By Jackson Jogan & Zach Farrell
The Tower
Grosse Pointe South HS
1st Place Division 2, News Writing
Pro-Con Editorial Columns
JUDGING CRITERIA
- Topics relevant to interests and/or welfare of school or students
- Two pieces, while offering opposing views, are consistent in style and tone
- Both pieces win reader interest with impelling leads
- Present evidence/interpretation in logical sequence
- State issue; uses effective examples, facts and comparisons to clarify
- Deal with specific issue; avoids preaching, rhetoric and clichés
- Show sufficient thought and knowledge of subject, developed with personal style
- Sentences, paragraphs of varied length; written clearly, concisely and vividly
- Proper diction/grammar
In the most recent decade, location tracking apps and services have become more advanced. They are often used by parents to keep an eye on their children, or by friends looking to know where people are. There are very advanced options that can tell when you get home, or what speed your car is going. In general, they simply tell you where someone is located.
I believe the scope of the uses of these tracking apps has grown too large, and they are not as important as people think. There are multiple negatives to using these tracking services, many of which people rarely consider.
These apps create a false sense of security for those using them. Although they do portray a precise location, they don’t tell the whole story. There are many ways for kids to get around the location-tracking part, such as leaving a phone at a friends house, powering it down or telling the parent that it died. Just because you can see where someone is doesn’t mean they’re safe.
When kids are put in situations where everything they do is transparent, they become more secretive. The kids can become sheltered and uninterested in branching out, because they feel like they can’t do it on their own. Additionally, it teaches kids to lie their way out of situations and live a more manipulative life.
Another part of the debate is whether it’s too restrictive on kids. A big part of growing up is having the chance to learn, being able to mess up and act differently moving forward. The tracking apps give less of a chance for that. If every single move a kid makes is monitored, they aren’t being given a chance to learn for themselves.
Clinical psychologist Catherine Steiner-Adair reports that often times, helicopter parents don’t allow their kids to develop independence and self-advocacy. This can turn into a life-long problem. Self-advocacy is a necessary skill growing up. Not being able to say no or express your opinion leads to being controlled, manipulated and guarded.
I am all for keeping kids safe, but there is a difference between keeping your child safe and keeping them sheltered or smothered. Helicopter parents give the impression they don’t trust their children, and in response, kids feel like they are completely controlled throughout their childhood.
If parents instill a core set of values early and develop a relationship based on respect with their children, then tracking is unnecessary. I have a good and trusting relationship with my parents. They might occasionally check in on where I am, but they don’t monitor me constantly throughout the day. I tell them where I’m going and they trust me to do the right thing.
Parents who feel the need to constantly monitor their children have no trust in their children. This is the basis of the problems created by tracking apps. Kids need to be safe, but they certainly don’t need to be controlled. They will miss out on their developmental years and it will forever change the way they act in social situations and in the workplace.
It’s hard to survive in our world today without a smartphone.
It is the one thing that is always by our side, from the moment we wake up to the time we fall asleep. In recent years, tech companies have developed a plethora of location-tracking apps and services that take advantage of our dependency on smartphones, creating reliable ways for families and friends to keep track of their teenage users.
The benefits of using a tracking app, such as Life360, far outweigh the potential negatives in regards to the ultimate safety of a teenager. According to the FBI’s 2017 Missing Person and Unidentified Person report, there were 651,226 reported cases of missing children under the age of eighteen in 2017.
Tracking apps show huge potential in being able to lower this number. Not only are they a valuable tool for finding a teenager in the event of an emergency, but they also give parents the opportunity to take preventative action before their kids put themselves in a dangerous situation.
Teenagers typically act much more reserved around their parents than around their friends. With this in mind, someone is much less likely to take a risk with their friends if they know their parents are “watching” through a tracking app. They will think twice before doing something that could potentially have negative repercussions.
Personally, my dad is able to track me through Find my Friends on my iPhone. Never once have I felt like I’m being controlled or restrained by the feature. Instead, I feel like this has helped me strengthen my relationship with my parents.
It’s definitely helped me develop open lines of communication with them about where I am and what I’m doing there. If I tell them I’m going to be somewhere and they can verify it through the app, they tend to trust me more when I’m out with friends.
One common objection to the use of these apps is the violation of the teenage users’ privacy. Parents have had, and always will have, a set of rules for their teenage son or daughter to follow. These rules are often in place not to be cruel, but to protect their kid’s safety.
Tracking apps are just another way to enforce these rules. If someone is worried about their parents tracking them, they are most likely doing something they shouldn’t be. If you are exactly where your parents think you are, there should be no concern with privacy.
It is important to remember that tracking apps only show location. It’s not like a teenager’s mom or dad is holding their hand the entire time they are out with friends. You can still have fun and live your life while being tracked. The only real difference is that you are now safe in the event of an emergency.
The true value of these apps doesn’t shine until they are needed. While many may think of them as a sign of “helicopter parenting”, in reality, they are a sign of proactive parenting.
They are a great way to keep a loose tab on the child you’re supposed to be keeping safe. They aren’t extraordinary restrictive and if the kid isn’t doing things they shouldn’t be, they should have no problem being watched.