Print this article  |  E-mail this article  |  Comment on this article

Verizon Launches Child Locator Service

By Ed Oswald, BetaNews

June 12, 2006, 1:49 PM

Verizon on Monday introduced a new service aimed at parents who wish to keep track of where their children are through their cell phones. Additionally, the service will give children a way to easily contact their parents.

The "Chaperone" service would be provided in conjunction with the kid-friendly LG Migo, a cell phone designed for easy operation by even the youngest users. The system uses GPS capabilities built into the phone in order to track a child's position.

The parent would be able to see where the phone is located from a map on the Verizon Web site. Additionally, parents can download a cell phone-based application that would perform similar functions, Verizon said.

The service will also allow for over-the-air programming of the phone's calling buttons, as well as customizing other settings including language and disabling or enabling of the emergency calling button.

Another feature, called Child Zone, provides a service for parents where they would be alerted when the Migo phone leaves a predetermined area. The service would send a text message to the parent's Verizon phone.

"[Chaperone] gives parents an added tool for keeping in contact with their children," Verizon product development director Lee Daniels said in a statement. "If the unexpected happens, a child carrying a Chaperone-enabled Migo phone will be able to quickly get in touch with parents or another responsible adult - and even emergency personnel - who can help."

The service requires the LG Migo phone and a Verizon Wireless Family Share plan. The locator service by itself would be $9.99 USD per line, and $19.99 USD per line when the Child Zone service is added. The LG Migo costs $49.99 USD with a two-year service agreement.

Add a Comment (40 Comments)

BetaNews reserves the right to remove any comment at any time for any reason. Please keep your responses appropriate and on topic. Foul language and personal attacks will not be tolerated.

Name (required):

E-mail (required):

Enter Your Comment:

By jwaz000

edited Jun 12, 2006 - 10:33 PM

Kids are pretty bright..... couldn't you leave the phone in one location and have all your calls forwarded to another number?

Score: 0

By fishfin

edited Jun 13, 2006 - 2:45 AM

This is nothing new. The Chinese government has and has been using tecnology like this for years. Anyone caring a cellphone that is turned on in China is on a map.

Score: 0

By PatMc

posted Jun 13, 2006 - 4:41 PM

Such a heated discussion for something that someone can "opt" into.

Sure, I pretty much agree with rijp's opinion but just not as harshly.

If you as a parent or legal guardian don't have enough control and trust built with your child to have to feel like you need to strap a GPS device to them to know where they are, then you are not doing your job as a parent imo. I trust my children to make the right choices and because I make sure to put the fear of god within them that if they screw up its there hides, they tend to think twice before doing something stupid.

Once that mind set is instilled within them, they start to build that whole concept of "common sence" which seems to be massivly lacking in todays society. It seems like more and more parents are looking for scape goats within todays society to have others raise there damn children so they don't have to do it themselfs. If its not corporate america that is feeding on there insecurities, its the damn government.

It truely is pathetic. If you don't have time to raise your own damn children, if you don't have the time to spend with them, if you don't take the mesures to make sure to meet there friends and possibly even there friends parents so you can feel safe when they are there, then please, don't have children.

I take the time to get to know my childs friends and there famelies so that they know that if they screw up with there friends, that it WILL get back to me and they will be punished. Sure, I don't know them all and I don't tend to pretend to know them all but if she is at least with one of them (which she always is) then thats just one more person that when they crack and screw up, I can get that information from them as well.

I don't make them check in all the time but they damn well have a set time to be home and they better be home or they are in trouble. It's sad when I see some households that the children control them and those are the troubled kids that turn into troubled teens and become issues when they are adults.

Learn to raise your child right and you won't feel the need to strap a GPS device to them so that someone else can watch your children for you and let you know when they have left your "safety zone".

Score: 0

By Reap_r

posted Jun 14, 2006 - 9:42 AM

I hear you...somewhat, but you are linking this tool too closely with bad parenting. In your opinion, just what tools are ok?

It is untrustworthy and bad parenting to check up on my child using a telephone? Is that a parenting replacement in your eyes? It is bad parenting to install a lock on my doors to try to help protect my children? Perhaps my web filter on the computer is a crutch for being a poor Dad. After all, why shouldn't my 11 year old stumble onto hardcore porn after misspelling disney, I can't protect them completely all their life so I should not try right?

I know I am putting ridiculous parallels here but if this is not ok to use to help protect and monitor my children, then what is ok? Is there some kind of technical threshold I should not cross?

My motto is simple, trust but verify. If they prove themselves trustworthy, then they will be trusted. That is the same as they will get in the real world. A newly hatched 18 year old is not thrown into the pilot seat of a 747 without proving for many years that they can handle that responsibility and their behavior is monitored in many ways all that time and even after.

I agree with the negative social trends of not actually raising your children. The whole day-care thing and latch-key thing just sickens me. I know that in some cases it is unavoidable, but there are so many children that don't have real parents so that they can buy that boat or large house.

If I someday choose to make use of a tool like this it will not be so I don't have to give up my golf games and actually parent my children. It will be because my children are so valuable that I will not spurn any tool that can help me protect and guide them. Hopefully my children will see any tethers like this for what they really are love and not laziness.

Score: 0

By TheGMan4God

edited Jun 15, 2006 - 7:46 PM

Who is moderating this forum? The site asks that we keep our responses "appropriate and on topic" and states that "Foul language and personal attacks will not be tolerated." I have to believe that those who have violated these basic requests and have vilified anyone who has an opinion differing from their own would not do well in using any basic tools to help them to rear their children. And why are so many of us ranting against tracking technology as if it is heading our way? Why are we ranting against this as "just another step"? We are all using computers and Internet technology RIGHT NOW. Any of us who think that tracking doesn't already exist is deluding themselves. It existed before electronic technology and it will exist in the future. The real key is using tools responsibly and appropriately. We are the people. We have a choice in how we are going to use our knowledge and how we are going to handle those who take unfair advantage of others when they use the knowledge inappropriately. I don't plan on using this from any of my three children. But, for crying out loud, I am in no way opposed to others making their own decisions about what tools they will use to help them rear their children. AND I am in no way against people deciding to establish businesses based upon that decision. Why stand against a company profiting from someone requesting additional convenience or piece of mind? Most of us would not have any income whatsoever if there was no profit from others having convenience or peace of mind.

Score: 0

By Reap_r

edited Jun 13, 2006 - 3:56 PM

The moderators are around...this topic is pretty tame so far. Just the usual ranting, trolling and such. And some of the personal attacks are long running tongue-in-cheek good natured rivalries...not all, but some. As for rijp, I guess you just have to get used to him. For the most part he is harmless and generally entertaining in his own punk kind of way. Sometimes he will surprise us with pleasantly original and insightful thinking. Other times it is just incoherent ranting. I have seen him topped by others though ( but none of them have the hang time he does, they flare up and move on) in the over-the-top department. Just when you think you know what he is going to say, the comes up with some new tidbit of knowledge that he can prove...sort of.

Of course your options are as I see them:
1. Grow thicker skin and learn not to be offended as easily.
2. Notify the Admins of site.
3. Remove Betanews shortcut and cull this site from your daily reading repertoire.
4. All of thee above.

Not advocating any course really, just sayin...

Score: 0

By TheGMan4God

edited Jun 15, 2006 - 7:46 PM

Okay. Now I get it. I was just thinking that someone had lost his mind. But, I am new to the forum, so I was ignorant to the culture and it usual way of working. Thanks for explaining and for giving me some insight (and thanks for spelling out my options...LOL).

Score: 0

By qfwfq5or7

edited Jun 13, 2006 - 11:41 AM

No, I don't have any kids, nor would I want to breed in the current atmosphere on this planet, and not because they might get abducted. This place is toxic enough already, and scams like this just make it more so.

This is obviously just a stepping stone towards chipping children at birth, as evidenced by all the comments about whoever abducts your kids just throwing the damn thing away immediately. This is no safety net, but rather the same net that will be used to gather up everyone ignorant enough to believe that your (or your kid's) wellbeing is any part of the corporate scam. The ONLY concern that verizon has about you and your kids is that you all remain dumb enough to accept being tracked by your phones (and eventually implanted chips) every moment, while paying to construct your own prison.

Won't it be swell when scanners are put on every corner in the city and every tree in the woods so that you can know not only where your kids are but also the exact route they took to get there? Then your sacred "net" won't have a single hole in it!

Clearly, verizon is just figuring out ways to make you pay for the tracking of you that they already do. If I did have any kids, the LAST thing I would put in their hands is a cellphone that fries their brain and body with microwaves constantly(even more so when they actually USE the thing and press it right up to the side of their brain).

But it's just kids being tracked and not you, right? You'll know better when your interrogator presents you with the list of every step you've taken for the last ten years and starts demanding detailed explanations for your movements. Good luck with THAT one, truly.

I do not make a habit of posting replies like this, but I don't think I have EVER seen so many clueless comments gathered together in one place before.

See you in room 101.

Score: 0

By Reap_r

edited Jun 13, 2006 - 12:23 PM

Seen any black helicopters lately...seriously, you make me seem apathetic...and some here think I am a paraniod delusional.

You have my pity if you truly hold such a cynical view of the world and the future. Much of what you get out of life is exactly what you expect to...for your sake I hope you don't experience this yourself.

Oh and the tracking...the information is there, it has been for years. The cops get it with a warrant (hopefully) no surprise there. The fact that your phone company is now offering to sell this data to you in the form of an application is just capitalism. There is no grand conspiracy here...just good old fashioned greed...twenty-first century style.

Oh and they will be chipping me and my kids AFTER they pry the gun from my cold dead fingers...they can track my corpse all they want.

Score: 0

By poe

edited Jun 13, 2006 - 10:00 AM

So I wonder if the children in The Congo know about why they are forced into prostitution and into the mines. All so suburban children in America can have cell phones and always stay in touch with mumsie and so mumsie can always stay in touch with them.

Guns, Money and cellphones. It's all connected.

Cellphones fuel Congo conflict
Cellphones may have revolutionized the way we communicate, but in Central Africa their biggest legacy is war.
Nearly 3 million people have died in Congo in a four-year war over coltan, a heat-resistant mineral ore widely used in cellphones, laptops and playstations. Eighty percent of the world's coltan reserves are in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The mountainous jungle area where the coltan is mined is the battleground of what has been grimly dubbed "Africa's first World War," pitting Congolese forces against those of six neighbouring countries and numerous armed factions.
The victims are mostly civilians. Starvation and disease have killed hundreds of thousands and the fighting has displaced 2 million people from their homes.
Often dismissed as an ethnic war, the conflict is really over natural resources sought by foreign corporations -- diamonds, tin, copper, gold, but mostly coltan.
At stake for the multitude of heavily armed militias and governments is a cut of the high-tech boom of the 1990s, which sent the price of coltan skyrocketing to peak at US$400 per kilo. Coltan -- short for colombo-tantalite -- is refined into tantalum, a "magic powder" essential to many electronic devices.
The war started in 1998 when Congolese rebel forces, backed by Rwanda and Uganda, seized eastern Congo and moved into strategic mining areas, attacking villages along the way.

And so the war came, with its lies, murder, ruin, and corruption. Yet how many of those now opposed to this horrific military action are prepared to pay the actual cost of ending it: i.e., relinquishing the guarantee of cheap gadgets and the lifestyle it sustains? The number is doubtless very small.

In Bukavu, a 29-year-old human rights campaigner called Bertrand Bisimwa summarised his country’s situation for me with cruel concision. “Since the nineteenth century, when the world looks at Congo it sees a pile of riches with some black people inconveniently sitting on top of them. They eradicate the Congolese people so they can possess the mines and resources. They destroy us because we are an inconvenience.” As he speaks, I picture the raped women with bullets burying through their intestines and try to weigh them against the piles of blood-soaked electronic goods sitting beneath my Christmas tree with their little chunks of Congolese metal whirring inside. Bertrand smiles and says, “Tell me – who are the savages? Us, or you?”

Score: 0

By Reap_r

edited Jun 13, 2006 - 4:35 PM

I think it is overly simplistic to lay centuries of war and poverty at the feet of a modern gadget. Even mineral reserves are not the reason. If you look into history, the people of Africa have most certainly been oppressed, but the root cause of their problems is one of philosophy not politics. The people of that continent hold human life to be of little value. They do not have the same morals that the western cultures have. That of honesty and integrity...of intrinsic human value. It is reflected in their religion, in their politics (corruption) in their wars (some of the most brutal tactics in history, expecially against children and women). And this is done by the people of that continent to each other (yes enabled and financed by unscrupulous outsiders in many cases but even the worst of them stop short of mutilating children).

Like it or not the prosperity of Western civilization is rooted in the values we hold. It allows a representative government, it tends to hold our politicians to a higher standard. It is not poverty that causes the decay, it is the decay that causes poverty. Look at the slums in the US. You find that where there are no morals there is poverty. In one of the wealthiest nations on earth, people live in squalor...sell drugs and prostitute each other, kill their nieghbors and terrorize children...it is not because they are poor. There are poor in Palestine, yet they have morals (Islam provides this for them). They have some issues with a few misguided hateful people blowing up Jews, but that is not the majority of people there. None of the nations of earth are perfect, none get it just right. Each one has its issues, but I live in a nation where sometimes my greatest worry is what cell phone to buy my kid. This is not an accident that this country is like that. It was built... It was built with blood on the foundation of ideas that there is a right and wrong regardless of who is in power.

Conditions in Uganda have improved dramatically over the last few decades with the influx of Judeo Christian values. Prosperity follows as corrupt government officials are no longer tolerated. As human life is recognized for being the precious gift that it is.

This is not to say that on a shorter scale, religion can't be used to justify atrocities, it certainly is, but on the larger scale a system of values (most often based upon religions views) will lift countries out of poverty and misery.

Edit: Another thing that African nations lack is private ownership of firearms. I wonder what would happen if a couple truckloads of butchers rolled into a village of 300 people that were all armed and tried to cut the arms off of their children and rape their women. The village would have some new trucks is what would happen. I know a man who runs an orphanage in Kenya. The only way he can protect the children from criminals is to hire tribesmen with bows and spears to watch over his compound. He is not allowed to have a gun to protect his family and the children and the government will not protect him. It seems the only law they enforce is that which protects them from the people (no guns) and not those which protect the people.

The causes of the War in Congo is not Coltan. It used to be Gold or slaves they excused their actions with, now it may be minerals, but the root cause is evil...it is those seeking power over others by force with little regard for human life while we stand by. How can we help them? Well it is certainly not by disarming those being slaughtered like we have done in the past. Or by sending UN peacekeepers who can't keep their pants on let alone the peace. The greatest import we can bring to them is ideas and dignity (well food would not hurt). And yes the exploitation should stop, but if one country stops buying then others are standing line to buy whatever it is the oppressors are selling, coltan, gold, slaves, silver, oil. The only ones that can really stop this is the Africans. They must decide that they are valuable enough to protect themselves from those among them that would enslave them or kill them.

Score: 0

By poe

posted Jun 13, 2006 - 11:11 PM

Yes we could bring them our wonderful ideas. Such as? Sounds quite like Manifest Destiny huh? Perhaps "We" should learn from the savages.

And of course coltan isn't the only mineral and the legacy is long and fluid but the topic was cellphones.

Most people are unaware or in denial of the consequences of their "lifestyles". Once you despoil a stream from mining operations the deal is done. It matters not one whit, from that point forward, whether the gadget that you concocted from that operation is used for the mythical "good or evil". There is an altogether different imperative involved.

The heart of darkness.

The horror.

Your comments are racist.

By the way those who finance and enable the genocide are white western governments.

Score: 0

By Reap_r

edited Jun 14, 2006 - 9:28 AM

Ahh Racist, yes I was waiting for that. It is a term that is overused and little understood. It makes honest discourse about legitimate differences quite difficult because as soon as you feel that you can no longer debate from a position of advantage you shout "racist" and try to label the person as a hater. It is intellectually dishonest and demeans those of us who have experienced real racism.

Ideas have no race, ideas have no nationality or skin pigment. It is ideas of which I speak and the results of them. You should refute my ideas (if you can) and not try to impugn my motives. You can disagree with me, but lets try to keep this on an adult level. Unless you see me typing out that folks of some races are less valuable than others and do not deserve human rights then you should keep your baseless and weak charges of racism to yourself. The only thing that I said about value and rights is that certain cultures (African especially) do not themselves hold the same values dear that the western world does. I also postulated the resulting poverty and genocide is a result of that and not purely an outside phenomena.

It is not racist to point out the differences in cultural beliefs and the corresponding results of that. I in no way state that those of a different race are of less value. Are you saying that I cannot disagree with those of a certain race, or possibly cannot critisize their culture for having negative conesequences to their beliefs? That idea that I cannot critizise is far more racist than anything I have said.

Racism is a value statement through words or deeds. It is acting on a belief that a group or individual is not worthy of the rights and respect due to other humans due to their race. It is connected to pre-judice. Prejudice is the ignorant assignation of negative value, ability, or motives with no prior facts about that specific case (my definition, but feel free to look it up). It is a racial prejudice, and therefore racist, to say that white people always oppress, or that black people always steal. I use those as examples so don't get your panties in a bunch.

I beleive in equality and I teach it to my children. My oldest daughter learned about black people with the understanding that the only difference was pigment. In fact she called them "people with black skin". By the very fact of identifying them first as people, she equates their value with hers.

But according to you white = evil and non-white = victim. It is so easy living in a simple world. That is just absurd.

So many equate technological progress with environmental desecration and racist oppression. There is no cause and effect link. What does happen is that short-sighted selfish people many times sacrifice the future of others to get more profit now. It has happened for as long as there have been people. The advent of modern technology brought nothing but changes in the scale of such deeds. As for the political aspects, it was not too long ago really that all whites lived in feudalism and slavery except the ruling elite. Maybe in your world those folks were "whiter" and were keeping the darker man down. Sorry, they were mostly white in europe and other colors in other places and they all pretty much lived the same way.

The ideas of self-determiniation and the rights of man revolutionized the political and social structure of the western world. The advent of capitalism, constitutional monarchies and representative governments changed much. This brought prosperity and allowed technological innovation to flourish. Much of the rest of the world stayed as it was politically. Colonialism flourished as well and that had very little to do with race and much to do with profit. If you go to Asia now and visit countries that were colonies of Britain or some other Imperialist nation and those that were not there is a vast difference in the standard of living between the two. The former colonies exibit representative governments and financial prosperity. I don't say this to defend colonialism, it was not altruistic, it was most certainly exploitation, but along with their weapons, they brought their ideas, it would have been preferable to just have the ideas, but there lies the folly of man.

Like few others I am aware of the consequences of the denial of my lifestyle. It would bring great change, but life would go on. Simpler perhaps...

and your last statement is patently false. There are several recent acts of genocide in that continent that were financed by African countries. Of course maybe you are upset because those countries in turn were propped up initially by western whites. So you could say that they are oppressing by proxy. I will never argue that it has been a good thing to support some of these monsters, but lets not lose sight of whose hands wield the machete. There is enough blame to go around and I think that we (western world) should stop propping up dictators, but to say that we have something to learn from monsters who chop up children for sport is lunacy.

Sorry to all for going so far OT, but it is a subject that I am passionate about.

Score: 0

By Austin814

posted Jun 13, 2006 - 11:37 AM

First I would like to point out the phone the article is referring to is a 3 button phone. 1 Button has a female (Mother), 1 button has a male (Father) and the 3rd button has a police officer or badge on it I think. This phone is not intented to be used to track your teenager, any kid past the age of 10 will want to be able to call their friends and would be embarressed to have a Mommy/Daddy phone. While the comments have been interesting, none of the "train your child to be home on time" type of comments really apply. While you do need to train and parent a 5 year old, they are not generally the ones in charge of where they are. Anyone who kidnapps a child will not let them phone home and will toss the phone. This is just technology for the over-protective / overactive parent. I am 23 years old and remember the day my Grandpa gave me a pocket knife. It was my 7th birthday. I remember my mom saying "What if he cuts himself?" and my Grandpa responed "If he does, it will only happen once". This is a perfect example of parents should be concerned yes, but by giving their child a responcibility (a pocket knife) the child learns to handle it. This is how I was raised. Now at 23, I own two Mercedes Benz's and have purchased a home (when I was 21) all on my own. The lesson is, teach your children responcibility and common sense. Dont teach them that you dont trust them and hand them everything on a silver platter.

Score: 0

By Reap_r

edited Jun 13, 2006 - 10:43 AM

As a parent, I think that this is a good tool. For younger ones it can possibly help if they are abducted or it can summon help sooner to a specific location. I don't think that this is harmful. It is an optional thing that parents can choose to use. One of my parenting techniques is to help reduce temptation but not smother the child with stifling supervision. It will help a child to resist temptation if they know their whereabouts can be tracked. Yes I know they can give the phone to their friend...they are kids, they can find a way to get around it, but if it helps them make good choices and it helps to protect them, then it is a good idea in my book. That is the same reasoning that I used to put an internet filter on the home PC's. Yes I know they can probably find a way around it, but it will help them not stumble into harms way. And hopefully if their behavior is reaching the point where they are purposely circumventing my controls, there will be other signs.

This is a tool, use it or don't use it. Nothing can replace love and good parenting, but every tool may possibly have a place in helping that.

Score: 0

By Intrusive_Rogue

edited Jun 13, 2006 - 9:55 AM

For every technology that allows us to watch our kids, our kids will find a work around for it.

It's what they do, I know kids, I was one.

Setting boundries, teaching them right from wrong, respect and how to protect themselves is the best you can do. Plain and simple.

Knowledge and education will overpower any type of technology you can subject kids to every time.

Score: 0

By CATBOB

edited Jun 12, 2006 - 3:44 PM

IT WOULD BE AN EXCELLENT IDEA IF VERIZON COULD OFFER THIS SERVICE AT A REDUCED RATE FOR FAMILIES WHO MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO AFFORD IT. MANY FAMILIES ENDURE CERTAIN STRESS BECAUSE BOTH PARENTS HAVE TO WORK AND THEREFORE CANNOT ALWAYS SUPERVISE THE WHEREABOUTS OF THEIR CHILDREN.

Score: 0

By antinomy

edited Jun 13, 2006 - 12:39 AM

Cingular has a similar product. And the news of today has a piece on GPS technology being used to monitor prison inmates and their whereabouts. No comparisons intended, but the NASDAQ sector is indeed providing some very interesting "high tech" into the world. It's not all for fun, games and entertainment I don't think.

Score: 0

By djkorben

edited Jun 13, 2006 - 12:44 AM

That's just great, let's trade in our children's civil liberties for them before they've had a right to assert them.

Ok, ok... maybe that statement will rile up alot of well intentioned parents out there who think this will make their life easier. It should. This is not the path to successful parenting.

This is not the thing to support right now seeing that every investigation or investigative committee into domestic spying, is meeting with 100% secrecy and resistance from our government (Justice Dept's invesitigation into the NSA program).

If we are not careful, our children will forget our civil liberties for us. (Mommy always could track my location, so why would I question big brother?)

Score: 0

By ChiefElf

edited Jun 12, 2006 - 3:44 PM

Cool. It's a fact, most parents want to know where their children are. This isn't invasive, as any kid who wants to hide won't carry their Migo with them. But responsible kids not only won't mind, they'll love it, because it will reduce the number of "where were you" queries they get.

Chief Elf, at http://www.ElfInk.com

Score: 0

By keystroke

posted Jun 12, 2006 - 6:48 PM

"No, but they might not think to pat the kid down and throw the phone away until they arrive at location they are taking them."

Well perhaps not, but once one person gets caught abducting a child and it comes out that they were caught because the kid had a phone on them... future abductors *WILL* learn and begin to throw away the phones in the nearest trash can. They may be quite horrible and immoral people but they are not idiots you know. Maybe they will even quickly sell or give away the phone to a local homeless person or a random criminal if they know any, so the phone seems as though it is moving around and is not just standing in one place (I don't know if they check for this at the moment and with the error it may seem as though the phone is moving around a small area anyway.. but just an idea!)

As for other comments saying this is wrong to do to kids.. I would not do it to mine either probably unless they were very young. However as noted above it will be an ineffective tool and basically the reason this exists is to make Verizon money obviously! It is more of a peace of mind product than something offering genuine safety. They probably want to make people comfortable with the technology (as many will see this as a plus and it is hard to argue against without seeming like you don't care about children...) before introducing other versions which people would currently be even more worried about. Anyways, if parents DO use this to "oppress" their children, they are probably the type to already mistrust their kids in other ways so it isn't much more and I can guarantee that those children will, in many cases, grow up and come to resent their parents for doing such things to them.. so in the end all will be equalized perhaps.

Score: 0

By popman

posted Jun 12, 2006 - 6:29 PM

I just bought an LG Migo for my 8 year old daughter last Friday not knowing about this service. I'm now really happy I did. Being that her mother and I are divorced and live in different states, I can keep a virtual eye on my daughter.

Score: 0

By TheGMan4God

edited Jun 12, 2006 - 5:02 PM

While I understand the root of rijp's comments--the initial comments, not the crass ones--I do not understand why he or she is ranting against a tool that parents can use, or against a legitimate use of technology and business sense. Sure, parents need to do more to care for their children. Sure, parents need to do more to hold their children accountable whenever they cross the line. But why rant against a tool? It is almost like ranting against someone who buys a larger vehicle so that they can take more members of their family to school, stores, visit family, etc. It's a tool that people can use--ranting simply because some children have abused their driving privileges and caused accidents and what have you. It's a tool that can be legitamately used. Why rant against the users as paranoids? Besides, paranoia relates to excessive and IRRATIONAL feelings of distrust. There is nothing irrational about the use that is proposed in the article.

Score: 0

By Juscelino

edited Jun 12, 2006 - 5:01 PM

rijp - I don't think that the problem is your point of view. I think that the problem is your attitude. You seem to be upset at the world and unfortunately, noone in this forum (or the article) has done anything personally against you.

I agree with you to a certain extent. Kids do know what they are doing, however, if you truly care about them then it's natural for you to worry about their well being. Let us make our own decisions about whether we want the phone or not.

The point being that it's okay to have an opinion. However, other people are also entitled to opinions without you motherf****ing and disrespecting them.

Score: 0

By rijp

edited Jun 12, 2006 - 2:20 PM

Why are we becoming a nation so paranoid about what kids are doing? If the parents did their job in the FIRST place the kids wouldn't BE a problem in the SECOND place.

Like that stupid b**** that goes galavanting off to sri lanka, or whatever, and she is supposedly an honor student.

This PROVES kids (she was 16), knew what she was doing. She knew enough to coerce her mom into getting her a passport for one reason, and uses it for another reason, then she goes missing.. she got on a plane, and she did it ALL by herself. I am sorry but this BS about how kids are "innoncent" its just complete non-sense. Kids know what they are doing, and parents that want to track their kids are just psycho. If you can't trust your kids to do the right thing, then perhaps YOU are the problem, not the kids.

Emimem said it best:

"Get aware, wake up, get a sense of humor
Quit tryin to censor music, this is for your kids amusement
(The kids!) But dont blame me when lil Eric jumps off of the terrace
You shoulda been watchin him - apparently you aint parents"

- Who Knew

Score: 0

By GoGo2

edited Jun 12, 2006 - 3:51 PM

It's ironic that your Eminem quote mentions watching your kids. So you're supporting the point of keeping track of your kids while simultaneously criticizing it.

This is a rare occurance of being on both sides of an argument. That takes mad skillz, yo.

Score: 0

By faradhi

posted Jun 12, 2006 - 3:07 PM

Yes, kids know what they are doing. However, kids do not always know the consequences of their actions. Kids do not always see the dangers of their actions.

What about those children who are abducted. Are you saying it is always the parents fault? I bet if your child was abducted you would be wishing that your child had one of those phones.

You see. I know that I cannot watch any child 24\7. Any parent who can say they watch their 24/7 is not allowing the child to grow. Children need freedom. NOT TOTAL FREEDOM. But the amount of freedom the parent deems the child can handle. With this freedom, the child will make mistakes. To grow you must make mistakes. You give the child enough information to make good decisions and then you let them free to make those decisions.

This service provides the child with a net so that if caught in a situation they cannot handle they have the net. That is a parents job. To provide a net so that the mistake that the child will make is not irreparable.

Score: 0

By rijp

posted Jun 12, 2006 - 3:49 PM

I didn't say abducting kids is parents fault, but the device is in the PHONE not the kid. Unless you want to resort to implants.

So when they get abducted, you think the kidnapper is going to let them keep their phone? I didn't think so.

And this isn't about abduction, this is about parents wanting to watch and be EVERY where and every thing about their kids. Well too bad. If your kids trusted you, or they loved you enough to WANT to call, then it won't be a problem.

If the kids are running, perhaps you are GIVING them a reason to run.

Kids getting abducted has nothing to do with parents trying to attach a GPS to their ass. It has to do with parents CONTROLLING their kids actions.

Kids, as my point was illustrating, KNOW what they are doing, and you may think they don't understand the result of their actions, they just don't CARE. They know, I know they know. They would RATHER take their chances doing something AWAY from the parents.

Kids, will be kids. Parents, won't let them grow as kids, so they will end up being robots. Why even have kids? Why not go to Radio Shack and buy a damn robot and tell it to do EVERY you ask, then their won't be a problem.

They are KIDS not machines. If you treat them as such, and instill them with proper common sense, they will come home at a decent hour, drug free.

Score: 0

By faradhi

posted Jun 12, 2006 - 6:00 PM

Look, Kids know what they are doing. But do you honestly think that girl thought that she could be raped, tortured, or killed. No, she didn't. Kids think they are invincible. Kids are impulsive, irrational, and think they know everything.

How about this situation. A 16 year old girl on a date. Her date is driving. He drives her to a remote area she is not familar with. Her date pressures her to do something she is not comfortable with. She refuses and gets out of the car. She calls and says "I left my date because he tried XYZ and now I need a ride home." You Say, "Where are you?" She says, "I don't know." I bet money you would want this technology then.

This is not about controlling kids. It is about providing a safety net.

Score: 0

By Grazer

posted Jun 12, 2006 - 5:58 PM

"you think the kidnapper is going to let them keep their phone?"

No, but they might not think to pat the kid down and throw the phone away until they arrive at location they are taking them.

Score: 0

By eternalblue

posted Jun 12, 2006 - 2:51 PM

It really should be against the law for ignorant people like you to reproduce. YOU are psycho.

Score: 0

By rijp

posted Jun 12, 2006 - 3:44 PM

I am not ignorant, you dumb son of a b****. I don't think its prudent to think kids should be followed around like rats in a damn cage.

Would you want your boss knowing everyplace you go, everywhere you go dumb ass?

I wouldn't. Kids have some and deserve freedom, jack ass. They don't need an anal probe up their a** every second of every day.

And did you bother to read my point, dumb ****? It cleary suggest that there is a TRUST relationship, you dumb s***. TRUST between parents and kids. If you bring your kids up RIGHT, there won't *BE* a problem, you stupid twit.

So don't call me ignorant, you dumb bas****. You are the one that ignorant. If you think that controlling your kids will somehow make them better, it won't. It will only make them paranoid and needy.

Probably like you.

Score: 0

By morriscox

posted Jun 13, 2006 - 1:37 AM

How not to respond. Are you speaking as a kid?

I think it would be okay to use this kind of service if the kid was willing. If it was forced on them, no thanks.

Don't bother trying to claim that kids know the consequences of their actions and they just don't care. I'll agree (for the most part) that they might not care. However (for the vast majority of kids), they haven't had enough experience with life to know all the potential consquences of their actions. Even many adults struggle with that. Your claim is just another false statement on your part.

Score: 0

By faradhi

posted Jun 12, 2006 - 6:15 PM

"Would you want your boss knowing everyplace you go, everywhere you go {omited unnecessary expliative}"

No, but then again, my boss is not financially responsible for anything I do outside of work. Additionally, my boss as no moral and ethical responsibility to know what I am doing outside of work. However, as a parent i am financially, morally, and ethically responsible for what my child does.

What you cannot or willnot understand is that this device makes it easier to give your child the freedom they need to grow without leaving them completely unprotected.

And finally, when one must resort to explatives to make their point, then others tend to wonder about that person's intelligence.

Score: 0

By eternalblue

posted Jun 12, 2006 - 3:56 PM

As intelligent as your reply was, I stopped reading it half way through due to lack of interest. Get a life.

Score: 0

By Alexq

posted Jun 12, 2006 - 3:17 PM

Totally agree with you. This moron always takes the most idiotic position on any subject discussed in this forum.

Score: 0

By rijp

posted Jun 12, 2006 - 3:50 PM

Maybe you are just too stupid to understand the topics. I don't see you even giving your opinion, so unless you have something usefull to say, why don't you shut the hell up.

Score: 0

By Alexq

edited Jun 13, 2006 - 5:58 AM

This topic here, for example, is about parents providing safety net to their kids, not about controlling what kids do. And you, as usual, took the most idiotic and completely baseless position on the subject. Either because you are too stupid to understand the topic or simply too disturbed mentally to read the article and actually try to understand what you are reading.

Score: 0

By whcc

posted Jun 12, 2006 - 3:11 PM

Totally agree with you, eternalblue. People who think they can control everything around them including their kids must live in dreamland. Maybe these people don't realize the crime that happens around them.

Score: 0

By undivided

edited Jun 12, 2006 - 4:09 PM

I bet jack bauer wish his daughter had one of those phones in season 1 ; )
then again the robbers would have just throw it down the sewer

Score: 0

Dec 4 - 11:47 AM ET The storm hits AT&T, with a five-digit headcount reduction

Dec 4 - 11:42 AM ET TV sports adopts Web coverage, plays with iPhones

Dec 4 - 11:24 AM ET Microsoft seeks 'community' help to make IE8 Standards Mode work out

Dec 4 - 10:43 AM ET Hitachi GST and Intel make a solid-state deal

Dec 3 - 11:36 PM ET Yahoo cedes Internet radio operations to CBS

Dec 3 - 5:54 PM ET Big BCS bowl game to land at CES 2009...in 3-D!

Dec 3 - 4:58 PM ET Songbird 1.0 music player makes a landing

Dec 3 - 3:41 PM ET Ted Rogers (1933-2008), giant of Canadian tech and media

Dec 3 - 2:27 PM ET Analysts: PC growth will slow, while notebooks remain a bright spot

Dec 3 - 1:58 PM ET RIM's third quarter outlook shouldn't shock, but does anyway