Harlan Coben The Undercover Parent
In today’s society, technology has made countless advances skyrocketing towards the future. Thus the arguments about whether or not security is needed for this amount of power. There are many good aspects of the internet; including social media, messaging, games, and even dating. But, with these things, comes bad that we don't know much about; including catfishing, tracking, and also spying. With the click a button, everything done online can be seen by anyone. Spyware is a software that aims to gather information about a person or organization without their knowledge, and usually without consent. One opinion of spyware is highlighted in Harlan Coben’s essay, “The Undercover Parent” (2008). It claims that parents should install spyware in their
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The parent and child relationship on this matter should just include trust. Using spyware on children’s devices without consent breaks the bond of trust between the parent and the child. If a child and the parent have trust in each other and don’t lie to one another, spyware is not needed. However, if the child constantly lies and breaks trust it can be seen why some parents see monitoring as an option for watching their kid online. “The ability to experience privacy is probably a basic human need that transcends culture,” says Skyler Hawk, a social psychologist who studies adolescent development at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. “During adolescence, kids’ brains, bodies, and social lives are changing rapidly. As they experiment with their identities and self-expression, they need space to figure it all out” Hawk says. Children should be allowed the right to privacy with a few guidelines. For example, if a parent and a child has a strong bond of trust and is true, then spyware would not be needed for the devices. However, if the child breaks that trust, the decision may need to be put into consideration. What Hawk is conveying is that if a child needs so much room to grow from mistakes and learn lessons, that with parents spying, the trust may be gone in a blink of an
The parent and child relationship on this matter should just include trust. Using spyware on children’s devices without consent breaks the bond of trust between the parent and the child. If a child and the parent have trust in each other and don’t lie to one another, spyware is not needed. However, if the child constantly lies and breaks trust it can be seen why some parents see monitoring as an option for watching their kid online. “The ability to experience privacy is probably a basic human need that transcends culture,” says Skyler Hawk, a social psychologist who studies adolescent development at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. “During adolescence, kids’ brains, bodies, and social lives are changing rapidly. As they experiment with their identities and self-expression, they need space to figure it all out” Hawk says. Children should be allowed the right to privacy with a few guidelines. For example, if a parent and a child has a strong bond of trust and is true, then spyware would not be needed for the devices. However, if the child breaks that trust, the decision may need to be put into consideration. What Hawk is conveying is that if a child needs so much room to grow from mistakes and learn lessons, that with parents spying, the trust may be gone in a blink of an