Thursday, February 21, 2013

GPS Chips - Good for Your Dog AND Your Kid....

Being able to track down your beloved dog using a GPS tracking device (such as Tagg) is probably one of the better implications of technology I've seen in a long time (believe me, I was that twelve-year-old girl whose dog ran away and never returned) The loss of a pet is unbearable; I can't imagine what the loss of a child or a elderly relative would be (although i think my parents kind of get it....I was also the little girl who "ran away") So why not just stick the rascals with a tracking device and call it a day? I can see how some people would hesitate to accept this, but with the right regulations this could be a huge step toward a completely safe society. Here are my thoughts on some concerns or complications:
  1. First, how is this going to infringe on kid's right to privacy? For children under eight this would be a no-brainer (given that the device would have no adverse affects on child development) because kids don't have the juridiction to make decisions for themselves. This is a great way to both recover your kid if they are lost or kidnapped, and deter criminals from kidnapping kids in the first place. It could potentially make kidnapping futile. Pinning this on kids above the age of 16 gets a little iffy though. This is a time when a kid starts to branch off from their parents and get some independence and the idea of being tracked and under constant surveillance would impede that development of trust between the parent and the child. Plus, this is something that is going inside their body. A kid can't be forced to have a tattoo or a piercing, and after the age of 16, when a kid is old enough to operate a vehicle, they should be old enough to decide if they want to be tracked or not.  
  2. Anyone who had the chip would have to be legally aware that they have the chip in them. I would be 100% against any sort of law requiring families to use such a device. Parents should have the right to decide how they raise their kids but anything beyond adequate protection is optional. Because there is no one way to parent, there cannot be laws implemented on how to do so so long as the kid is not being harmed.  
  3. For those elderly people: you can't force an adult to wear a tracking device. They have the right to decide if they would like people to know where they are at all times. If a patient suspects that thier condition going to get progressively worse, they should specify then if they want the people who will take care of them to be able to track them just as they would decide who to give their assets to after their death.

1 comment:

  1. You bring a very good point when it becomes too much to have a tracking device on a child, when they reach age 16. I will only bring one additional point to think about, if a kid who had a tracking device put inside them becomes older, what could be done to prevent their parent from using it?

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