Spying On Your Kids Is In For 2004

from the raising-the-paranoid-generation dept

Mon, Dec 22nd 2003 12:19am — Mike Masnick

It's no secret that most new mobile phones come with location-based technology included - whether using GPS or some triangulation method around the nearest cell towers. While some were afraid that this would mean annoying text message spam or that the police would be able to spy on your whereabouts thanks to the E-911 problem - instead, it looks like people are just going to be spying on each other, with special emphasis being paid to the ability for parents to spy on their kids. Now, I can certainly understand the desire to keep tabs on your kids, but constantly spying on them seems counter productive. It certainly doesn't give them much confidence in their own ability to make decisions without having their parents looking over their shoulders all the time. Treating your kids like prisoners with location ankle-bracelets seems likely to, well, make them act more like prisoners, rather than kids. Now, clearly, this technology wasn't around when I was growing up, but I still appreciated the fact that my parents trusted me to do the right thing when I was away from home. It made me feel more comfortable since I knew that they felt comfortable enough with my decision making ability.

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6 Comments

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dorpus, 22 Dec 2003 @ 5:14am

What about kids you can't trust?
The kind who like to write poems on their arms with certain instruments, who ride off with long-haired boyfriends, or get together with "wonderful people" they met on suicide-pact.com?
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Katie, 22 Dec 2003 @ 7:37am

Lazy parents
This technology isn't intended for kids who aren't trustworthy, it's intended for parents who are lazy. I knew plenty of kids who would just leave for a weekend, never tell their parents, and go get drunk and laid and party. Most often their parents didn't even bother looking. This technology would probably help in those situations. However, i don't think spying on your kids at all times is really logical. It'll just make them want to break the rules even more, and they can always leave their phones at home.
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dorpus, 22 Dec 2003 @ 7:43am

Re: Lazy parents
What if the child of good parents gets abducted? Children of rich or famous parents are at increased such risks. If a psycho cuts off the kid's ankle, at least the cops would know where the ankle is.

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Anonymous Coward, 22 Dec 2003 @ 9:02am

Re: Lazy parents
If a psycho cuts off the kid's ankle, at least the cops would know where the ankle is.

Yea, real effective, given all the ankle holders for cell phones that are sold at the mall.
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Anonymous Coward, 23 Dec 2003 @ 2:17pm

No Subject Given
I don't understand -- couldn't the kids just...I don't know...turn off the cell phones?
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Aaron (profile), 25 May 2005 @ 2:05pm

Re: No Subject Given
my thought exactly. kids will give there parents the slip whether or not tech is involved. someone will just figure out how to spoof the signal and put it on a cat or something.
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