Wednesday, June 13, 2007

The Internet Ban: Doomed To Failure

Bluke notes that in today's Hamodia, there is an article about the Chareidi population of Israel and the U.S. Embassy there. The problem is that the Embassy only sees people by appointment... and the only way to make an appointment is online. For those that are banned by their leaders from using the Internet, this could potentially be a very big problem. Furthermore, it appears that the Embassy has no plans to allow people to register for an appointment by phone.

As Bluke points out, this is a trend that will continue as many more services move toward an online-only model. Bill paying, banking, job searching, government services and many other essentials of modern life will eventually only be available on the Internet. Eventually, the Chareidi population will have to make a choice... to eschew technology altogether (no phones, no lights, no motorcars.... not a single luxury) or come to terms that the world is changing and if they want to remain a part of a functioning larger society, then they'll have to adapt to it.

7 comments:

Leah Goodman said...

I've long said that the internet is a tool, like any other.
You can use a hammer to build a house or to mash someone over the head.
You can use a telephone for bikur cholim or to order a cheeseburger.
You can use the internet to order a mezuza online http://www.hasofer.com or to order a call girl online (I don't do that often enough to have a link handy)
People need to learn to be responsible for their use of tools.

Banning the internet is like banning hammers.

M-n said...

"Eventually, the Chareidi population will have to make a choice... to eschew technology altogether (no phones, no lights, no motorcars.... not a single luxury)"

And they'll call themselves the M'lochim.

Anonymous said...

I don't know Skipper...do you think they're missing the boat?
;)

DAG said...

They will adapt..All while claiming they havent changed

Anonymous said...

The masses will use it, regardless of any ban. This is a takana "sh-ein ha-tzibur yochel la-amod bah".

Anonymous said...

BTW, while the US Embassy in Tel Aviv does say by appointment only for passports, the Consulate in Jerusalem says no such thing...

Zev Stern said...

The Darwinian imperative: Adapt or perish.