Anonymous
07/21/2025 18:02
Subject: article in The Atlantic about tracking your kids
Raising cholesterol who never learn to be independent. Sad.
Anonymous
07/21/2025 17:38
Subject: Re:article in The Atlantic about tracking your kids
Anonymous wrote:
If kids are not doing anything wrong and are telling the truth, then they have nothing to complain about with parents using Life 360.
Disagree. It's creepy. It is also not infallible, and your location data are for sale to who-knows-whom for who-knows-what purposes.
Worse, it conditions the next generation to be willing to accept constant location tracking and surveillance.
"Law-abiding citizens shouldn't be bothered by law-enforcement over-reach. Think of the children."
That’s an interesting point, I hadn’t thought of it but you are completely right.
Anonymous
07/21/2025 17:36
Subject: article in The Atlantic about tracking your kids
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have a gift link for this article? "The Very Common, Very Harmful Thing Well-Meaning Parents Do".
TIA.
Interesting that they called it harmful.
I imagine they have no problem with government and corporations (same thing for last 75 years really) tracking everyone and everything they do or say? But they tell you not to track kids. Interesting.
The author gives an example of lying to his/her parents as a teen, saying it’s good there was no tracking then so s/he didn’t get caught. And that teens now should have the “freedom” to lie to their parents, too.
The author also thinks it’s bad to monitor what kids do online. I read the whole article and didn’t see any convincing “harms” of being able to see your minor child’s location whatsoever.
Anonymous
07/21/2025 17:18
Subject: article in The Atlantic about tracking your kids
Anonymous wrote:I love it. It eliminates so much useless communication. If I am picking up a kid, they can tell I'm on the way and not worry. If I need to know if my spouse is home or at the office so I will know whether to go home and feed the dog, I can just check without texting/calling. When my high schoolers are out, I can see whether they are on the way home, etc.
Yeah, I share with a bunch of people as do my kids. If the govt and corporations are tracking me, why not those closest to me? It’s not like I can’t turn it off. If my adult child wants to not be followed that’s their choice and I told them that, but it’s a huge convenience.
I have given my spouse directions many times when GPS has lost the thread or even more so how to navigate to where the child is — tracking two people to bring them together. Some people aren’t tech or map adept to bring it all together so I can be the guy in the chair.
Anonymous
07/21/2025 17:07
Subject: article in The Atlantic about tracking your kids
"Find my phone" gives my teens complete freedom. They don't ever tell me where they are or where they're going (until after the fact and I ask them how their night was) because I can locate them if I need to.
That said, I rarely check it. Maybe once or twice a month I find them because something arises like I need one of them to pick-up a younger sibling and I wonder who is closest.
That said, I rarely check it. Maybe once or twice a month I find them because something arises like I need one of them to pick-up a younger sibling and I wonder who is closest.
Anonymous
07/21/2025 17:06
Subject: Re:article in The Atlantic about tracking your kids
Anonymous wrote:The technology is there for me to use so I'll use it.
Yes, kids grew up 30-40 years ago without being tracked. They also grew up without cell phones, and a hell of a lot more safety features that we have at our disposal now. Why would you scoff at something new just because you didn't have it in the olden days?
I fully trust every member of my family and it has never been about spying on them. We all know that each other has the ability to track. We all consent and it's no big deal.
If you don't want to do it, fine by me. There is no need to stupidly disparage those of us who do.
OK, so if your kids turned it off, you would be totally chill with it, right?
Anonymous
07/21/2025 17:05
Subject: Re:article in The Atlantic about tracking your kids
Anonymous wrote:
If kids are not doing anything wrong and are telling the truth, then they have nothing to complain about with parents using Life 360.
Disagree. It's creepy. It is also not infallible, and your location data are for sale to who-knows-whom for who-knows-what purposes.
Worse, it conditions the next generation to be willing to accept constant location tracking and surveillance.
"Law-abiding citizens shouldn't be bothered by law-enforcement over-reach. Think of the children."
ok, conspiracy-theory nutjob
Anonymous
07/21/2025 16:48
Subject: Re:article in The Atlantic about tracking your kids
Anonymous wrote:I want to start doing this with my teens; link didn’t work
Is there another good how-to article? Which platform works best (keep seeing life 360 mentioned
Find my is free in Mac products, you can see phone, Apple Watch, laptop, iPad/ etc
My college kids and I use it daily, they like each other to see where we are when driving traveling at night etc.
we also use it to locate devices when they are under a pile of laundry or left behind at library etc.
we don’t judge each other so no need to hide.
Anonymous
07/21/2025 16:48
Subject: Re:article in The Atlantic about tracking your kids
The technology is there for me to use so I'll use it.
Yes, kids grew up 30-40 years ago without being tracked. They also grew up without cell phones, and a hell of a lot more safety features that we have at our disposal now. Why would you scoff at something new just because you didn't have it in the olden days?
I fully trust every member of my family and it has never been about spying on them. We all know that each other has the ability to track. We all consent and it's no big deal.
If you don't want to do it, fine by me. There is no need to stupidly disparage those of us who do.
Yes, kids grew up 30-40 years ago without being tracked. They also grew up without cell phones, and a hell of a lot more safety features that we have at our disposal now. Why would you scoff at something new just because you didn't have it in the olden days?
I fully trust every member of my family and it has never been about spying on them. We all know that each other has the ability to track. We all consent and it's no big deal.
If you don't want to do it, fine by me. There is no need to stupidly disparage those of us who do.
Anonymous
07/21/2025 16:43
Subject: article in The Atlantic about tracking your kids
Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have a gift link for this article? "The Very Common, Very Harmful Thing Well-Meaning Parents Do".
TIA.
Interesting that they called it harmful.
I imagine they have no problem with government and corporations (same thing for last 75 years really) tracking everyone and everything they do or say? But they tell you not to track kids. Interesting.
Anonymous
07/21/2025 15:42
Subject: Re:article in The Atlantic about tracking your kids
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:What's the big deal about parents knowing where their kids are? That's pretty basic for parenting.
1. College students aren't kids.
2. Teens need some freedom to diverge from parents. This is healthy.
3. Small children- yes - know where they are.
Asian?
1. Biologically they are and they share their location with their 100 closest friends so...
2. Having find my phone on does not mean they don't diverge from parents.
3. Small children should not have a phone.
Old?
1. If they can fight for their country, and get tried as an adult, they are legally considered adults.
2. Agree - that's different than tracking.
3. Agree - still you should know where small children are - which was the statement.
A$$hole? Let me answer for you - yes.
And, I'm 45 - is that old? Sure to some, not to others. I'm old enough to have experience to chime in on this conversation, young enough to know that some parents in my kids cohort are airtagging their kids, which I think is insane. You should not have to air tag a young child, they need to be properly supervised.
They should not be fighting at 18 it was rare until Vietnam it was mostly 25 for ww2 and before.
Yes u are old and the world is different,
If u think find my phone is air tagging I can’t help u
The government considers 18 an adult. That’s fact - your opinion is irrelevant.
Yes, I had kids at the average age that doctors had kids, which means they are teens. You must have been a teen pregnancy - I can’t help you with your bad choices.
And, no air tagging is different than ‘find my phone’. Google air tagging and you will see I’m not the dumb one here.
Anonymous
07/21/2025 15:39
Subject: Re:article in The Atlantic about tracking your kids
If kids are not doing anything wrong and are telling the truth, then they have nothing to complain about with parents using Life 360.
Disagree. It's creepy. It is also not infallible, and your location data are for sale to who-knows-whom for who-knows-what purposes.
Worse, it conditions the next generation to be willing to accept constant location tracking and surveillance.
"Law-abiding citizens shouldn't be bothered by law-enforcement over-reach. Think of the children."
Anonymous
07/21/2025 15:38
Subject: Re:article in The Atlantic about tracking your kids
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:What's the big deal about parents knowing where their kids are? That's pretty basic for parenting.
1. College students aren't kids.
2. Teens need some freedom to diverge from parents. This is healthy.
3. Small children- yes - know where they are.
Asian?
1. Biologically they are and they share their location with their 100 closest friends so...
2. Having find my phone on does not mean they don't diverge from parents.
3. Small children should not have a phone.
Old?
1. If they can fight for their country, and get tried as an adult, they are legally considered adults.
2. Agree - that's different than tracking.
3. Agree - still you should know where small children are - which was the statement.
A$$hole? Let me answer for you - yes.
And, I'm 45 - is that old? Sure to some, not to others. I'm old enough to have experience to chime in on this conversation, young enough to know that some parents in my kids cohort are airtagging their kids, which I think is insane. You should not have to air tag a young child, they need to be properly supervised.
They should not be fighting at 18 it was rare until Vietnam it was mostly 25 for ww2 and before.
Yes u are old and the world is different,
If u think find my phone is air tagging I can’t help u
Curious. . . how old are you that you have teens and are not yet in your 40s?!
Anonymous
07/21/2025 15:36
Subject: article in The Atlantic about tracking your kids
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I don't and have never tracked my 3 teen/YA boys. Seems super weird to me. And I would never want them tracking me. Also weird.
You don’t want to be a responsible parent ?
Not sure when tracking technology became a requirement for being a 'responsible parent'.
+1
Responsible parent = building trust
Tracking parent = "I don't trust you"
It's not about trust, it's about safety. I don't look at it unless I have a specific concern (almost never).
Oh? You don't trust your kids to make decisions that keep them safe. I do. It is about trust.
Side note - do your elderly parents trust you to keep yourself safe? When did they shift from not trusting you to trusting you? In my family it is incremental from teens to adulthood. It always has been.
So security through obscurity. Good luck.
No luck needed. 2 of my kids are grown; the other 2 are well on their way to being responsible adults.
Perhaps luck is needed for you.
Anonymous
07/21/2025 14:27
Subject: Re:article in The Atlantic about tracking your kids
If kids are not doing anything wrong and are telling the truth, then they have nothing to complain about with parents using Life 360.
Problem solved.
Problem solved.