Synthesis Essay On Tracking Children

Through new technology and modernized applications, tracking and surveilling children has been made easy, but can it be considered to be crossing the line? According to Source 2, more than three-quarters of American children between the ages of 12-17 had their own personal cell phones in 2012 that most of which contained access to the internet. Not only that, but a study found that approximately 60 percent of children were being tracked through their social media and call history by their parents and/or guardians. Recently, a parent tracking their children’s location, speed within driving, social media, etc, is particularly common and can bring forth a peace of mind, but this raises a controversial question, should parents track kids with

Often, teens start to become more rebellious as they develop and begin to grow up, which is something that surveillance contributes to, but not in a positive manner. For example, Steve Shlozman in Source 1 shares that, “when kids feel crowded, they tend to do things that they would otherwise not do. They take even greater risks because they have a desire to prove their independence and their individuality. There is something they need to get away with.” Knorr in Source 2 also argues this same idea. She states that “parents who try to intrude on [their privacy] are setting up a parent versus kid situation, even for good kids who are not doing anything wrong.” Because of the lack of privacy, children, even those who are considered to be good, are unconsciously willing to break this barrier between parent and child, in order to be “set free” or more “individual” as a person. This can greatly backfire on parents as they cause their kids to become primarily more rebellious by forcing them to always be under their watch, which is something that children want to break away from as teens. Children in this situation become determined to find a hole through this new technology and will do anything to defeat it. According to Source 1, “if [children] don’t want to be tracked, they can simply turn off their cell phones–or ‘forget’ them at a friend's home.” Frequently, this issue can be solved by parents simply trusting their children as they are more likely to be more open with their parents if they have a good relationship through