Device Monitoring and Filtering

Let’s get practical.

It would be great if we could turn back the wheel of time and return to a day when the entire database of knowledge that humanity has acquired was not sitting in our pockets, but this simply won’t happen. It would be swell if the proliferation of gambling apps, pornography, and drug use could be undone. The phrase “the good old days” comes to mind, and maybe for you that brings to mind memories of riding bikes with your friends in your neighborhood or having sleep overs with your friends. Perhaps “simpler days” to you means a slower pace when we all had the margin in our lives to really know our neighbors.

Every generation of humans finds themselves, at some point, dreaming of simpler times when the collective weight of mankind’s problems was not resting on their shoulders. There is a strong argument to be made that this feeling has been exacerbated by the advent of things such as the twenty-four-hour news cycle and social media, but if we remove those from the equation, we can see that this cycle has been happening since the dawn of time.

This longing is not altogether bad, but I would argue that it can be a distraction. If we are not careful, this longing to have our problems removed from our view can sometimes stand in the way of us taking real, practical steps to manage the problems as they currently are. Take, for example, technology use. If we spend our days wishing that we could somehow undo the damage that our smart phones have wreaked on our lives and those of our families, we might miss the opportunity that exists to harness the power of these devices while minimizing the damage they cause.

Sound too good to be true? Not so. Here are some practical ways you can consider setting healthy use of smart phones for you and your family:

Timed Use:

When does your or your family’s technology use tend to go off the rails? Is it late at night after almost everyone has gone to bed? What about in the moments before dinner is served and everyone starts getting just a little hangry? Do you find that the longer a device gets used, the more nefarious its uses become? Restricting internet connectivity or device usage altogether during these windows of time or capping the total daily use might give you or your family the boost you need to begin finding healthy rhythms.

Most cell phone carriers offer parental control features which allow for the restricting of cell phone use based on time of day or usage time limits. For laptops and tablets not on a cell phone plan, there are several other methods to consider. Parental control applications like Aura and Qustodio function well for setting up a variety of technology boundaries, of which time restrictions is one. Many routers and internet service providers also offer services for controlling or limiting internet use on your home’s wireless network.

Activity Tracking and Content Filtering:

Time is not the only factor that makes device usage a virtual minefield of behavioral destruction. Every comprehensive safe-technology-use policy must include the ability to track the users’ activity. Studies have shown that the addicted mind has reduced functioning in the pre-frontal cortex, which is largely considered to be the decision-making center of the brain. So, it should not come as a surprise when someone who is addicted to a behavior linked to technology makes silly choices – even during normal work hours.

There are many tools available to help implement a system of activity tracking and content filtering, and they all come with their own sets of pros and cons. Some software is designed specifically to help overcome repetitive pornography use while others are merely meant to help avoid the less than savory portions of the internet. In addition to these parental control and monitoring applications, most routers offer a varying amount of visibility into how each device on a network is being used. If further controllability is needed, DNS filtering allows the home network itself to have a pre-selected criteria of what content is allowed to be viewed and what content is blocked from view. The con of relying on only this as a safeguard is that it only works while a device is on the home wireless network.

Location Tracking:

Not every unwanted behavior involves being somewhere we shouldn’t be, but tracking loved ones’ locations can be beneficial in the process of establishing or re-establishing trust. If transparency in location would be beneficial for your circumstances then there are few factors to consider. First, do you need real-time or historical tracking? Having access to real-time tracking might sound great if your circumstances involve behaviors including infidelity or behaviors that are tied to a specific location, but it can actually be more detrimental to a spouse who now feels like they need to be watching the map at all times. In this case, historical tracking might prove to be the most beneficial so that the spouse can rest easy knowing that they can wait until tonight or the end of the week to review the historical data. For this, applications such as Life360 or many of the parental control software available on the market can provide the information safety net that is needed to repair broken trust.

If, however, historical tracking is not necessary then real-time tracking might be considered. Google Maps and Apple Maps both offer the ability to share a user’s real-time location for free, allowing the opportunity for a loved one or trusted friend to see a user’s location at any time. If the user’s location seems out of the ordinary, it affords the transparency necessary to talk about it and either build trust or to reveal a need for further disclosures.

Download Restrictions:

The final aspect of safeguarding technology use that we are covering today is the need to monitor or restrict downloading capabilities. Just like every other safeguard, completely blocking downloads must be decided on a case-by-case basis, and re-evaluated regularly. If these safeguards are being put in place because of an addictive behavior, the restrictions can lessen over time as the mind begins to heal and form healthy patterns.

In the meantime, however, if an addictive behavior is present that involves downloading apps or media content, completely blocking the ability to do so is quite possibly the best initial strategy. There are several options to accomplish this in relatively easy fashion. On a smart phone, most parental control software provides the option to restrict app downloading by ratings, or to block specific apps altogether. Apple, Windows, Google and Amazon devices all provide their own parental control features that provide, among other things, the ability to restrict downloading.

These are called:

Apple – Family Sharing

Windows – Microsoft Family Features

Google –Family Link

Amazon – Parent Dashboard

Technology use has become an essential part of our modern world. It can sometimes be tempting to throw our smart phones and laptops into the nearest lake but setting up safe parameters to use our devices in a healthy way can potentially allow us to maximize the benefits of technology while minimizing the risks. Below is a grid to show the current capabilities of some of the more popular options available as of March, 2023.

*Only applicable while on the network where the settings apply

Reflection:

1. How has technology use negatively impacted you or your family’s lives?

2. What step can you take today to gain a new level of health in your technology use?