From the abstract of an article detailing a recent study:
In America, religiosity and conservatism are generally associated with opposition to non-traditional sexual behavior, but prominent political scandals and recent research suggest a paradoxical private attraction to sexual content on the political and religious right. We examined associations between state-level religiosity/conservatism and anonymized interest in searching for sexual content online using Google Trends (which calculates within-state search volumes for search terms). Across two separate years, and controlling for demographic variables, we observed moderate-to-large positive associations between: (1) greater proportions of state-level religiosity and general web searching for sexual content and (2) greater proportions of state-level conservatism and image-specific searching for sex. These findings were interpreted in terms of the paradoxical hypothesis that a greater preponderance of right-leaning ideologies is associated with greater preoccupation with sexual content in private internet activity. Alternative explanations (e.g., that opposition to non-traditional sex in right-leaning states leads people to rely on private internet sexual activity) are discussed, as are limitations to inference posed by aggregate data more generally.
As we know - that otherwise religious Jews ALSO use pornography extensively on the Internet. How many? How widespread is the phenomenon? WE CAN'T KNOW!!! But what we do know is that countless marriages have crumbled and countless families have been ruined because of pritzus on the Internet. Dayanim who deal with these issues are inundated with case after case of this. That is why the Rabbonim have come out so strongly against the Internet. It is NOT because they are bored and have nothing better to do with their time.
אין אפוטרופוס לעריות.
Of course, this affects not only well meaning servants of G-d. People who lack Yiras Shomayim have no reason [on their minds] not to watch, so plenty of those such people as well are immersed in the filth. [I once spoke to a formerly Charedi boy who told me that 100 percent of his no longer Charedi friends watch pritzus.]
My question - How do post high school programs in Israel who call themselves yeshivos allow students to carry around iphones with unlimited Internet access??? In some places, the kids are IN THE BEIS MEDRASH watching things they shouldn't. They CERTAINLY go back to the dorms and watch. The staff of these places knows about this and allows it. It drives me crazzzzzzy!!! Why can't they say "this is a yeshiva. We don't allow pornography. You want to call home? Get a kosher phone with no Internet. You don't like this rule? Free country. You don't have to come to our yeshiva." Unless the logic is that the yeshivas hope to turn them around and get them to stop watching things they shouldn't. But then again, plenty of Rabbeim sit with their iphones in the Beis Medrash so I am not sure that they expect otherwise of their students. I used to give shiur and at times another Rebbi had to join and he would go back and forth between his gemara and iPhone. I make this not up.
I was told by one school that they can't ban it, because if they do the boys won't attend their institution. In other words - they will lose money. I have an idea! Get another job. Or be unemployed like me!! But don't allow kids to watch filth that contaminates body and soul.
