Avoiding the traps of an online world

Computers and the internet have revolutionized modern life. They have changed the way we communicate, the kind of information we can access and the speed at which we can access it. They have brought the world into our homes, and broadened our perspective. Much of this is good. Communication is now quick, easy and cheap. Research and study can be conducted from almost anywhere. We can learn about people and places in ways never previously imagined. But there are also traps: the internet brings both the good and the bad into our homes and minds.

The basic problem is not new. Any medium (books, radio, TV) can carry helpful or harmful content. Our flesh is weak, and the temptation to sin is strong. But the internet complicates godliness for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it makes it incredibly easy to share and access anything—both good and evil. If you can type it, draw it, record it, photograph it, animate it or video it, you can almost guarantee it is on the internet. Moreover, search engines and linking make it easy to find. Secondly, you can find it and view it from the privacy of your own home (or wherever else you choose to use your laptop, mobile phone or PDA).

These two factors—ease of access and privacy—make the internet more dangerous to our holiness than other media. Whereas in days gone by, the censors would limit what was shown on TV or at the movies, there is no real censorship on the internet. Whereas in days gone by, a person risked exposure if they rented a pornographic movie or if they bought an adult magazine, there is very little perceived risk when it comes to the internet. The content is there, it’s accessible and we want to look. Furthermore, it’s unlikely anyone will ever know if we do.

There are a range of dangers in an online world (e.g. bullying, spam, identity theft, wasting time and money, concentration attenuation), but here I want to focus on a couple of ways you can help yourself and those you love to avoid the dangers of accessing inappropriate content on the internet.

Go back to God’s word and his people

The first and main thing to acknowledge is that nothing can stop a person from accessing inappropriate content. If a person really wants to look at porn­ography, they will find a way. If a person really wants to join a hate group, they will. Internet filters won’t stop them; they will just find a computer that has none.

So the place to begin our thinking is the Bible and what it has to say about what we love, and how we can grow in godliness and self-control (e.g. Eph 4:22-24). We should not expect to find a technological solution to a theological problem. The very best we can do is help ourselves and others develop a Christlike mind that loves the Father and that is disciplined and self-controlled in the face of temptation.

We must also remember that, like any other area in which we might sin, help is available. God has provided a saviour and helper in Christ and his Spirit, and given us the gift of his people. Trying to overcome sin, temptation and even addiction without support is foolish when help is readily available. Prayer, accountability groups, professional counselling, and encouraging and wise friends are all means by which God helps those who are tempted. We need to use every means possible in our struggle against sin because we are weak.

Impose limits

The second thing we can do is limit the possibility that we will either deliberately or accidentally expose ourselves to inappropriate content. This is especially important for young children who will innocently click on anything that appears on their screens. But it is equally important that adults make bad stuff less accessible.

This is where content filters can be helpful. There are all sorts: some are built into a computer’s operating system (e.g. parental control), others can be installed on a computer.[1. The Australian Government website http://www.netalert.gov.au/filters.html contains some good advice and a link to a list of family friendly internet content filters.] others work from the internet (e.g. OpenDNS[2. OpenDNS (www.opendns.com) is a very useful free service. By changing the DNS settings in your router/computer to use their DNS servers, you will protect yourself from phishing sites. With a little more work, you can also enable their free content filter to block or restrict access to sites and services that are inappropriate. You can also get statistics on what sites people have visited using your internet connection. The useful thing about OpenDNS is that it will work with all devices on your home network, not just personal computers (e.g. XBox 360, PDAs).]) and others work on particular parts of the internet (e.g. the safe search mode on Google searches).

No single content filter is going to do a perfect job, and so often the best thing is to combine a couple of different options (e.g. your operating system’s parental control features plus a content filter, or a content filter plus OpenDNS). For young children, it’s best to specify a limited list of sites they can access (i.e. a white list). This means that they can visit those sites only and no others. For teenagers and adults, it is more practical to filter by categories (e.g. nudity, pornography). But remember: filtering the category ‘nudity’ won’t stop all images with nudity from appearing on your computer. That is why talking with your spouse, teenagers and kids is so important. The filter helps you to keep yourself on the right path; it can’t force you to stay there.

Content filters require a main password to control which categories are filtered and what records are kept. If you find it hard to stop yourself viewing inappropriate material, make sure someone else has the password and that you don’t know what it is.

Make it public

This leads us to the third point: if the privacy of the internet causes you to stumble, make your internet usage public. This can mean physically keeping the computer in a public place, ensuring you only access the internet when others are around, and making the history of your internet usage public. Open and honest discussion is important if we are to train our hearts to love what is good and flee from evil.

Each of the content filters mentioned above can keep a log of the internet usage for a user or household. It is a good idea to make that accessible to someone else (e.g. your spouse, a parent, a friend). If they can look at it and you can’t change it (this is important so that you are not tempted to clear or modify your history), then you will think twice about what you view.[3. Covenant Eyes (www.covenanteyes.com) is another popular paid service that reports your internet usage to someone else.] Similarly, the content of your teenagers’ instant messaging chats might remain private, but who they are chatting with and the length of their conversations ought to be public.

Developing a culture of open and honest communication about internet usage is important if we are going to spur one another on in godliness. Husbands ought to talk with their wives, parents with their children, pastors with their congregations, and friends with their friends. Sometimes the place to start is with a discussion about what is Christlike behaviour and what isn’t. Because the internet is mostly accessed in private, it is harder for people to learn from the example of mature Christian role models. More to the point, it is easy for people to think that what they see and read on the internet is normal and appropriate when often it is quite ungodly. It may be necessary for you to chat with young people about what information or photos they share with others, and what topics ought to be off limits. The widespread use of the internet in workplaces makes it especially important to think about the godly use of the web at work. Make sure you know what your workplace standards are, and ensure that your internet use could never be perceived to be excessive or inappropriate.

Just like any other area of life where we can get things wrong, our use of the internet can be both positive and negative. As it is a global communication tool, the internet is both a minefield and a world of opportunity. For this reason, it is important that we evaluate our internet usage with biblical ‘glasses’ on. Paul warns us to examine our actions in the light of the Lord’s will, “making the best use of the time, because the days are evil” (Eph 5:15-17). Christians must no longer live like the world, which is driven by pleasure and happiness. Instead, we must “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (Eph 4:1). The Christian must live for the glory of Christ and the age to come.

May Christ teach us by his Spirit to be like our heavenly Father.