Banning Social Media

Were they right? Are the dangers of the internet as bad as the Charedi rabbinic leaders said they are? One may recall the great Asifa (gathering) called by those leaders back in May of 2012 for purposes of banning the internet entirely from our lives. There was no equivocation about it. It was considered to be the greatest threat to one’s Judaism since the Inquisition. Here is what I said at the time about how serious a ban should be taken:

People who use it even for business even with filters are Reshaim (as per R’ Don Segal).  If one does not follow the Psak of the Gedolim as they make edicts when Rivvivos Yisroel (thousands upon thousands of Jews) are gathered they lose there portion in Olam HaBah (as per R’ Ephriam Wachsman’s application of Rebbenu Yonah’s Sharrei Teshuva).  One inot permitted to even enter a home of someone who has unfiltered interent - and those children whose homes have even filtered interent should be barred from  Yeshivos (as per R’ Shmuel HaLevi Wosner).  Description after description of what went on there leaves little doubt in my mind. Nothing has changed.

Since then the technology has advanced to make matters infinitely worse. The internet is now available to be accessed in the palm of your hand. That’s when bans against smartphones were issued byCharedi rabbinic leaders. An entire new industry was created: the Kosher phone.  

I have always maintained that the internet and the increasingly greater ease of using it, was one of the greatest advancements of of the 21^st century. It has litersaly changed the way we live in the world today. It has affected  almost every aspect of our lives in the modern world. There are so many advantages to a smartphone that trying list them all would be a near impossible task.

But that doesn’t mean that those rabbinic leaders didn’t have a point. The dangers of the internet and smartphones are real. Probably a lot worse than those leaders could have ever imagined way back in 2012. At the time they were mostly worried about the ease of accessing porn. Smartphones made that infinitely easier  But the real culprit is social media. And its biggest victims are young people.

So was the solution of those rabbinic leaders at that Asifa to completely ban the technology the right decision after all? 

Absolutely not. But the problem  does exist.  Giving up the convenience of a smart phone might be to big a price to pay. The real solution is self control. To not let social media take over your lives. For those who are so addicted that they can’t beak away from the addiction - it might mean getting help from metal health professional to break away from the addiction.

But for young people under the age of 16 there are more immedaite dangers that may not give a parent the time or the luxury of therapy. So maybe a a ban isn't such a bad idea.

That is apparently what Australia thinks:. As noted at VIN: 

A social media ban for children under 16 passed the Australian Senate Thursday and will soon become a world-first law.

The law will make platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram liable for fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) for systemic failures to prevent children younger than 16 from holding accounts.

The Senate passed the bill 34 votes to 19. The House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved the legislation 102 votes to 13.

The House has yet to endorse opposition amendments made in the Senate. But that is a formality since the government has already agreed they will pass.

You know what? I think they’re on to something. It will surely help prevent something like the following from happening:

Online safety campaigner Sonya Ryan, whose 15-year-old daughter Carly was murdered by a 50-year-old pedophile who pretended to be a teenager online, described the Senate vote as a “monumental moment in protecting our children from horrendous harms online.”

“It’s too late for my daughter, Carly, and the many other children who have suffered terribly and those who have lost their lives in Australia, but let us stand together on their behalf and embrace this together,” she told the AP in an email.

Wayne Holdsworth, whose teenage son Mac took his own life after falling victim to an online sextortion scam, had advocated for the age restriction and took pride in its passage.

“I have always been a proud Australian, but for me subsequent to today’s Senate decision, I am bursting with pride,” 

Should we do that here? Would that be a violation of Frist Amendment rights? Maybe. On the other hand maybe social media abuse is akin to yelling ‘Fire’ in a crowded theater.

Something to think about.