ability to stalk your child

[cpit]

I was just wondering if you all think this is as creepy and unnecessary as I do:

My whole family is on at&t, and a few months ago my parents (I'm a teen) got some feature where they can pin point my location at any time without my notification or permission. It's not that I want to hide anything from them, but this is just creepy and taking it too far. I feel like big brother is watching. Their excuse is so that if I ever lose my phone or go missing they can track it/me, but I just don't like that I can be found by them anywhere anytime with a few clicks. I'm not usually allowed to go anywhere without my cellphone, so I'm always tied to the grid. It's not that I want to abuse any freedom I do have - it's just that I want to HAVE some. Ya know, with the thing that people used to have called trust.

To all those people who always say "back in my day, we weren't lucky enough to have cellphones," well, I envy you, ya lucky ducks.

 

[jmann]

The ones who don't want to be found, try to hide. You can always turn off your phone, or put it into airplane mode.

 

[GoCubsGo]

Let's see. You have an expensive phone that provides such utility.

Big brother? Your parents. They have this right imho.
Permission? You don't get to give them permission. You're the child.

If you want your iPhone pay the price because I suspect you don't pay a dime towards your iPhone or the rest of your life.

There are ways around it and I applaud you doing it, but be prepared to pay the price.

You're a child and your parents aren't stalking you, they're keeping an eye on you.

 

[dukebound85]

minors have no rights to privacy and i would imagine as a parent, it would be great to know where your kids are for worry's sake

the world is not a nice place

 

[jackiecanev2]

Wirelessly posted (BB 8900: BlackBerry8900/4.6.1.250 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/301)

Maybe its just for their peace of mind. They might not want to know where you are just to check up on you, but to have it available in the event that something might happen. Most parents don't ask you to check in or keep your phone on you for fun, but to make sure that you're alive and well and within their watchful eye because they care. Trust me, it is a lot easier not to care than to expend the effort worrying and caring.

 

[jmann]

And they bought you that phone to keep track of you, not so you can text your friends play games etc. They have every right to do it.

 

[Macky-Mac]

hmmmmm....what is it you're doing that you don't want them to know about?

 

[rhsgolfer33]

Who paid for the phone and who pays for the service? Who's house do you live in? Who pays for your car/gas/insurance or drives you around? Etc. Until you can answer "me" or "my own" to all of those your parents can pretty much do as they see fit.

 

[Ntombi]

I'm with you, cpit: the fact that they can do it legally doesn't make it less creepy, especially if you've done nothing that warrants them keeping such a close eye on you all the darn time. I was a good kid, doing nothing untoward, and I would have found that really unsettling and it wouldn't have helped me have a trusting relationship with my parents.

If you've shown a propensity for getting into trouble or making bad decisions, I would probably take away your iPhone and substitute a Firefly before I activated this option.

But I realize that different people have different views on such things, and, like others have said, they have every right to do it. You have to decide if having an iPhone is worth them keeping an eagle eye on you.

 

[Zombie Acorn]

Be an American and give up your phone for your right to privacy. Your parents will then miss the ability to contact you while you are out. Thats when you slide the deal to get the function turned off.

Kids these days, need everything spelled out for em.

 

[LizKat]

The thread title sounds like an ad for the functionality offered by the carrier.

 

[Shotglass]

Every child has a right to privacy, but no child has a right to a phone.
If you want your privacy, give up your phone. Or, you know, just turn it off.

 

[Signal-11]

I'm of the opinion that although parents may have the right and these days, have the technical capability, it doesn't mean they should.

A part of growing up is not having your parents looking over your shoulder all the time. Some of the most screwed up kids I knew when I was a teenager were the ones with overbearing, overprotective parents who didn't let their kids get into the kind of trouble boys are supposed to get into at that age.

That said, seems to me that if this is a trust issue between a teen and his parents, he should take it up with his parents, not with a bunch of strangers on the internet. I would think a responsible teen would sit down with his folks and manner discuss the whens, the hows and they whys of tracking.

 

[GfPQqmcRKUvP]

If you want your iPhone pay the price because I suspect you don't pay a dime towards your iPhone or the rest of your life.

You don't know the OP, and you have no right to be mean to him for no reason. He asked a question and articulated very well how he felt and why he feels it's crossing the line. Get off his back. You've done this to multiple people (the BillMinder guy in the appstore forum) recently, just calm down. You're blowing up at literally nothing, and you keep doing it.

I'm with you, cpit: the fact that they can do it legally doesn't make it less creepy, especially if you've done nothing that warrants them keeping such a close eye on you all the darn time. I was a good kid, doing nothing untoward, and I would have found that really unsettling and it wouldn't have helped me have a trusting relationship with my parents.

I would as well. Again, they have the right, but you also have the right to take exception to it and explain to them why you feel uncomfortable.

 

[Axl Rose]

am i the only one who read the topic as "ability to shake your child" ?

 

[jknight8907]

I doubt if you'll find many shoulders to cry on here. If it's not your dime paying for it, you'll just have to man up and get over it.

 

[GfPQqmcRKUvP]

I doubt if you'll find many shoulders to cry on here. If it's not your dime paying for it, you'll just have to man up and get over it.

And yet we don't know whether he payed for the iPhone or not. And even if he did, he's not saying they don't have the right to, he's asking other people if his gut reaction (that it's creepy and unnecessary) seems reasonable.

EDIT: Same message goes out to rhsgolfer33. Sorry man, his question doesn't concern who pays the bills for it.

 

[jknight8907]

And yet we don't know whether he payed for the iPhone or not. And even if he did, he's not saying they don't have the right to, he's asking other people if his gut reaction (that it's creepy and unnecessary) seems reasonable.

EDIT: Same message goes out to rhsgolfer33. Sorry man, his question doesn't concern who pays the bills for it.

True, we don't know for sure. I'm betting pretty heavily that he doesn't, though.

In the end, creepy or not will not be a factor, though, as he doesn't really have a choice if he's not paying the bill.

 

[Iscariot]

You don't know the OP, and you have no right to be mean to him for no reason. He asked a question and articulated very well how he felt and why he feels it's crossing the line. Get off his back. You've done this to multiple people (the BillMinder guy in the appstore forum) recently, just calm down. You're blowing up at literally nothing, and you keep doing it.



I would as well. Again, they have the right, but you also have the right to take exception to it and explain to them why you feel uncomfortable.

I'm going to have to agree. Being a minor and being priviledged -- or even spoiled -- does not strip a person of their right to object to being treated in an unsavoury manner. The OP hasn't said or done anything to deserve treatment like that and to write him off because of his age is simply ageism.

 

[spaceboots06]

Let's see. You have an expensive phone that provides such utility.

Big brother? Your parents. They have this right imho.
Permission? You don't get to give them permission. You're the child.

If you want your iPhone pay the price because I suspect you don't pay a dime towards your iPhone or the rest of your life.

There are ways around it and I applaud you doing it, but be prepared to pay the price.

You're a child and your parents aren't stalking you, they're keeping an eye on you.

+1

Buy your own phone. Pay your own bills. Unless you don't want to do that stay away from pot smoking teenagers or people your parents don't want you around.

 

[newcronos]

It's not that I want to abuse any freedom I do have - it's just that I want to HAVE some. Ya know, with the thing that people used to have called trust.

Trust goes both ways. Do you not trust that they're only going to be using this feature when absolutely needed?

 

[spaceboots06]

Trust goes both ways. Do you not trust that they're only going to be using this feature when absolutely needed?

Read above post. If he needs to hide from something he should buy his own phone. He's technically not using his own phone, he's using his parent's phone.

 

[GfPQqmcRKUvP]

Read above post. If he needs to hide from something he should buy his own phone. He's technically not using his own phone, he's using his parent's phone.

And perhaps you should read the rest of the thread where he does not give any indication he isn't paying for his service added to the fact that he didn't ask a question that even remotely brings who pays for his cell service into consideration.

I was just wondering if you all think this is as creepy and unnecessary as I do

That's his question. His question is not "do they have the right to do this?"

 

[newcronos]

Read above post. If he needs to hide from something he should buy his own phone. He's technically not using his own phone, he's using his parent's phone.

I'm aware of that. I was just trying to work this from a slightly different angle

 

[spaceboots06]

And perhaps you should read the rest of the thread where he does not give any indication he isn't paying for his service added to the fact that he didn't ask a question that even remotely brings who pays for his cell service into consideration.



That's his question. Not, "do they have the right to do this?"

Well, until we are notified as to if he is or is not paying his bill we cannot deem his parent's actions okay or not. Actually, regardless, his parents would be paying for the tracking fee. He should get his own contract if he's so fussy about his parents looking at a phone that's under their name on the bill.