From the Anash.org Inbox: I was recently sitting in Kingston Pizza, enjoying a slice with my family. Across the room, two boys, young and impressionable, were huddled over a small screen: an innocent-looking “Timkoo” MP4 player.
By a Crown Heights Mother
Are you familiar with the Timmkoo mp4 player? Did you know of the danger it poses to your children?
Yes, that small device in the boy’s hand is a danger.
Did you know there’s an open Chrome browser on your son’s handheld device? Did you know there’s a “filter” that, in reality, most boys easily bypass? You might think this is a small matter, but bringing a Timmkoo or similar devices into your home could have consequences far beyond what you imagine.
Just recently, I was sitting in Kingston Pizza, enjoying a slice with my family. Across the room, two boys, young and impressionable, were huddled over a small screen: an innocent-looking Timkoo MP4 player. They weren’t checking the weather or looking up homework help. No, they were surfing the open internet, one that includes YouTube, Google, and all kinds of influences that can pull a young heart away. These boys were in fifth to eighth grades, when life values and focus are critical.
There’s a frighteningly open world on these devices, far more than parents may realize. And this isn’t even about boys sneaking phones into yeshivos or girls becoming glued to screens. I’m just talking about one simple MP4 player—one “small” device—that can quickly become a portal to much more.
Hashem, help us!
Parents, take this to heart. Check your children’s devices. Make sure they’re truly filtered (though, in most cases, the “filter” won’t hold). Better yet, consider replacing these MP4 players with simple MP3 players—no Wi-Fi, no videos, just music. Check the music regularly, too. Be there for your children, guiding them in a world that often tries to pull them in the wrong direction. You wouldn’t let your children wander off alone; don’t do it online either.
Many parents simply aren’t aware of the extent of what these devices allow. But now, please, be alert!
May we all be given the strength to make wise choices for our children’s future. May the Rebbe’s brachos guide us and bring us to a better world with Moshiach now!
To add to this very important conversation, filtered phones Or using Alexa, home devices with Spotify etc. is in many ways like using unfiltered device as it’s quite difficult to monitor, what is being used (Spotify has music videos of which many are inappropriate).
A suggestion would be to use “24SIX” a Yiddish/company that has subscription service to Jewish music exclusively, and they continue to grow and and in features all with oversight from Rabbonim. They have phone/Alexa/home/car integration, as well as 24six exclusive mp3s.
Hatzlacha
The 24/6 mp3’s and mp4’s are perfect, and solve all issues. you can lock what you want your children not to play, and only download what you would like. as well as when they are connected to wifi they don’t have a browser or anything similar just their own app. Fully kosher!
1st of I was there and it was a smartphone we were watching a video of Bochrim on mivyzohim and it’s filtered !!! So how can you be so judgmental this is a lesson how we can’t judge ppl 2nd of all it’s some bochrim have the old type of timkoo that doesn’t have internet so I don’t understand how you can lie to the Jewish nation about this !! AND ACCUSE INNOCENT BOCHRIM!!! But yes you are right about the possibility of getting pats filter to ALL DEVICES and I hope you can enjoy your next visit at Kingston pizza without being choshed ppl falsley !!!
First of all, she can be speaking about another story.
Second, even if your sons timkoo doesn’t have a browser, I know, as a bochur that is in Yeshiva now, that timkoos give way more access to videos more than even a regular mp4!!!! Bochurim are sharing mostly good, but sometimes also the worst, videos and movies. Since timkoo has their own sharing app, that’s way better and faster than Bluetooth.
Third, even if you took off your browser, another bochur with his timkoo can send you the browser app, again, over the sharing app that timkoo has themselves.
As a bochur in Yeshiva now, I think that a timkoo is worse that a smart phone, since it seems kosher, and really is not.
I recommend all parents as the mother writes in article, to get your son another kind of device, best if it is a mp3 with no radio, video, etc.
Wow thank you so much for this article!! We bought this mp3 player for my daughter thinking it was “kosher” and I had no idea about the hidden browser. We will replace it with a real kosher one!!
It’s good you found out on time. There are way too many lost souls (obvously they are not lost, they can come back in a moment, but just for context) that if their parents would have known what their son/daughter has on their devices, they could have been saved long ago….
Yes this is very true
I have a brother in yeshiva and heard all about this issue.
There’s one type which doesn’t have wifi but most people don’t get that type. Even if there’s no wifi they have access to SD cards which can have all types of movies and DVARIM HUASURIM.
The Timmkoo issue is the worst because it looks so kosher and the hanholla and parents don’t realize how bad they are
Parents DO NOT TRUST YOUR KID WITH THESE HARMFUL DEVICES
Hanholla A TIMMKOO IS AS BAD AS A SMARTPHONE R”L AND SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED
May hashem keep us all away from falling and from letting other people slip so easily on such “innocent” looking devices
Yes, I know that it is true, from the side of the bochur. I see many of my friends watching movies on timkoos. This got out of hand, and BH someone voiced it. Thank you.
As a counselor in camp, not like kiddie camp, but like yeshivas kayitz and older bochurim, I went through many devices, and sadly too many of them had horrible things. Those things that we would never dream our very own bochurim are watching. And guess what kind of devices had most of these movies and videos on their sd cards, it was a bunch of Timmko’s. The device has a sharing app that can share browsing apps, videos, and almost anything way faster, and more efficient than Bluetooth. Those videos that the bochurim had were all in simple music folders. Those folders which a mother or father would think is the most chassidish. But I found in them very inappropriate things. Literally.
This is a sharp and to the point article with all it’s comments
I looked into it and it is all true
We should all be carefull with what we get for our kids
I think this article should go around everywhere
People should be aware
I just searched what a timkoo is and I typed in “timkoo” in google and this anash article was like the third website on the list just showes how important this is
If only you knew what was on your kids flip phone…
There are a few bochurim that agree with you, and decided to do something about it. Now, many yeshivos are using it too. They created their own phones, called Kosher V’yosher and have diffrent options depending what the yeshiva/person buying it wants. none of them have radio. you can choose to get one without video either. some yeshivos I heard they only allow talk and text, so they got it without music either, they don’t want their bochurim to sit on screens the whole day claming their using it for music. so they only allow phones that have just talk and text, and for music you can get a plain mp3 player that doesn’t have radio or videos.
That could be true, but doesn not change any facts that she writes here. One should also check their childrens flip phones every so often, the same way you would check if the food that’s going in their mouth is kosher. But she is just trying to point out a certain kind of device that has gone way out of hand, with too many young bochurim getting them thinking it’s just a plain nice simple mp4 player, while it is basically a full smart-device.
Maybe switch the cover photo of the article to a picture of a timkoo, and more pwople would realize what the device is and how many times they saw bochurim using it sadly
Here’s a link to a photo of the ‘Timmkoo’ device.
Images may be subject to copyright, and therefore can’t be published.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71S1WlhexuL._AC_SX466_.jpg
Although this mother describes the disadvantages of the “Timmkoo”, it equally applies to the hundreds of other brands with similar devices.
I am a Bachurm myself, 18 years old now, and when I was just 15 my friend got a MP4, he even got it just for Rebbe videos,
but then I started borrowing it myself and quickly figured out the internet hack,
I could not contain my curiosity, and with out realizing, one thing led to the next and I was unfortunately in the worst of sites,
Now don’t get me wrong I was a regular Chasidishe Bachur in a regular normal Yeshivah, I just could not stop myself, and It could happen to anyone,
I always heard about “the dangers of the internet” but me, my parents and my friends parents never took it seriously,
No one ever clearly explained to us what there is out there, and why logically it is a horrible thing to get involved with and how it could ruin your life,
Our parents and teachers we’re always to scared to really explain it to us and only left us with vague warnings,
How it could really mess us up we were left to find out ourselves…
And now Im 18, it’s three years later,
I Am still in Chasidishe Yeshivos, but my life is not the same,
I may now understand the dangers of internet and movies trough my own experiences,
But these past three years Have been full of late nights, tired days, depressing thoughts, and just feeling like garbage.
I know it is now up to me to take my life into my own hands, but it is hard, just so very hard…
And now when I see mare 12-year-olds walking around with these devices
I cannot help but feel so sorry for these young lives being destroyed
One after another,
With no guidance
With no warning
And life’s biggest nightmare handed on a silver platter
I am sorry if I may have come across a bit brutal but this is all true, and if it will bring more awareness it was worth sharing my story.
Sadly, too many bochurim either went thru or are going thru the same thing.
Just we’re all scared to voice it.
If yeshivas were only too be on top of these things, it would change a lot.
Many bochurim are failing in yeshiva, even though they look chassidish, and everything looks good on the outside, but on the inside, they have a heavy rock weighing down. They will probably never say it, but this is true.
To all my fellow bochurim, if you are going thru this, it’s worth telling it to a mashpia, menahel, or anyone you feel connected to.
Note: It does not mean that you have to tell your parents, which would be the best thing, but most of us are scared of that. So, at least tell someone older, and you’ll see how that will help you fight it.
Personal story, I once went to a hanhala member in a yeshiva I was in, and let out everything on my mind, including me watching the worst things on the internet.
One of the things he told me, was that I shouldn’t think I’m the worst in the world just because I do this. It’s human to do it. Yes, it’s bad. But, sadly many bochurim go thru it, and come out stronger than before.
Another thing to remember: half of the problem, as the alter rebbe says in tanya, is don’t sit depressed because of something you watched or did. That will only pull you more down, and it’ll be harder to get back up. After the fact just add in good things, instead of sitting on the bad.
A friend of mine went thru the entire system and was only exposed to the shtusim in shiur daled, and his entire shlichus year was going down, until he spoke with a mashpia.
It’s worth it.
Do it for your own sake.
You know it’s wrong what you’re doing, and you for sure want to get out of it.
Let’s all stay strong thru these trying times, and welcome moshiach proudly!
So brave!
Blessings onto you.
There is help, guardyoureyes.com, for starters.
You have a great light to shine and help the world around you, it’s not easy to break through the tremendous darkness around us, in the generation we live in, but it’s worth the work.
Don’t ever despair, this is the last Nissayoin before the geula, with all our Teshuva, it should be th today!