Watching Kids Via Mobile Phone 315
Joe the Lesser writes "This BBC article says how parents could soon keep a much closer eye on what children are up to on their way to and from school thanks to a mobile monitoring system. It will send text alerts to their mobile phone if the child deviates too far from that route or takes too long getting there."
This worries me (Score:2, Interesting)
This is a bad usage of this kind of technology.
Effects on kids? (Score:5, Interesting)
I understand parents being spooked by news reports of kidnappings and related badness, and wanting to protect your kids from the bad things in the world. I agree with this.
I just worry about the effects of too-close monitoring like this on kids. What kind of adults do you get when the kids are raised with this kind of monitoring/oversight?
Are they going to be too dependent on someone swooping in to save them when they mess up, and not self-reliant? Possibly too accepting of governemnt oversight of their every move? Too scared to deviate from an established pattern for fear they'll have to explain to someone that fact that they just felt like doing something different that day? (Admit it, you've "lived up to" expectations that you found limiting before, haven't you?)
Maybe they'll be amazingly good at evading monitoring and doing what they like anyway?
I don't know. I doubt we will know for quite a while. But I worry about it.
The next step... (Score:5, Interesting)
"This BBC article says how governments could soon keep a much closer eye on what their citizens are up to thanks to a mobile monitoring system. It will alert law enforcement officials if the person deviates too far from the government approved route or takes too long getting there."
No, I'm not a paranoid/delusional freak. I just thought it's something to think about. I highly doubt that will actually happen, but hey, technology is improving. Let's see where it will take us, and let's see when we can log onto the net and see where it is taking us (literally).
Just like to find my car (Score:1, Interesting)
And the guy that stole it so I could beat him to within inches of his life, let him recover, then beat him all over again.
Didn't steal my car yet, just want to be ready.
I don't want to pay Lojack a wooden nickle. I want to put something in my car, then be able to home in on it on my own without paying any ridiculous fees, or alerting anyone that I'm about to beat someone senseless.
The Economist (Score:1, Interesting)
Some really scary stuff in there... for example, quoting directly from the article:
"Next month Wherify, of Redwood Shores, California, plans to start selling a lockable bracelet designed, it says, for children up to the age of 12. This will allow a child's parents to use the web to see a recent satellite photograph of their offspring's location. Parents will also be able to track their child's recent movements, and set up an alert system so that they will know if he does not turn up somewhere he is expected"
There's also a few paragraphs about a company called Advanced Digital Solutions:
"there is now the prospect that parts of tracking devices could be inplanted in the body. Indeed, ADS already produces a device the size of a grain of rice that can be inserted beneath the skin, and nine volunteers are trying it out."
GPS (Score:3, Interesting)
Remember, folks, Big Brother begins at home
Re:Whatever (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:children's rights? (Score:3, Interesting)
If your parents don't trust you at 16, I would say it has something to do with you, not them.
I would dispute that, as I know a couple of parents who have serious control issues. That said, it doesn't matter who's to blame: this 'kid' is going to be an adult in 2 years and he needs to get some freedom and responsibility whether he can handle it or not. Better to screw up royally while still a minor than wait til you're legally an adult.
Re:Whatever (Score:3, Interesting)
"Let mummy see your face"
Little kids *not* at much risk of abduction (Score:3, Interesting)
Psychological Repercussions (Score:3, Interesting)
Picture a child, who...
Was this you when you were young? Would you really be a better person if you had done these things? Would you be happier? My vote is NO, as I spent all of high school doing most of these things and was ready to kill myself freshman year of college, when I was given an ID card, a room key and told to fend for myself.
My mind drifts to Jonbenet Ramsey as I wonder why American parents have such sterilized, plastic-molded ideals for their children.
If this bothers you, you're too old (Score:3, Interesting)
They seem unbothered by monitoring. They just assume that everything is recorded somewhere, and that's the way things work. They'd like to be able to track their friends via their cellphones. They spend a lot of time updating each other on where they are, and think it would be easier if they didn't have to call to ask.
This gives you a sense of where things are going. Location as a public record.