The Internet .... or Inter'threat' ?

So I was talking with my telephone חברותה (chavruta/study partner), from New Jersey, about a week ago. He was telling me about the latest issue to hit the Orthodox Jewish Community in his area, something that was soon to be resolved by a big community talk. *Cue evil music* The Internet!! Apparently there are those in his community who are afraid that if they let their children on the Internet then they are sure to find some pornography or some child molester; a consequence that will subsequently lead these kids to fall WAY off the דרך השם (the way of G-d/ religiously Jewish path).

I have to say that there is a certain truth to this. Having the internet on means that their children could have access to all sorts of ideas. These kids can: learn all about people who are bitter at the world, bitter at their religion, live different lifestyles then an Orthodox Jewish one, surely see pornography if that's what they're really looking for, chat with many different people, etc. The list goes on to infinity I believe.

Let's say I'm an Orthodox Jewish parent who, at once, is very concerned about the things that I subject my child to, yet on the other hand wants my kid to have a good education in technology. If I'm really computer savvy, I could figure out ways of preventing my kid from going to porn sites, chatting with people, or really doing anything but looking up some nice wholesome Jewish content. I could have my computer so well secured that I would never have to worry about what goes on with it. The only thing I would have left to worry about is my parenting style. Am I raising my kid in a way that s/he is not being stifled. Is my child psychologically healthy? Do I show my child that the world s/he lives in is a happy, secure place to be? Am I being so harsh that my child might want to seek out alternate lifestyles?

I see the answers to these questions as more integral than whether or not the Internet poses a threat to my child's religious well being. We are not raised in a vacuum tube which guarantees that when the internet gets added to our life only negative things will happen. We are raised in a familial and social environment that can either help or hinder our confidence in who we are . If you are attentive enough to how your child responds to your environment then you hopefully will be able to tell if exposing her/him to something like the internet (albeit a filtered internet) will be a bad thing.

This is only my opinion on this issue. A group of Rabbis will be meeting to discuss the possible benefits and detriments of not only having the Internet in the home, but also having a computer. I hope that they take into account the opportunity for job income that learning how to use a computer represents. It is a part of the Modern Western condition that people know how to use a computer. Taking this away is severely limiting. Unless they become an insular community that strives to provide all possible jobs for its population, I can't see how they can allow a thing like this to happen.

Signing off,

- Inkhorn