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Verizon to Launch Mobile 'Chaperone' Service
Billosaur writes "CNET is reporting that Verizon will soon be offering a service (branded "Chaperone") which will allow parents to
keep track of their cell phone-carrying children. Following on the heels of a similar service started by Sprint in April, the system will allow parents 'to set up geographic limits and receive text alerts if their children, who also carry phones, go too far from home. The service also lets parents check where their offspring are via a map on their cell phone or computer.' Disney will purportedly be offering a similar service when it begins selling mobile phones sometime this summer. It's 10pm -- do you know where you child's cell phone is?"
Seriously when I was growing up my parents never had any of this technology and yet they managed to keep me out of trouble. While I agree the world is a different place, and there are lots of new and different problems, it all boils down to the parents taking an active role in the child's life. Things like asking the kids how their day went, what sorts of issues they had, things that let the kid know that home is a safe place. Or how about
making time to have dinner together, or helping with the homework or the millions of other things families should do together.
Is this hard to do, hell yes. But nobody ever said life was easy, and in the long run spending time with your kids will be worth it. Remember it works both ways, when the parents are old and need someone to talk to, the children will be there.
The profit comes when some enterprising youngster figures out he can charge money to carry around his deviant friends' cellphones for the evening, maybe even send a text message every once in a while to complete the scenario.
Or better yet, have a bunch of prepaid cell phones, which you loan out to people to use while you're carrying around their parentally-supplied one. After all, nobody wants to be without a phone: it's uncool.
I look forward to watching the segment on CBS where they interview some kid who's doing this and everyone acts surprised that kids can actually think for themselves.
"Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
this is not really for tracking your children, that's just the cover story. More likely be used for tracking spouses - without their knowledge, of course.
If I had created the world I wouldn't have messed about with butterflies and daffodils. I would have started with lasers
Have your calls forwarded to your friend's phone. Unless he's being tracked, too... deperate kids might just chip in and buy some pay-as-you-go phone.
Stupid sexy Flanders.
If Law and Order has taught me anything, it's that this capability can be easily defeated simlpy by uploading a virus to the phone company's switches to make them think I'm coming in from different towers every time they check.
Unfortunately, the cops will figure this out and disable the software after I bury my victim alive, but not before she actually dies, and my whole operation will be foiled.
True, but if 24 has taught us anything, we all now know that the phone companies are protect by Phoenix poison pill firewalls that cause everything to self-destruct when you try to break in. Not that it matters, though, because Jack Bauer's cell phone has pre-programmed backdoors to every computer system and can make flash memory cards self-destruct on command.
Nothing, but if you can't trust your kids even a little I think underage drinking will be the least of your worries.
Moreover I don't expect that a generation raised using surveillance will be particularly upset by increased government surveillance in their adult years. Or maybe that's the whole point.