Technology as Tattletale

The New York Times is carrying an article noting the increasing presence of location-sensing technologies in our lives. It discusses several applications of the technology like tracking stolen cash from a bank, or making sure a teenage son follows the rules. The article also notes that these ultra-high resolution GPS trackers can allow freedom as much as restrict it: "Project Lifesaver, a nonprofit group in Chesapeake, Va., fits Alzheimer's patients and autistic children with radio frequency beacons disguised as bracelets, which help emergency responders find them if they are lost. Next spring the group will introduce new bracelets, created by Locator Systems, a British Columbia company, that combine radio signals with G.P.S. and cellular communications. That should allow caregivers to establish a zone where patients can safely wander, said Jim McIntosh, the company's chief executive. If patients wander off, emergency crews could receive more specific information."

Comments

"As much" is the key phrase

[Anonymous Coward]

"The article also notes that these ultra-high resolution GPS trackers can allow freedom as much as restrict it:"

I have a feeling that the helping of a couple of autistic children is not going to offset the massive use by 'nannies.' Saying that it can allow freedom *as much* as restricting it is only trying to put a good face on a device that has massive civil liberty concerns.

Re:"As much" is the key phrase

[houghi]

Not a right as such. But that does not mean that they not should be able to do so. How do you learn trust if you do not trust them.

I knew a girl that was watched all the time by her parents. ALL THE TIME. She was not allowed to go anywhere. That was untill she was 18. Then she was out on her own. Having had no experience of what bounderies should be, she became the school slut in a matter of weeks.

And being the school slut only harms her. Having a whole generation of kids that have not learned what trust and bounderies are will result in a desaster on a much greater scale.

I agree, we should think of the children, but as them being the future, not little people that stay children all the time.

Re:"As much" is the key phrase

[Charcharodon]

I put one of those on my dog because he like to go say hi to everyone in the neighboorhood. For a bout a week he refused to move out of the middle of the yard since he was so scared of the fence. That was until he figured out where the control box was and chewed it up, turning the fence off. I'm not saying he was smart enough to figure that out, he just managed to chew up the right thing, but he certaining didn't stay in the yard once he figured out the power was gone.

Nothing in life is an absolute or even remotely permanent. People can get used to all kinds of restrictions, but that doesn't mean that they'll stay that way for very long once the restrictions are lifted. Take a look at any riot or natural distaster for very recent examples.

Re:Yeah, that sounds great....

[Anonymous Coward]

http://forgetmenotpanties.com/

I have no problem with GPS tracking in cars

[Shivetya]

when it comes to parents (the owners of the cars) who lend them to their children. I think every parent has the right to know where their car and child is. Giving a car to a child is a big hand over of responsbility but it does not end that responsibility for the parent. The child (adult for some) is entrusted to behave as the parent instructs and operation of a car outside of direct parental supervision is not a license to be a hooligan. Once the child becomes an adult by law or moves out the use of such a device should end.

We lose too many children every year to auto accidents and perhaps knowing they are being watched over will save a few from fruitless loss. It could do very well to protect them as well from actions outside of their control - giving responders guidance to where they are in an emergency.

Bunch of idiots - this DOES increase freedom

[cumin]

Or one of the first independent generations in years?

Seriously, do you think that most kids get to go wherever they want as soon as they're old enough to ask? Do you think that most kids are at home because they want to be or because their parents feel like they aren't safe roaming the neighborhood? I doubt most kids in the last eighty years were allowed to visit neighbors or wander the neighborhood before they were fifteen. Two hundred years ago in colonial America, kids could just take off and play or hang out. Parents didn't need to restrict them because they were mostly safe, and mostly accountable. It was that kind of independence of mind that grew the minds our freedoms are based on. If you want a child to value freedom and have an independent spirit, you must give them a chance to exercise it and it would be called negligence in most cities in America to do so.

I can't get over the shock of how many idiots assume parents are less likely to let their kids experience life because of technology. Get a clue! Parents that keep their kids under lock and key will always be that paranoid, but if they can track their kids, then at least the kids might be able to leave the house before they turn eighteen.

Instead I see all these idiotic posts making the assumption that parents are letting their kids have freedom but just waiting for a gadget to restrict it. Morons! Those parents aren't letting their kids have freedom, those kids are on lock down right now and this might be a chance for them to actually get out from under the thumbs of worried guardians and all you can do is spout knee-jerk *responsibility is bad* crap.

Re:Not for my kids

[AgentPaper]

Funny, that. My mother refused to have me kid-printed when the friendly local law enforcement officer came to our school, but it wasn't because she felt that I should be able to run away - far from it. She didn't want my fingerprints, or any other identifying information, where the cops could get their hands on it. (Our local constabulary wasn't exactly known for its stringent adherence to due process, particularly where kids were concerned.)

That said, my parents always knew where I was, or at least who I was with. I had a few out-of-bounds areas (must be within two miles of home or school if unaccompanied, no riding bikes on major roads unless the road has a sidewalk), and I had to let them know if I was going to stay late at school or go to a friend's house, but other than that, they trusted that I was smart enough to stay away from trouble. (Either that, or they recognized that I was less likely to cause trouble if I was outside burning up energy than cooped in the house with nothing to do.)