Technology is a two-edged sword. Governments have risen and fallen by a Twitter feed. The knowledge of the world is at the fingertips of anyone on the planet with an Internet connection. Relationships are strengthened across time and geographic distance. But then there’s the sewage conveniently piped into our homes and into our teens’ back pockets. For all of its benefits, technology has made pornography more accessible and more anonymous than ever before in human history.
This session was part of the Utah Coalition Against Pornography Conference in Salt Lake City on April 18, 2015.
Dr. Charles D. Knutson is an Emeritus Professor of Computer Science at BYU and holds a PhD in Computer Science from Oregon State University. He’s the father of ten children ages 16 to 28, and has been professionally involved in technology for more than 30 years (including engineering stints at Hewlett-Packard and Novell). Prof. Knutson has taught classes on Internet Safety at BYU’s Campus Education Week, and taught a senior course at BYU entitled Ethics and Computers in Society. He founded the non-profit Internet Safety Project, and hosts the Internet Safety Podcast to educate parents, teachers, and teens about the benefits and risks of technology. He is the author of more than 130 technical and professional publications, as well as Digital Mists of Darkness, a book on Internet safety targeted to LDS parents and leaders (digitalmists.com).
