A wearable device that lets you track your kids everywhere?
It had to happen sooner or later – and in fact the technology was foreseen and sold via spam years before. I can see how it might be a comfort to parents but what will this technology and tools like it do to parents’ relationships with their kids? Pandora’s box is already open – tools like this are already being used to track mobiles and the new generation of mobile phones make such tracking much easier and more accurate.
To say that such tracking has to be consented to is not really that comforting as people like parents and employers have the power to strongly encourage or compel consent.
I suspect the only answer to such innovations is to make it difficult legally to use such information even with consent.
David,
Great info. I am kinda conflicted on this subject. When I have kids will I be a parent that wants to have them implanted with a microchip (like a dog), or do I want them to run free and do crazy things that will most likely kill them? Tough decisions.
Comment by Scott — 22 April 2003 @ 9:28 pm
We have had a discussion regarding this kind of kids-tracking by mobile-phone in Germany I think 3 years ago – it’s a very difficult thing, ’cause privacy is partly not existing anymore for the kids – only if they are turning off their phones (which makes it not as useful as it should be in the other case) – it sounded and still sounds like “Big Brother is watching you” – generations of partents have survived without it, I personally think this kind of service is contrary just putting away the needed atttention of parents from the kids, ’cause they think like “we would have got an email if they left the zone…” – that’s my point of view & in Germany it never became popular (if even it started out, I don’t remember if they launched it at all or just have given up on it). Greetings from Germany, Dave.
(please excuse my bad english, it’s just foreign to me but I try to write best understandable)
Comment by Dave — 22 January 2004 @ 9:15 pm