t e c h i e - t a l k s ::: technology at its best

Don’t be alarm by it. There is nothing new about these restrictions and there are so many ways in bypassing it. I was curious and wondered whether an old trick that I used to play around with when I was 15, still worked (I couldn’t find a reason otherwise). And in less than 1 minute, I was in.

I’m not trying to advocate watching porn (hence go find out yourself) but I’m just trying to illustrate how implementations at the tech level are often not air-tight. On the surface, it deters unknowing surfers from accidentally accessing the site. But at a deeper level, it’s easy for someone (with the given knowledge) to find an alternative solution. Thus, anti-pornographic measures should be taken not only from an ISP’s perspective. It should include other approaches, for example — sex-education.

In a predominantly shy Asian culture, I feel that we are way behind other societies in terms of educating the young ones regarding sex related issues. On the other hand, I feel that the correct initiatives have been in placed and Singaporeans are becoming more aware of sex-related issues at a younger age. Therefore, it would be understandable to not expect a sudden change in Singaporean mindsets; rather, a complete change would probably take place in a few generations to come.

For the mean time, it is better to have someone to monitor your child’s internet usage rather than rely on ISPs or even “Internet Guardian” programs (which I find useless without proper supervision).