adults need filters, but I do think the internet in general, regardless if it's filtered or not, negatively effects our mental health. One doesn't negate the other.

ora_43

Sun, Aug 07 2022, 4:23 pm

Sort of?

I think the internet is kind of like alcohol. Dangerous for kids because their bodies/minds can't handle it properly; dangerous for teens because it's so highly addictive and can lead to terrible decisions. For adults - most people can use it wisely, in small doses, but it's not healthy to use more than a little, and for some people it's downright disastrous.

The main issue IMHO is that it's built to be addictive. All kinds of sites out there were designed to give you a dopamine rush and keep you clicking. Having a filter doesn't solve that problem (except re: p0rnography).

amother

Junglegreen

Sun, Aug 07 2022, 4:24 pm

shabbatiscoming wrote:

For some they may not need it but you’re naive in thinking internet isn’t harmful. The rabbis haven’t said filters are necessary just for their health, Its because they’ve seen first hand how many lives, marriages, frumkeit have been destroyed by it.
I saw it firsthand.

shabbatiscoming

Sun, Aug 07 2022, 4:25 pm

amother [ Maize ] wrote:

I don't think adults need filters, but I do think the internet in general, regardless if it's filtered or not, negatively effects our mental health. One doesn't negate the other.

I dont agree with that. And if you feel that way, why are you on the internet?
I think there are many positive things on the internet. Yes, there is a lot of shmutz as well, but not everyone find or sees or uses that.

amother

Junglegreen

Sun, Aug 07 2022, 4:25 pm

amother [ Maize ] wrote:

I don't think adults need filters, but I do think the internet in general, regardless if it's filtered or not, negatively effects our mental health. One doesn't negate the other.

You don’t think any man out there needs a filter?

amother

Honeysuckle

Sun, Aug 07 2022, 4:27 pm

amother [ Junglegreen ] wrote:

You don’t think any man out there needs a filter?

A man who wants to see p-rn will find ways with it without his wife forcing him to have a filter.

shabbatiscoming

Sun, Aug 07 2022, 4:27 pm

amother [ Junglegreen ] wrote:

Im sorry you saw lives being destroyed by the internet.
But Ill ask a question, and again, I may be flayed for asking this, but I will anyway, why is it only in certain communities that the rabbanim even mention filters as something that is necessary?
I never said the internet is never harmful. But that does not mean that everyone needs a filter. And Im sorry to say but if someone wants to find something or someone on line, they will, with or without a filter. And if you dont think thats true, thats also being naive.

amother

Honeysuckle

Sun, Aug 07 2022, 4:29 pm

shabbatiscoming wrote:

That’s not proof of anything. Certain communities don’t care to guide their people at all. So? I think this is a bad argument and I’m not a strong believer in filters.

ora_43

Sun, Aug 07 2022, 4:32 pm

IMO having a filter is like putting the corn chips on a high shelf instead of leaving the open bag in front of your face.

If you have no self-control, a filter won't help.

If you have perfect self-control, you don't need a filter.

But if you're in the other 90% of humanity, it makes it a little bit easier to make good decisions without burning through your daily dose of self-discipline.