Kid-Tracking
July 2, 2009
Earlier this year I wrote about the culture of fear; recently there has been more discussion about the idea of letting children roam cities by themselves.
The driving force behind all of this seems to be the obsession that parents have with knowing where their kids are at all times. That's why games of pickup baseball in the park have been replaced with organized soccer leagues. It's why kids get dropped off at school in minivans and SUVs, even if they live within a ten minute walk. And it seems to be the reason why people get emotional and upset when they hear about another parent who lets their kids explore a place beyond the gated walls of the suburban subdivision.
For what it's worth, it seems like the next logical progression in parenting is the application of technology for the purpose of kid-tracking. I imagine that within the next ten years children across the country will carry global tracking devices, and parents can know the whereabouts of these children through any computer or cell phone. These devices might be built into kids' shoes or cell phones. Questions of privacy will probably be raised; courts will set legal precedents, but ultimately I think the technology will win.
I'm confident that this will happen because that's just how quickly technology progresses. Ten years ago kids didn't carry cell phones. Almost no one had one when I was in high school. Yet almost immediately the trend changed. Now it's strange for a high-schooler not to carry a cell phone. I understand the same is also true for middle school and elementary school kids. Ten years ago nobody had a GPS unit in their vehicle, now they're all the rage (even though I still don't like them).
The implications seem less predictable, but I imagine there will be two basic outcomes. Some parents, content with being able to track their kids wherever they go, will actually let them go out to explore. They will start letting kids walk and bike to school again, because instead of watching the child move from the back seat of the SUV to the front door of the school, they can do the same on the screen of their cell phone. On the other hand, some parents might become even more obsessive. They might use the technology to punish kids for anything that looks like suspicious behavior. They will use it as a new excuse to shield their kids from the outside world.
The technology looks inevitable. I only hope it can be used for good.
The driving force behind all of this seems to be the obsession that parents have with knowing where their kids are at all times. That's why games of pickup baseball in the park have been replaced with organized soccer leagues. It's why kids get dropped off at school in minivans and SUVs, even if they live within a ten minute walk. And it seems to be the reason why people get emotional and upset when they hear about another parent who lets their kids explore a place beyond the gated walls of the suburban subdivision.
For what it's worth, it seems like the next logical progression in parenting is the application of technology for the purpose of kid-tracking. I imagine that within the next ten years children across the country will carry global tracking devices, and parents can know the whereabouts of these children through any computer or cell phone. These devices might be built into kids' shoes or cell phones. Questions of privacy will probably be raised; courts will set legal precedents, but ultimately I think the technology will win.
I'm confident that this will happen because that's just how quickly technology progresses. Ten years ago kids didn't carry cell phones. Almost no one had one when I was in high school. Yet almost immediately the trend changed. Now it's strange for a high-schooler not to carry a cell phone. I understand the same is also true for middle school and elementary school kids. Ten years ago nobody had a GPS unit in their vehicle, now they're all the rage (even though I still don't like them).
The implications seem less predictable, but I imagine there will be two basic outcomes. Some parents, content with being able to track their kids wherever they go, will actually let them go out to explore. They will start letting kids walk and bike to school again, because instead of watching the child move from the back seat of the SUV to the front door of the school, they can do the same on the screen of their cell phone. On the other hand, some parents might become even more obsessive. They might use the technology to punish kids for anything that looks like suspicious behavior. They will use it as a new excuse to shield their kids from the outside world.
The technology looks inevitable. I only hope it can be used for good.
