4 ms·

To be fair, GPS tracking may actually make parents feel more comfortable allowing their kids to free roam.

kspacewalk2 3y ago
Okay, so it's supervised roam. Who cares? It's much better than keeping your kids at home and only allowing them out on pre-arranged "play dates", which is the other major alternative.
- beaeglebeached 3y ago
  In much of USA allowing free roam and not repenting and recanting the sin when CPS inevitably called and starts the inquisition will end with them in foster care with the same problems but now broken continuity of care.
clipsy 3y ago
It would more accurately be called unfree roaming.
dghlsakjg 3y ago
If your parents know where you are with 3m accuracy it isn’t really free roaming. In other words, being watched or tracked will definitely affect a kids behavior.
- ars 3y ago
  If a kid changes behavior because of a parent watching then that kid absolutely needs watching. It's still free roaming because the kid is 100% in charge of where they will go. That's the part that matters, not that someone can tell where they are.
  - throwbadubadu 3y ago
    Geez what? If a kid greater certain age does not change behaviour with parents watching please see a psychologist with it.
  - BobaFloutist 3y ago
    That sounds awfully close to "If you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear"
  - AlexandrB 3y ago
    I think this applies to kids just as well as adults: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilling_effect https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilling_effect But what scares me more is how this trend has the potential to normalize surveillance in general. It's not uncommon to for people to treat their employer or the government as a surrogate parent. So why wouldn't kids raised in a digital surveillance family accept a digital surveillance state?
    - woleium 3y ago
      elf on the shelf is a frighteningly common indoctrination to a life of surveillance
      - ajmurmann 3y ago
        I have the related theory that the whole Santa Clause and Easter Bunny lie thing makes children more likely to believe in conspiracy theories. If all adults, including the weatherman conspire to lie to me for no actual gain, why wouldn't politicians and media personalities conspire to lie to me about the earth being flat or climate change if there is profit or power to be had?
        lotsofpulp 3y ago
        > If all adults, including the weatherman conspire to lie to me for no actual gain Some adults enjoy playing pretend with kids, and some kids enjoy playing pretend with adults too. I would not characterize it as a no gain situation.
        ajmurmann 3y ago
        So the learning then is that adults might conspire to make me believe the world is round instead of flat for no reason other than fun?
        scrps 3y ago
        You do realize there is nothing wrong with theorizing about conspiracies, kind of like theorizing about physics. You are mixing up propgandists who run with theories as though they are proven fact on bad faith to push agendas without a shred of evidence. Law enforcement engages in theorizing about conspiracies, intelligence agencies engage in theorizing about conspiracies, almost every country has laws making criminal conspiracy illegal. And there are plenty of conspiracies that turn out to be true, they also tend to be quite banal and human rather than sexy hollywood aliens, global gov conspiracies, etc. Attacking theorizing with such a broad stroke is attacking critical thinking not disinformation. You can't decide what path of possible truth to persue without theorizing. If anything santa and the easter bunny are gentle introductions for kids to learn how to tune their BS detection circuit.
  - Nyra 3y ago
    You are wrong on so many levels for stating this as though many parents are adequate moral arbiters and not often irrational, unreasonable, or overprotective about what they think is okay for their kid to do. A child is not “100% in charge of where they will go” if they have to consider the consequences of or pay a price for doing innocuous things after returning home when they know they are being monitored. Everybody, especially kids, deserves to have some alone time and actual agency.

Okay, so it's supervised roam. Who cares? It's much better than keeping your kids at home and only allowing them out on pre-arranged "play dates", which is the other major alternative.

beaeglebeached 3y ago
In much of USA allowing free roam and not repenting and recanting the sin when CPS inevitably called and starts the inquisition will end with them in foster care with the same problems but now broken continuity of care.

clipsy 3y ago

It would more accurately be called unfree roaming.

dghlsakjg 3y ago

If your parents know where you are with 3m accuracy it isn’t really free roaming. In other words, being watched or tracked will definitely affect a kids behavior.

ars 3y ago
If a kid changes behavior because of a parent watching then that kid absolutely needs watching. It's still free roaming because the kid is 100% in charge of where they will go. That's the part that matters, not that someone can tell where they are.
- throwbadubadu 3y ago
  Geez what? If a kid greater certain age does not change behaviour with parents watching please see a psychologist with it.
- BobaFloutist 3y ago
  That sounds awfully close to "If you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear"
- AlexandrB 3y ago
  I think this applies to kids just as well as adults: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilling_effect https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilling_effect But what scares me more is how this trend has the potential to normalize surveillance in general. It's not uncommon to for people to treat their employer or the government as a surrogate parent. So why wouldn't kids raised in a digital surveillance family accept a digital surveillance state?
  - woleium 3y ago
    elf on the shelf is a frighteningly common indoctrination to a life of surveillance
    - ajmurmann 3y ago
      I have the related theory that the whole Santa Clause and Easter Bunny lie thing makes children more likely to believe in conspiracy theories. If all adults, including the weatherman conspire to lie to me for no actual gain, why wouldn't politicians and media personalities conspire to lie to me about the earth being flat or climate change if there is profit or power to be had?
      - lotsofpulp 3y ago
        > If all adults, including the weatherman conspire to lie to me for no actual gain Some adults enjoy playing pretend with kids, and some kids enjoy playing pretend with adults too. I would not characterize it as a no gain situation.
        ajmurmann 3y ago
        So the learning then is that adults might conspire to make me believe the world is round instead of flat for no reason other than fun?
      - scrps 3y ago
        You do realize there is nothing wrong with theorizing about conspiracies, kind of like theorizing about physics. You are mixing up propgandists who run with theories as though they are proven fact on bad faith to push agendas without a shred of evidence. Law enforcement engages in theorizing about conspiracies, intelligence agencies engage in theorizing about conspiracies, almost every country has laws making criminal conspiracy illegal. And there are plenty of conspiracies that turn out to be true, they also tend to be quite banal and human rather than sexy hollywood aliens, global gov conspiracies, etc. Attacking theorizing with such a broad stroke is attacking critical thinking not disinformation. You can't decide what path of possible truth to persue without theorizing. If anything santa and the easter bunny are gentle introductions for kids to learn how to tune their BS detection circuit.
- Nyra 3y ago
  You are wrong on so many levels for stating this as though many parents are adequate moral arbiters and not often irrational, unreasonable, or overprotective about what they think is okay for their kid to do. A child is not “100% in charge of where they will go” if they have to consider the consequences of or pay a price for doing innocuous things after returning home when they know they are being monitored. Everybody, especially kids, deserves to have some alone time and actual agency.