The purpose of this article is to make us aware of the dangers that lurk behind the use of the Internet [especially for children] in the home. As opposed to sticking our heads in the ground like ostriches, it is time we had an honest assessment of the facts and figures associated with the use of the Internet and it being a tool for Shaytan.
DANGERS OF THE INTERNET; EASY OF ACCESS TO PORNOGRAPHY
With the help of a few clicks, pornographic content spreads rampantly across the Internet, carried over an innumerable number of web sites, through explicit images in spam, and through advertisements on search engines. Various statistics show children increasingly being exposed to pornographic content. The content can involve despicable and disgusting acts, sometimes even involving children. The annual revenue of the worldwide pornographic industry is over £60 billion – that’s more than even Hollywood. According to a study by the London School of Economics, 6 out of every 10 children in the UK [1] were regularly being exposed to pornography – that is the majority of children.
MAJORITY OF CHILDREN
Approximately 90 percent of children aged 8 to 16 have seen pornography on the Internet. There are many ways in which children are being exposed to this evil material. Anybody with an email account would know that they are constantly bombarded by emails explicitly advertising pornography or indirectly [by showing one thing and upon clicking re-directing to an explicit site].
There are many game sites on the internet which allow harmless games to be played but advertise sexually explicit websites. According to the TopTenReviews report, at least 26 names of cartoon characters were linked to porn sites, thus exposing children to adult content on the Web.
UNCOMFORTABLE STATISTICS [2]
[1] – 89 percent of youth in chat rooms receive sexual solicitations.
[2] – 73 percent of those exposures happened while searching or surfing the Internet and 27 percent while opening e-mail or clicking on links in e-mails or instant messages.
[3] – 67 percent happened while using the Internet at home; 15 percent at school; 3 percent in libraries; and the rest at other homes, such as friends’, and elsewhere.
[4] – most of the images were of nudity, 32 percent showed a sexual act,
[5] – web searches and search engines were the most common route to exposures (47 percent).
[6] – in 26 percent of the surfing incidents, the children surveyed were “mousetrapped” into another dirty site while trying to get out of the one they were in.
INTERNET – TOOL OF THE SHAYTAN
The Shaytan, who is our open and clear enemy, is using the Internet to corrupt the Believers and their children’s morals, Imaan [faith] and dignity. Allah [swt] says in the Qur’an,
‘Satan threatens you with poverty and orders you to commit Fahishah’
al-Baqarah 2:268
WHAT DOES ‘FAHISHAH’ MEAN?
Linguistically ‘Fahishah’ means, ‘an excess or enormity, a thing excessively and enormously foul, evil, immoral, lewd, obscene, a sin or a crime which is excessively foul; adultery or fornication.’
One finds that the Internet is the marketplace for people indulging in ‘Fahishah’ and all the steps that lead to it – accumulating major sins in the sight of their Creator, Allah [swt]. The Shaytan has openly declared war on the children of Adam [due to his jealousy] and his primary aim is to drag as many of them as possible to the Hell-Fire with him – May Allah [swt] protect us and our children [ameen]
PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS
Repeated and long-term exposure of pornographic material is severely traumatic and damaging to children’s Imaan [faith] and leads to all sorts of psychological and behavioural problems. One must realise that you cannot delete from the memories of children what they have seen of these images or videos. These ‘evil seeds’ are planted into the hearts of the innocent resulting in producing adults who are sexually perverted, promiscuous, immoral, psychologically inept and corrupt Muslims who continue to battle with their sins.
OUR RECOMMENDATIONS
Parents must take active responsibility to ensure that their homes are safe from the influence of Fahishah – especially from the Internet. We recommend the following:
[1] – Do not have access to the internet anywhere in the house except in the main living/dining room with the computer monitor facing outwards – i.e., towards the rest of the room
[2] – Children do not need to have email addresses or accounts on Facebook, Twitter, MSN, Yahoo etc. Supervise access to YouTube.
[3] – do not allow them to use chatrooms
[4] – Only allow access to the internet while they are being supervised [or in groups of responsible children]
[5] – Setup bookmarks for your children and only allow them to visit these ‘approved’ sites – do not give them the opportunity to type in the address box
[6] – Putting a physical block on adult sites – this can be done by adjusting the settings in your internet explorer
[7] – Install internet protection software for children – available free online
[8] – Ensure that the history of the pages visited cannot be deleted.
WARNING
Please do not turn a blind eye to dangers that the Internet poses to our future – our children. Doing so would be tantamount to incompetence and irresponsibility on the part of the Parents. Is it logical that we would ever hand our children a 500 page encyclopaedia, that has 50 pages of explicit material and then expect our children never to stumble upon them? The astute parent would remove the 50 pages and then hand the book over or sit by their side and make sure nothing other than beneficial information is looked at.
We ask Allah [swt], the Lord of the Worlds, to protect us and our children from the fahishah [immorality] and fitnah [turmoil] that surrounds us and protects us all from the traps of the Shaytan [ameen]
While it is true that pronography's effects are deleterious, one cannot stop the urges in children while they are in puberty. The best way is to be open with them about what they feel and discuss it with them and guide them about the physical and psychological changes taking place.
Help me to escape from this existence
I yearn for an answer... can you help me?
I'm drowning in a sea of abused visions and shattered dreams
In somnolent illusion... I'm paralyzed
While it is true that pronography's effects are deleterious, one cannot stop the urges in children while they are in puberty. The best way is to be open with them about what they feel and discuss it with them and guide them about the physical and psychological changes taking place.
One of the reasons why I think the age before the internet, TV and photography was so much better.....
No point in wishing I lived during the era of old. Jazakallah khair for the advice. You're right, the best way would be to discuss the issues openly with adolescents.
It's only the kids below the age of 12 and 11 that I'm worried about. Dread the thought of them being exposed to those awful things!
It is pointless to watch other people's houses crumbling when our own house is in need of repair and attention.
JazakAllah Khair. This is brilliant advice. Putting the computer in the main living room with the monitor facing outwards is a very simple but effective way of keeping things safe. Our kids are allowed limited access to the internet - half an hour each day but only for Islamic or secular study, no socialising or games. If they go to a new site they have not visited before they have to ask permission first and we look at it together to make sure it is suitable. We also always check the browsing history after each session.
There's a chemical in your brain called dopamine and every time you watch porn and masturbate great amounts of it is released into the brain, if the person carries on this way and makes it a habit, the brain becomes dependent on this chemical, the brain has become accustomed to you giving it this chemical in great amounts, so once you tell your brain that you wont give it this chemical because you will stop porn, it will tell you ''is this guy kidding me?!? i need it and need it now!!!!'' and so you cave in because its all too much.
This is how Allah created us, these chemicals help us stay with our wives...to reproduce....to do certain things repeatedly....these chemicals create excitement and so on.
What you have done is you have abused this system, that's what porn does it overloads the brain with these chemicals to a point where you cannot cope past a week without watching porn.
seeing your lovely wife = chemicals are released = the bond between you and your wife is solidified.
watching porn = crazy amount of chemicals are released = the bond between you and porn is solidified.
Simple mathematics
format_quote Originally Posted by mad_scientist
While it is true that pronography's effects are deleterious, one cannot stop the urges in children while they are in puberty. The best way is to be open with them about what they feel and discuss it with them and guide them about the physical and psychological changes taking place.
Couldn't agree with you more....it used to be before that in order for you to commit zina and other sins you would have to go out but nowadays you can do it in the comfort of your own home. Parents will tell their kids to not go out and to not do these things without any explanation as to why it is haram....and therefore in a way the kids are cornered into going on the internet and interacting with mad virtual world and the parents would have the slightest clue as to what their kids are doing.
Last edited by Cabdullahi; 04-20-2011 at 06:43 PM.
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