Do you not agree that it is more imperative to be in control of this than to pretend that it’ll never happen? They will discover the internet whether you’re ready for it or not, so surely being at the reins to steer them in the right direction is the best gameplan, isn’t it?
I’m not disrespecting R’ Yosef’s thoughts or recommendations but what I worry about from such boundaries put on religious Jews, is that they will discover technology and find it too difficult to manage when they’re already in adulthood.
Growing up, I was the only one in my year in both Primary and High School that had a TV at home. It was always there and yes, I used to sit for an hour or two watching some sort of entertainment program. I didn’t go crazy staying up all night watching an entire season of Friends, because it was never a novelty to me. It was a given. But once my peers and I hit 14/15, all anyone ever talked about was which show they were into and how much they could watch a night. They never experienced it before then and therefore went into a spiral of addiction without realizing it. I guess when you’re so accustomed to something, you take for granted that you can use it and actually never end up doing so.
I was never sheltered from the realities of the world; I knew boys existed, I understood there were things I shouldn’t watch or see and I appreciated that the computer I had my games on also had thousands of other capabilities. But, it never interested me to delve deeper because I was given the chance to understand from my youth the right and wrong of it all.
Considering how many scandals hit the news every day, technology with all its reputation can honestly ruin a life or marriage. But at the same time, it’s not going anywhere and if anything, it’ll be extremely more advanced and established by the time your toddlers hit adolescence.
Think about yourself and your family – don’t ban technology, learn to live in harmony with it.