The Challenges of the Digital Age: From the Eyes of a Child

[Music] we are living in the digital age in the pursuit of making life simpler technology has found its way into every facet of our lives in every industry technology is employed on some level what has taken many by surprise is the infiltration of technology into our homes and the ramifications of its exposure on our children what started out as a benign tool for business and communication soon morphed into a direct connection to cultures and values that are anathema to our way of life inappropriate images vulgar language and friendships with dangerous strangers things that our families used to be sheltered from have become accessible with the simple click of a mouse how are our children responding to this what are they experiencing and what can we do about it [Music] our children are our treasures nothing even comes close if any of us would be asked if there is something that we care about more than our children we would undoubtedly be offended yet time and time again we put the spiritual and emotional well-being of our children in jeopardy we reason with ourselves that we need certain devices and internet access in order to live in today's world to stay in touch with family or to keep abreast of current events those who work from home can even say that they need the internet and their devices for parnassa and yet what would we not do for our children allowing children to have unfiltered unprotected access to the internet is akin to allowing your child to run around with a very sharp knife the harm that they can cause themselves and the harm that they can cause others is obvious unfiltered and restricted unprotected access to the internet is exactly the same thing the difference being the harm is not always so clear it's not always so obvious computer filters are very helpful however it is also incumbent upon parents to be ever aware of the potential danger lurking in their homes it is necessary and vital for children to know that the parents will be walking in to check on the computer learning habits they also need repeated reminders about not looking at other programs once kippah sitsit and muzuza should help to avoid the challenges but parental supervision is most essential the images the videos that they see can remain etched in their brains for a lifetime much of what they can accidentally or intentionally come across will lead to very distorted and confusing messages about a very delicate sensitive and important topic and as they mature as they evolve it leads to lots of confusion which leads to many many problems these things that the children see will also lead to very wrong and unhealthy messages about male female relationships unfortunately more often than not will lead to negatively impacting if not ruining a marriage down the road technology of communications today is awesome it's tremendous and has beautiful aspects to it you can listen to shiuri and you can see your muggy cheer you can talk to your children and see them on the other side it has a catastrophic side to it also for us [Music] the distance between canadian hannah is a hair's breath one wrong push one pressure with the finger on the wrong place and he's got the hoganum open in front of him our children are not evil or badly motivated they are simply human at their young age they are often unable to withstand the pull of bright light technology that overwhelms their senses and captivates their attention they possess healthy curiosity that encourages them to click on links that they know are reserved for older grown-up people when they encounter content that is beyond their comprehension they are confused full of shame and alone they are often reluctant to discuss what they saw with their parents and teachers knowing that they shouldn't have gone there in the first place for many people what starts off as a one-time event can often turn into a full-blown obsession or addiction this is one of the more common problems that mental health professionals are dealing with today there's the threat the danger of cyber bullying addictive gaming meeting dangerous people both virtually and in real life an entrance into the world of drugs gambling the challenge of the computer screen and the stimulation of its bright lights can overpower even the most trustworthy child because at that moment when questionable material pops up on the screen in his face his brain can be overwhelmed by the images threatening his normal human ability of bahira to make the right choices i think it's fine an addiction is not something somebody does purposely just like when you have a person who had an operation and ease the pain they gave him heroin becomes addicted to her he doesn't like it but his body needs it the these pornographic addictions are not something that a person doesn't wants and he can stop he needs it and he's not necessarily happy doing it he knows it's not what he's supposed to be doing but he can't stop himself and when did this all start dang bang gone one wrong fetch on the button and the plan to do it and want to do it was a mistake and a whole vista open to him that he shouldn't have seen and he got addicted to it contrary to public perception children actually crave structure and discipline when they are given free access to technology they quickly lose control leaving them confused and frightened deep down children yearn for the grown-ups in their lives to set clear boundaries grounding them with a sense of stability and control every generation faces its own uniqueness saying in times far gone we were subjected to forced conversions bitter poverty and the kidnapping and conscription of our children in the last century our nation's youth were bombarded by the many isms that began to emerge and after the holocaust our grandparents were faced with the messiah of us in each of these cases our ancestors knew that they had to make a choice would they stand firm against the prevailing trends or would they accommodate what seemed to be the necessities of the time those who courageously withstood temptation have generations of children who continue to follow in their ways those who could not are often without any jewish descendants the messiah of technology is our generation's messiah it is our call to arms. when television first started taking off said till now we had a sheltered home where the influences of the street didn't penetrate he says now you buy a little box with a little window on it and you bring the whole street into your house that was 60 years ago today every one of your children every one of you has the potential in his hand but not from what they brought in on the television screen 60 years ago but the most in the decent and the lowest and the worst and it's all right there we're bringing it in although it is by no means easy to disconnect from the devices that one has grown accustomed to it can be done many have already taken the plunge and have created internet free homes businessmen have made the decision to leave their devices in their offices the number of families that contact organizations like tag on a regular basis to strategize and come up with the protection plan that best suits their needs continues to rise every day and the benefits are swift and rewarding i noticed more and more that were around your children i was holding myself more often it took months to finally make the decision [Music] you know because of that those moments during cove but it did provide that introspection of what am i supposed to do with my life what more can i do to get close to get close to my children what more can i do to get close to my wife and the tag the kosher phone was the best question the best move i made the best investment i made never under any condition give a child their own internet device even if you have it filtered when a child needs to use a device with an internet connection parents must ensure that they can always monitor the child's usage either physically or through a monitoring software the enhanced connection with one's family that is facilitated by an internet-free home is the greatest gift we can give our children in today's day and age when our children see firsthand how we are ready to make actual sacrifices in choosing our values over our own convenience they will internalize that message for life this may require masira snefesh well we've been there before [Music] how we respond to the challenges of the digital age will define who our children will become the safeguards that parents put into place will determine the kinds of values that our children will absorb and the type of kesha that they will be able to forge with their learning and davening their kasha with hashem as well as their kesha with ourselves if we can provide the boundaries that they themselves so badly need and seek we will be safeguarding their innocence their world just as our parents and grandparents did for us [Music] you