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Way to over-invasive, it kinda re-inforces the idea that parents own their children, sorry, not in a state at the moment to make any kind of real answer.
Posted: 11:54 Jan 15 2004
Big Parent is watching you!
Source
After CCTV where the police can track people's every step if needed something new will be hitting the market in the UK later this year. Tracking system for mobilephone.
Marketed as a tool for parents to keep tabs on their children it enables people to track certain mobilephones. After concent of the owner of the mobilephone the otherside can send a textmessage and within seconds a message is send back with the exact location of the mobilephone and therefor mostlikely the holder of this mobilephone.
More worrying forbidden zones can be setup where if the mobilephone enters or leaves (depending on the zone) an automated message is send to inform the otherside of this fact. And all this without the carrier of the mobile phone that is being track being any the wiser.
So when the mobilephone enters the house of for example a boy/girlfriend that you don't approve of.... or the child leaves school etc etc. You don't need to be very creative to think up multiple uses for this service!
Does anyone else get a major "Big Brother / Parent" feeling when the read this? Sure the holder of the mobile phone has to concent but children are of course easily presured into something like this by their parents or the parent just buys the mobile for the kid therefor not needing any concent.
Sure mobilephones were already easily enough tracked by the police when needed but this is going a bit far if you ask me! This is just another excuse for not having to raise your children right if you ask me as now we don't have to trust your childrens word no we can just monitor them. And if they know we know they won't do it anyways as they know they can't get away with it anymore..... Sorry but thats just plane wrong as the moment the service isn't functioning anymore they will do it anyways.
Luckily the service doesn't work when the mobile is switched off so there is still some 'privacy'......
And no this won't help with kids etc being kidnapped etc as the first thing the kidnapper would do is switch off the mobilephone (duh!) or is that just me?
So serious breach of privacy or handy tool? Kinda curious what other T21'ers think as you are the (future) market they will be targeting
After CCTV where the police can track people's every step if needed something new will be hitting the market in the UK later this year. Tracking system for mobilephone.
Marketed as a tool for parents to keep tabs on their children it enables people to track certain mobilephones. After concent of the owner of the mobilephone the otherside can send a textmessage and within seconds a message is send back with the exact location of the mobilephone and therefor mostlikely the holder of this mobilephone.
More worrying forbidden zones can be setup where if the mobilephone enters or leaves (depending on the zone) an automated message is send to inform the otherside of this fact. And all this without the carrier of the mobile phone that is being track being any the wiser.
So when the mobilephone enters the house of for example a boy/girlfriend that you don't approve of.... or the child leaves school etc etc. You don't need to be very creative to think up multiple uses for this service!
Does anyone else get a major "Big Brother / Parent" feeling when the read this? Sure the holder of the mobile phone has to concent but children are of course easily presured into something like this by their parents or the parent just buys the mobile for the kid therefor not needing any concent.
Sure mobilephones were already easily enough tracked by the police when needed but this is going a bit far if you ask me! This is just another excuse for not having to raise your children right if you ask me as now we don't have to trust your childrens word no we can just monitor them. And if they know we know they won't do it anyways as they know they can't get away with it anymore..... Sorry but thats just plane wrong as the moment the service isn't functioning anymore they will do it anyways.
Luckily the service doesn't work when the mobile is switched off so there is still some 'privacy'......
And no this won't help with kids etc being kidnapped etc as the first thing the kidnapper would do is switch off the mobilephone (duh!) or is that just me?
So serious breach of privacy or handy tool? Kinda curious what other T21'ers think as you are the (future) market they will be targeting
13 Replies and 1324 Views in Total.
Posted: 11:54 Jan 15 2004 
Speaking as a parent, i think it'd be a good idea with regards to children in their pre and early teens. Over the age of sixteen, fair enough. But with cases of children going missing these days, having this would be a very good thing. There's nothing worse than losing a child, or even losing sight of your child in a busy shopping centre for less than a minute is enough to bring on heart palpitations (for me anyways)
But what's the point of having the system if there would be "forbidden zones" and the system not working if the phone is switched off? (speaking as regards to the pre and early teen?)
But what's the point of having the system if there would be "forbidden zones" and the system not working if the phone is switched off? (speaking as regards to the pre and early teen?)
Posted: 12:04 Jan 15 2004 
Don't think you get the forbidden zone idea totally Keeny as you as a parent set this and when the phone enters or exists this zone it automatically warns you.
So if you set your kids phone with a zone for school you can see when they enter the school area and exit it as you get an automated textmessage.
But yes it's pretty useless seeing that if the mobile isn't on it doesn't work
I can see how this would work for kids like <12 but I don't really see why kids at that age should have a mobile in the first place really.......
If you use it responsibly it can be a handy tool for parents but "abuse" of this kinda service is just around the corner which isn't too great on privacy.
So if you set your kids phone with a zone for school you can see when they enter the school area and exit it as you get an automated textmessage.
But yes it's pretty useless seeing that if the mobile isn't on it doesn't work
I can see how this would work for kids like <12 but I don't really see why kids at that age should have a mobile in the first place really.......
If you use it responsibly it can be a handy tool for parents but "abuse" of this kinda service is just around the corner which isn't too great on privacy.
Posted: 12:22 Jan 15 2004 sounds like a way to fight truancy too but then they might just start leaving them at home.
by Chambler
So if you set your kids phone with a zone for school you can see when they enter the school area and exit it as you get an automated textmessage.
Posted: 13:02 Jan 15 2004 I got my son a mobile phone for his 11th Birthday and I'm seriously considering getting my 8 year old one for his 9th Birthday, I think by the time they are old enough to be walking back and forth to school alone and playing out further afield from just outside the front door its good that they can have something where they can contact a parent in an emergency, recently my 11 year old was shot in the leg by some idiot playing silly buggers from his house, because he had his phone he could call his dad straight away.
by Chambler
I can see how this would work for kids like <12 but I don't really see why kids at that age should have a mobile in the first place really.......
Posted: 14:38 Jan 15 2004
Giving them a phone for emergencies is one thing of course but as to use as we see so many kids use their phones nowadays is a bit rediculous.
But would you consider having such a service on the phone of your kids? And if so how do you think it should be used (just as the phone only in emergencies or as a way of keeping tabs on your kids)
But would you consider having such a service on the phone of your kids? And if so how do you think it should be used (just as the phone only in emergencies or as a way of keeping tabs on your kids)
Posted: 15:02 Jan 15 2004
No I wouldnt, although I think having a track on all mobile phones with the owners permission would be a good idea, just think of how many phones are stolen, it could help track down your phone maybe?
And the ole man wouldnt be able to tell ya he was in a buisness meetinf when he was really in the pub
And the ole man wouldnt be able to tell ya he was in a buisness meetinf when he was really in the pub
Posted: 15:48 Jan 15 2004
Mobilephones can be tracked by their IMEI number. This is also what they use to block phones off networks and when they are used they could technically already be tracked by police. It's just that it takes too much time and menpower to find all stolen phones back so it's more effective to block all those phones from the network so they can't be used which should also stop the darned things from being stolen (although blocking stolen phones isn't international yet). As most phones don't stay in the hands of the people that stole them in the first place....
This service is exactly specificly meant to track 1 mobile phone by using your own. That this service is put on with the permission of the owner is all good and all but parents giving kids a phone are the owner of the phone in most cases therefor they can decide to put it on and even if it's your kid that owns the phone kids are easily talked into having this service put on by their parents
And finding back your kid because you lost it in a shopping mall isn't really a reason because if the phone it switched on you can also call your kid
instead of using this service. This is why I get the feeling this more a means of keeping tabs on your kids without them knowing about it. Relationships should be build on trust and I don't think that this shows much trust.
If you can't trust your kids not to (in most cases) do the right thing you might be doing something wrong as a parent? And this is just another tool to mask this.
This service is exactly specificly meant to track 1 mobile phone by using your own. That this service is put on with the permission of the owner is all good and all but parents giving kids a phone are the owner of the phone in most cases therefor they can decide to put it on and even if it's your kid that owns the phone kids are easily talked into having this service put on by their parents
And finding back your kid because you lost it in a shopping mall isn't really a reason because if the phone it switched on you can also call your kid
instead of using this service. This is why I get the feeling this more a means of keeping tabs on your kids without them knowing about it. Relationships should be build on trust and I don't think that this shows much trust.If you can't trust your kids not to (in most cases) do the right thing you might be doing something wrong as a parent? And this is just another tool to mask this.
Posted: 16:55 Jan 15 2004
I'd have it on my phone. should anything happen then i can be found (long as the kidnapper is a technophobe, i have service and am in the UK)
OK, maybe i wont rush out just yet, but i think it's a good idea for adults too. If the parents are too controling, it's their fault, not the technology's.
With regards the police being able to track the phones easily enough, they sometimes dont get involved early enough and the phone is dead, or as in a the case of Daniell, her parents called the phone so often before the police were called in, the phone died.
If they could have checked her location, they could have found her, or at least told police her last known location.
OK, maybe i wont rush out just yet, but i think it's a good idea for adults too. If the parents are too controling, it's their fault, not the technology's.
With regards the police being able to track the phones easily enough, they sometimes dont get involved early enough and the phone is dead, or as in a the case of Daniell, her parents called the phone so often before the police were called in, the phone died.
If they could have checked her location, they could have found her, or at least told police her last known location.
Posted: 18:32 Jan 15 2004 No matter how good a parent you are if your child wants to do something 9 times out of 10 they will.
by Chambler
If you can't trust your kids not to (in most cases) do the right thing you might be doing something wrong as a parent?
Posted: 19:06 Jan 15 2004 
Is it my fault that I have business meetings in the pub?
My understanding of this is that it has to be concensual, if used properly I really think it could be a good idea, but then isn't everything in life open to abuse?
My understanding of this is that it has to be concensual, if used properly I really think it could be a good idea, but then isn't everything in life open to abuse?
Posted: 19:35 Jan 15 2004
just a point, on the truancy issue most schools insist you either leave mobiles at home or have them switched off, so pretty useless really, but then again if your skipping class your not really going to stick to the rules are you?
Posted: 23:02 Jan 15 2004