This post written by Jake (not Jon).
In the battle Christians wage against the present darkness,1 there are few enemies of the soul that measure up like the Internet pornography machine. But scripture tells us that where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more.2 Truly we have seen this in the outpouring of support resources and digital health tools provided by people who care.
Among these aids, Internet filters are quite popular because they make sense–remove the bad parts of the Internet without removing the good–and also because they offer people the sane option of living in a culture enmeshed with the Internet without losing their soul.3
However, it must be noted that not all apps under the umbrella of “Internet filter” operate in the same way or with the same end-goal–some don’t even filter at all.
Let us separate these apps into two types: accountability software and Internet filters.
Accountability software
Accountability software attempts to bring the idea of an accountability partner or group into one’s online activity by using a combination of monitoring and reporting. Some accountability software offer filtering as an option secondary to the main purpose of the product, and some don’t offer filtering at all.
Internet filters
Unlike accountability software, Internet filters are not primarily designed for monitoring and reporting but instead filtering out content from the device’s network activity.
Filters can work in different ways to offer different features, but the essential thing they have in common is the filtering part.
The target audience of the product is important
In addition to separating accountability software and Internet filters, they can (and should) be further broken down by the target audience they are designed for.
For example, if the target audience of an accountability software product is a normal adult, the exclusion of a filtering option may be just fine. But if the same product is targeted towards children or addicts, it may be seen as lacking a needed feature.
Here is a breakdown of the different kinds of products with their target audiences in mind:
Parental control
- Often a combination of filtering, time control, monitoring and reporting.
- Designed for parents to protect their children’s devices and possibly put time limits on them.
Network security
- Primarily filtering (perhaps also monitoring/reporting) for schools, corporations, industries.
- Designed to help system administrators keep security threats out of networks but can also be used to block non-productive categories of sites such as porn.
Self-control
- Primarily filtering; monitoring/reporting to an accountability partner can be a secondary feature, but filtering is the essential angle of the product.
- Designed for individuals (usually adults who are addicts) to prevent access to addictive content including porn, gaming, gambling, social media, etc.
Notice that parental control software is set up by parents but is technically used by children, and network security software is set up by system administrators but is used by students/employees. Self-control software differs because it’s both set up and used by the same individual.
So… which one should I use?
Whether you should install accountability software, an Internet filter, both, or something else depends on who the target audience is.
If you are a parent and want to protect your children’s innocence, a filter seems absolutely necessary. Accountability software can be (and maybe should be) used as a complement to the filter. This isn’t an unusual practice; Accountable2You, one of the top accountability software on the market, promotes the option on their website.4
If you are an addict seeking freedom, then self-control software is essential, and good filtering is needed. Accountability would likely help in reality-checking the false beliefs instilled by addiction, but whether accountability software is needed to support that accountability or not is up to discretion.
If you are a spouse or accountability partner doing research into different products on the market that might make you better able to support your loved one, accountability software might be what you are looking for, and an Internet filter might complement the accountability software.
It also helps to ask questions like:
- Is monitoring and reporting important?
- Do I want to have conversations about how (I/someone else) is using the device?
- Is filtering too “parental” when the goal is to be a good accountability partner?
- Is filtering absolutely necessary as the first line of defense?
- Is accountability absolutely necessary to cultivate a proper mindset?
- Is accountability software a natural way to build and maintain accountability?
As you form together an idea of what your digital solution should look like, you can visit https://blockers.xbuilders.org/ for a list of candidate products that can be sorted using the terms in this article (parent, addict, filtering, etc.) as search tags.