Verizon is offering to let you know where your pre-teens are, and fire you a text message if they aren’t where they’re supposed to be.*

Good idea?

Of course there are technical and ethical issues with Chaperone.**

The ethical and technical questions involved aren’t my topic: The goal of Grow With the Flow is to help parents raise kids whose real-world intelligence allows them to thrive. As readers of GWTF know, I see that intelligence as an artful blend of factors, ranging from many ways of being smart through executive functions, to deep motivation to learn. How does this electronic surveillance fit into that goal? The more I think about it, the less sure I am.

Your thoughts?

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* Verizon’s Chaperone will combine cell phone and GPS technologies to tell parents where their kids are, and will also (for an extra fee) send parents a text message when their kids leave a pre-defined boundary area. Sprint launched a similar product in April, Disney plans one next month.

The popular media hasn’t yet really picked up on the story, but the response is expected to be overwhelmingly positive (safety for the child, assurance for the parent). The product is aimed at 5-9 year-olds – you’ll be stunned to learn that teens are expected to object.

** Industry response is positive (sluggish market) but also cautions about the practical limits of the service. There are also Big Brother aspects of the service, both obvious (my parolees would think it looked like an ankle monitor) and less obvious (you aren’t the only one who knows where your child is).

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