4 ms·
How much time can pass before it's unethical for a guardian not to know where their ward is? 1 hour is fine, but 1 day would be concerning, and definitely 1 wee
by mLuby 6y ago
How much time can pass before it's unethical for a guardian not to know where their ward is? 1 hour is fine, but 1 day would be concerning, and definitely 1 week is too long. (It may be related to how long the ward might survive without finding shelter or water.) So some degree of tracking is required.
However, ethically speaking, we should strive to track as little as possible, since the whole point is to allow the child to develop into an independent, self-responsible adult.
What's deemed acceptable to maintain control over a child has been diminishing (e.g. corporal punishment). Maybe location tracking should be the next addition to a child's Bill of Rights (and then we can talk to our Big Brother babysitter about knocking it off too).
- anoncake 6y agoIt depends on their age, doesn't it? 1 hour isn't fine for a toddler, 1 week may be fine for a 17-year-old.
- dorkwood 6y agoI guess the part that angers me is that they do, in fact, allow you to track adults, as long as the adult is aware they're being tracked and a notification is displayed on their screen while it's happening. Children, however, aren't offered the same courtesy. I understand the legal responsibility to know where your child is, but none of the arguments I've seen so far seem to address why it's ethical to deceive children but not adults.
- mLuby 6y agoThat unnecessary secrecy/deception angle I've never heard before, but it's a really good one; totally agree!