Pornography in computer labs causing concern
Pornography in computer labs causing concern
By Michael Kibaara Muchiri
YOGYAKARTA (JP): The Internet is finally causing ruffles here
in Yogyakarta. And a lot of institutions, particularly
universities, are riding the wave of its popularity and taking
advantage of its reputation as a source of easy money by
installing easily accessible and cheaper Internet services.
In fact, the hourly rate at campus computer labs couldn't get
any lower. For between Rp 2,000 and Rp 3,000 an hour, students
can enjoy surfing the Internet, reading their favorite newspapers
or checking current journals, or sending e-mails to friends all
over the world.
Obviously the browsing of journals is of minor significance
because, as most of us guys at the campus have noted, contrary to
conventional wisdom, the biggest effect of the World Wide Web is
to facilitate more student idleness and skipping classes. Wait a
minute - did I forget aimless chatting and looking at
pornography?
Where one's arrival at a Warnet, warung Internet, or Internet
cafe was once met with knowing blushes, this phenomena is now
being pushed to the university computer labs.
Only this time, the hourly rates are cheaper and there are no
cubicles to guard against prying eyes from the people in the
neighboring seats, who could range from curious innocent freshmen
discovering their adolescence late in life to "couples" who
unashamedly gaze with glee at the steamy sites.
Regrettably, the campus computer labs were designed to
maximize space and hence have no wall partitions for privacy.
We'll talk about freedom and its embarrassing moments.
The Internet has often been referred to as a limitless source
of information. In Yogyakarta, despite the initial good
intentions to operate cheap, comfortable and affordable Internet
computer labs it is proving a fertile ground for bad behavior.
On several occasions, a computer has been left on with the
remnants of a steamy site. The guy on the queue could be anybody
ranging from that innocent pea-eyed girl to a serious porno fan
looking for a chance such as this one. Forget the "these are
modern times" line. This is Yogyakarta and the steamy sites can
get Internet clients very nervous at times.
Well folks, the story of pornography on the Internet is
neither here nor there. The universities are apparently powerless
to stop the spread of this vice and it is difficult to envisage a
modern university without the Internet. It would be unrealistic
for the university to strictly control or sift through everything
the students are watching as this is clearly in contravention of
the ethic of privacy that is so fundamental to Internet
communication. Nor can a university run away from the presence of
the Internet for fear of pornography. The Internet has landed in
university campuses, and is here to stay.
The low hourly rate of campus labs has its hidden cost. It can
be frustrating having to queue to use the Internet while the guy
on the computer is merely chatting nonsense, or plainly watching
some lewd act on a steamy site. And it can be quite disheartening
to see the top brains of the nation being influenced by the
malaise of pornography.
Clearly these are hard times that require tough choices. And
even tougher choices will have to be made as we move ahead into
the future. But surely there must be some way to curb the
malaise. Like, for example, putting some rules on what not to
surf, watch or read in the campus computer labs, or advising
students to help cull the offenders. It is time the university
authorities set some candid rules that are either abided by or
result in the offenders getting kicked out of the lab. That way
campus computer labs will help foster intellectuals instead of
perverts.
The writer, studying for his Masters in Psychology at the
Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, works for the Ministry of
Education in Nairobi in Kenya.