The Nasty Net Essay, Research Paper

The Nasty Net

Did you know that 83.5% of the images available on the Internet are pornographic (Kershaw)? Did you know that pornography on the Internet is readily available to curious little children who happen to bump into it? Today, the Internet which has only become popular in recent decades, is unequivocally one of the most revolutionary innovations in the computer world. The information superhighway has changed peoples’ lives dramatically and has created many new exciting opportunities as well as markets to be exploited. But, unfortunately, the Internet also has created a haven for the depravity of pornography and hate literature. Therefore, this has called for immediate action: censorship.

Many people complain that censorship is the violation of the first amendment and the suppression of freedom of speech but there is a point where freedom of speech becomes corrupt; this only creates an excuse for the vile pornographers to poison our nation let alone our children. Pornography denies human dignity and often stimulates the user to violent acts (Beahm 295). Therefore, pornography and violence are correlated. It trivializes the human beauty and converts it into commercialized slime (Beahm 295). Moreover, the consumption of pornography can lead to a detrimental addiction and the consumer can become a slave to it (Beahm 297). In short, pornography is a very addictive drug; which is as equal to or more potent than hard-core drugs such as heroin and

cocaine. Can you imagine your ten year-old little darling innocently surfing the Internet and suddenly bumping into a pornographic site depicting explicit images of ill refute? Furthermore, can you imagine your child committing a horrible crime because of his or her exposure to such graphic material? The damage is long-term and when the time comes, we will have a nation blackened by the grime in which the Internet has smudged on the walls of society.

Galbraith says, “The U.S. constitution does not forbid the protection of children from a pornographer’s freedom of speech. That must be inferred through the First Amendment.” These are our children and we not only have the right but have the duty to protect them. The fact that pornography is damaging mentally is further aggravated by the increasing availability of pornography on the Internet. The ridiculously easy accessibility to all types of pornography; by anyone who logs onto the Internet has raised a major concern for both the government and the public. The Internet, being the biggest interactive library in existence, has no owner, President, chief operating officer or pope (Montoya). “Inevitably, being an uncontrolled system, means that the Internet will be subjected to subversive applications of some unscrupulous users.” (Kershaw) Internet users can publish pornography and hate literature that is literally made available to millions of Internet users worldwide (Kershaw). A five year-old can easily obtain pornography on the Internet by just typing the word “sex” in the search engine and literally hundreds of listing will appear on-screen, each leading to a smut page. This type of easy accessibility has people calling for censorship (Kershaw). “Most popular images available were of hardcore scenes featuring such acts as pedophilia, defection, bestiality and bondage.” (Kershaw) According to Chidley, “In 1994, more than 450,000 pornographic images and text files were available to the Internet users around the world; that information had been accessed more than 6 million times.” (58) This shocking figure is further agitated by the fact that pornography would be very harmful to the young unsuspecting child who happens to stumble on it while roaming about cyberspace (Kershaw). Remember, our children are our most important resource in the future; we have to refrain them from negative influences so that they could be good citizens of tomorrow. In addition to this problem, child pornography also prevails over the Internet. Another distressing issue about the Internet is the presence of child pornography; “Digitally scanned images of naked boys and girls-populate cyberspace.” (Chidley 58) Innocent-looking little boys and girls were forced to undress and they pictures are published on the Internet. How degrading of us as human beings! Furthermore, possession of child pornography is an offense and the “police are concerned that a shadowy pedophiles’ ring, offering child pornography and information on where and how to indulge in their fetish, is operating on an international scale.” (Chidley 58) By censoring the Internet, not only you’ll keep the public safe from the crudeness of pornography, but you’ll also help enforce the law.

Pornography is not the only problem on the Internet. The availability of terrorist manuals on such frightening subjects as bomb making is a disturbing problem.(Kershaw 2). According to Kershaw, ” the wrong people can now get their hands on this information without having to leave the secrecy of their home.” (2) This easy availability of such material promotes terrorism. The information obtained for the making of the Centennial Park bomb in Atlanta during the Olympics is available on the Internet. The bomb had created chaos but fortunately, there were no fatal casualties. However, not all terrorists’ attempts have been unsuccessful. Many innocent people and children were been killed in the Oklahoma bombing and the subway massacre in Tokyo. Moreover, many curious children have lost their fingers and even their lives by experimenting with bomb making. This must stop immediately!

Another non-pornographic epidemic raging through the Internet is the availability of hate literature. The Internet has been a place where people express, and promote their hatred and anger toward other people. Kershaw says, ” newsgroups on the Internet contain messages which could incite violence against members of various racial, ethnic or religious groups or messages which deny the Holocaust.” This sort of information advocates racism and other types of sensitive discrimination. In many countries, the problem of racism is almost unheard of today, but the problem will surface again in places where it has been a plague if we allow racist bigots to influence the public. . Kershaw also says that groups such as the neo-Nazi of America are not uncommon and have many people paranoid that the Net gives these types of groups a meeting place and a source of empowerment (2). Kershaw also stresses, “One particularly disturbing message found on the Net one week after the Oklahoma bombing read, ‘I want to make bombs and kill evil Zionist people in the government. Teach me. Give me text files.’” The Internet is meant to be a medium that promotes healthy qualities; not a place of hate and evil. “There is a difference between free speech and teaching others how to kill.” (Kershaw)

“Regulating the Internet might be the only way to protect Internet users including our children from accessing obscene pages.” (Montoya) Singapore has taken an encouraging step to establish a “neighborhood police post” on the Internet to monitor and receive complaints of criminal activity-including the distribution of pornography (Chidley 58). They have also implemented proxy servers to partially filter our pornographic sites such as “Playboy” and “Penthouse” from access. An anonymous author quotes, “When such material is discovered, access providers could be alerted, and required to deny entry to the sites concerned.” (Only) This is an ideal approach to censorship and should be exercised in every country. Parents at home can also be more responsible over what information is retrieved by their young ones by installing programs like Surf Watch that will block pornography from access (Quitter 45). In addition to this problem, child pornography also prevails over the Internet.

Although the Internet has many useful applications we cannot be complacent and ignore the its dark and ugly side. We will not rest on our laurels until the Internet is completely free from pornography and other unhealthy elements. Otherwise, the Internet will slowly but surely result as nothing but a sleazy educator of smut, terrorism, and hate, operated and dominated by notorious gangs and secret societies.

Works Cited

Beahm, George. War of Words-The Censorship Debate. Kansas City : Andrew and McMeel, 1993.

Chidley, Joe. “Red-Light District.” Maclean’s 22 May 1995.

Galbraith, John Kenneth. “The Page That Formerly Occupied This Site Has Been Taken Down in Disgust!” http://user.holli.com/ kathh/anti.htm

Kershaw, Dave. “Censorship and the Internet.” http://cmns-web.comm.sfu. ca/cmns353/96-1/dkershaw 2 Apr. 1996

Montoya, Drake. “The Internet and Censorship.” http://esoptron.umd. edu/FUSFOLDER/dmontoya.html

Quittner, Joshua. “How Parents Can Filter Out the Naughty Bits.” Time 13 July 1995.

Jensen, Carl. Censored: The News That Didn’t Make the News-AND WHY. New York :

Four Walls Eight Windows, 1994.

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