Friday, September 27, 2013

GPS Tracking



There are many privacy implications of implanting computer chips into children. While there are indeed benefits, there are also many drawbacks. To start with the benefits, first off, there would no longer be fear of loosing your child in a grocery store or playground. You wouldn't have to worry as much about them wondering off. Another benefit would be if your child got abducted or missing. They wouldn't be gone for more than a couple of hours. Now these are some pretty good benefits, but on a daily basis I believe that the drawbacks outweigh the benefits.

The drawbacks of implanting GPS tracking computer chips into children are big ones. For example, if someone was to able to hack into their chip and then find your child, take them, and then disable the chip, that would defeat the whole purpose of such a chip. As far as privacy goes, as soon as hackers were able to figure this out and even the government, your child would have no privacy. I believe that it may be reasonable to put such a chip in children 5 and under but any older is simply getting in the way of their privacy. I would have to see the specifics of such a bill to know if I would support it or not. Children have a right to occasionally doing something where their parents don't know exactly where they are. This right only magnifies the only the child gets.

When it comes to seniors with alzheimer's, I think that GPS shoes are a better idea than GPS chips because they are not permanent. If alzheimer's ever gets cured, then they could simply stop wearing the shoes. This also goes for an alzheimer's patient who ends up having a good day and remembering most of the stuff they need to. It would be nice for them to feel independent and not track them on such a day.

1 comment:

  1. I agree with some of what you're saying, but I feel chips would be a good thing if there were a way to get rid of them when either the child was old enough to choose, or the Alzheimer patient was able to know what they need to do enough for it to be safe for them to be on their own. Maybe, like you said, the shoes would be a better idea. The fact hackers may be able to find you through the chips didn't occur to me until I read your post which made me rethink liking the idea of the chips. I do agree with you, the chips do give the person no privacy but for young children it may still be a good idea for them to have them in case something were to happen.

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