Information​—Reliable or False?

Never assume that all information found on the Internet is good and beneficial. Internet search engines might be compared to a legion of mushroom pickers who tirelessly collect all types of mushrooms​—edible as well as poisonous—​throwing them into a single container and dishing them out for us to eat. Would you start eating these mushrooms without carefully examining each one? Of course not! Internet search engines use a huge number of computers to harvest or select from billions of Web pages containing everything from the very best to the very worst. We need discernment to separate the wheat from the chaff, as it were, lest we poison our minds with misinformation.

In 1993 a well-known magazine had a cartoon showing two dogs in front of a computer. One dog explains to the other: “On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog.” Long ago, Satan hid behind a serpent to start a “chat” with Eve and told her that she could be like God. Today, anyone with an Internet connection can become a desktop professor, pretending to be in the know, without even revealing his name. And there are no rules on who can publish ideas, information, images, and suggestions.

Do not become an “Internet Eve.” Be critical and suspicious of the information. Before trusting it, ask: (1) Who published this material? What are the author’s credentials? (2) Why was this published? What motivated the writer? Is there any bias? (3) Where did the author get the information? Does he supply sources that can be checked? (4) Is the information current? In the first century, the apostle Paul gave Timothy advice that applies with equal force today. Paul wrote: “Guard what is laid up in trust with you, turning away from the empty speeches that violate what is holy and from the contradictions of the falsely called ‘knowledge.’”​—1 Tim. 6:20.

Information​—Worthy or Not?

At 1 Thessalonians 5:21, 22, we read: “Make sure of all things; hold fast to what is fine. Abstain from every form of wickedness.” We need to determine whether the information we find on the Internet is worthy of God’s approval, meeting his high standards. It should be morally unobjectionable and appropriate for a Christian. Internet pornography has become especially pervasive, and if we are not careful, it can easily lure us into its trap.

We are wise to ask ourselves, ‘Is what I see on the screen something I would quickly hide from my mate, my parents, or my Christian brothers if they entered the room?’ If the answer is yes, we would do well to use the Internet only when others are present. The Internet has indeed changed the way we communicate and shop. In addition, it has opened up a completely new way to ‘commit adultery in our heart.’​—Matt. 5:27, 28.