Pornography is a global corporate giant. The adult entertainment industry entered the mainstream of capitalism when Playboy magazine hit newsstands in 1953. Today, tens of billions of dollars are generated from the adult industry, and according to the Free Speech Coalition, the fastest growing segment of the adult market in the U.S. is on the Internet. Internet porn is a $3 billion dollar a year business.
There is a rapidly growing segment of the population that is coming to realize the devastating effects that pornography consumption can have on individuals, families and society. This segment isn’t merely made up of the Moral Majority or the Religious Right, but psychologists, marriage therapists, neurobiologists, feminists, politicians, and big business owners.
Is Filtering All There Is?
Various organizations are doing their part to combat the harms that flow from the adult industry’s products: Covenant Eyes is just one of those organizations. Covenant Eyes recognizes that there is an expanding segment of the population that desires self-censorship. Internet filters have their place, especially in protecting families and children, but they often aren’t the best technology for adults. (Even the best filters tend to over-block or not block enough, and at any rate, most adults hold the passwords and overrides to their household filters.) This segment of the population not only understands some of the potentially harmful effects of pornography on an individual, but they also understand the allure of porn. These people desire new tools that can help them stay away from Internet pornography.
Accountability Software
Psychologist Al Cooper believes that the three main factors that draw people into online sexual activity are
(1) Accessibility,
(2) Affordability, and
(3) Anonymity.
He dubbed this the “Triple-A Engine” of Internet porn.
These three factors work like three legs on a stool: remove just one of the legs and the stool will fall (or at least make it awkward to sit on).
Covenant Eyes equips people to take way the ‘A’ of ‘Anonymity’ and replace it with ‘Accountability.’ In other words, Covenant Eyes takes away the secrecy of Internet use by providing a platform by which people give a full and honest account to others about where they go online.
In March of 2000 Covenant Eyes pioneered the concept of “accountability software.” The concept is simple. Download the software to your personal computer. This software will monitor everywhere you go online. It won’t block anything: you can go where you choose to go. The program then assigns a rating to every part of every Web site based on objectionable material. This information is then compiled into easy-to-read reports that are sent to people of the user’s choosing. These people can then become effective accountability partners.
How does this help people?
First, as we’ve already noted, this takes away the anonymity of Internet use. For many the lure of pornography is its secrecy. When you choose to give an account of where you go online—to a trusted friend, counselor, pastor, or spouse—you remove the secrecy, thus, you remove much of the temptation.
Secondly, because the software only monitors without blocking, it preserves your freedom to surf the Web, which helps you build self-control in how you use the Internet.
Thirdly, this is excellent software for porn addiction, giving a great first step for those who need to surround themselves with healthy relationships and others that can help get root of their addiction. Covenant Eyes is a tool used by many pastors and counselors in helping people find freedom from their habitual and compulsive pornography use.
How to Use Covenant Eyes Effectively
In a recent interview, Christian counselor Paul Mavrogeorge talked about how to use the Covenant Eyes program:
“Let’s say Dad has two or three men that he is in accountability with. They get reports on where he goes and what he does on the Internet. In addition he’d get their [reports]. So now when they’re meeting or when they’re in conversation, they can have some conversations about, ‘Where did you go?’ and ‘Why did this happen?’ and ‘What went on?’ It isn’t ‘Oh wow, I gotcha!’ It’s, ‘Hey, let’s talk about this. Did you drift? And if you drifted, let’s talk about it.’”
Covenant Eyes accountability software has very little usefulness outside a community context. The software is a tool to help people who want to bring their Internet use “into the light” and cultivate a healthy, safe, transparent community where others can confess their downfalls and talk openly about the temptations they face.
As one reviewer wrote, Covenant Eyes is about
“creating what will ultimately be a network of like-minded people that include parents, family, trusted friends, mentors, coaches, husbands, wives, pastors, clergy, counselors, and other trusted and concerned individuals who are equally committed to helping each other with the same goal of filtering pornography and other undesirable material.”
For More Information
You can download the Covenant Eyes software at covenanteyes.com
This is a very worrying development. We have seen before where this sort of self-imposed suppression / censorship has led. It’s a short-term solution for the symptoms and it does not address the causes.
In the past people would flagellate themselves to ” cure ” impure thoughts, the psychological damage caused by denying normal God-given desires and feelings was counter-productive and led to other extreme behaviours.
“How can I teach my children to use the Internet with integrity?”
“How do I guard my own heart and remain pure online?”
“How do I serve as an example to my family and church?”
– There are better ways to achieve these goals than censorship and denial.
@Peter – I have a difficult time seeing how self-imposed accountability measures are forms of “suppression” or “censorship.” I also don’t see how self-imposed accountability can ever be equated to flagellating oneself to suppress desires. Please explain yourself better.
okay thank you Luke
Do you have any idea when it will be out?
@zach – Unfortunately no. We’re working on mobile solution that we hope will be usable across multiple platforms. We will let you know when we are closer to launching.
I was wondering when an app for the android is coming out or if there already is one?
@zach – The app is not out yet. We are presently working on it.
I fequently or how soon does the accountablity partner get notified of his partners internet site record?
What is the best Windows to purchase for your program? I have an old 2002 Windows XP with the service pack 3 but it will not allow me to download your program so I was just gonna go buy a new Windows because i don’t have time to deal with being on the phone trying to trouble shoot the issue.
@Michelle The 32-bit version (the top one listed on the Downloads page) is designed for XP. If you’re willing to call in, we may be able to have it fully set up for you within 15 minutes…it would save you quite a bit of money, not to mention the time it would take to set up the new version of Windows. The toll-free number is 1.877.479.1119, and representatives will be in the office until midnight (EST) tonight.
Do you have software for either the iTouch or iPhone?
@Matt – Yes, we have an app that works for both. Go here to get our user guide and information about getting the app. Unlike our service for PCs and Macs, it is an Internet browser.
Hi there
I was wondering that if you went to the task manager and stopped running this programme while the computer is not online and then come online aftwards will my acccountability partner know that I’ve been on the internet?
Thanks
I am a pastor who has bee asked to do a talk and lead a discussion on the particular pitfalls ministers and their wives face when it comes to marital faithfulness.
Could you please give me some guidelines in this regard.
1. What is the minister to do when he finds himself being unfaithful to his marital promises. Who should he tell and what should he tell?
2. What is the ministers wife to do when she discovers her husband being sexually unfaithful.
Who should she tell and what shouyld she tell?
3. What is the minister to do if his wife is unfaithful?Who should he tell and what should he tell?
I for one am so grateful to God for your great ministry to the body of Christ. May our Lord continue to strenghthen you and use you.
what about google chrome, it has a new icognito page, where the sites and viewing do Not show up anywhere else. Does this track that too ?
@Laura – Yes. I wrote a brief post answering this question in late 2008. We monitor not only Incognito Mode for Chrome, but Private Mode in Firefox, InPrivate Browsing in IE, and Private Browsing in Safari.