(no subject)

[kuangning]

In other news, perhaps the premise of Maya's story wasn't so very far-fetched. Would you consider a tracking chip implant in your child?

Comments

[gurath.livejournal.com]

No chance.

Re:

[kuangning]

Can I ask your reasons? For me, I think that it really depends on just -who- is going to be doing the tracking. Is it going to be just parents? Are they going to set up some agency, as in my story? Just -who- is going to have the information that lets them know exactly where Child A is anywhere she might be? I wouldn't want to be tracked like that myself. I'm very ambivalent about the concept.

[gurath.livejournal.com]

You know very well that anyone, government or corporate, who can afford the technology and the legal fees to defend themselves will track people, given half a chance. Consider the new digital cell phones, which in places will already spam you with ads for a resaurant as you walk by it. I don't care what the government says, it will not be secure.

I am concerned that someday it might be part of going to school: "Here's your DPT booster... now go to the next table for your IV brain-implanting tracking chip."

Re:

[kuangning]

Indeed. Or done right after birth, routine as circumcisions are now.

[laura.livejournal.com]

Funny.

My initial reaction to this is that I'd absolutely do it.

I have microchips implanted into my cats so that they can easily get back to me if they're ever lost. I'd want the same for my CHILD, especially if it meant I could FIND her if someone took her.

Re:

[kuangning]

Hrm. You're not the only parent who feels this way. But... a child is not a cat. A cat is truly defenseless, and is entitled, for better or worse, to only as much freedom and privacy as you allow it. Tracking a cat's whereabouts 24/7 doesn't violate its dignity. Can you really say the same about your child? What about the trust issues? Walking to school by myself was a big milestone for me, for instance. It meant my parents trusted me to be responsible. What's the message sent with an implant?

It's got its advantages, surely. But in this case, I have to wonder if the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

Re:

[laura.livejournal.com]

Well...what I was thinking and hadn't put into the comment was that I WOULD want it to be able to be removed. I DO consider a 5 year old child helpless against the dangerous people of the world, though. Perhaps I'm being affected too much by all these little girls who are disappearing. At what age would I want it removed? By teen years, surely, but I'm not sure. Thankfully, it's hypothetical, and I don't have to decide right now.

[silmarian.livejournal.com]

One thing -

the chip in your cat almost certainly needs to be deliberately scanned to function. In other words, it only works if your cat is picked up. Your cat is not 'tracked', per se, 24/7.

The thought of being tracked sickens me. The thought of having a chip implanted as ID sickens me, too. If it makes me ill to do it to myself, there's no way I'm doing it to my child.

Re:

[laura.livejournal.com]

I'm quite aware of how the chips in my cats work. I know they're not the same thing.

But if I'm willing to do such a minor thing for my pets, I'm uncertain as to why I can't do at LEAST that much for my daughter.

I have no desire to have myself or anyone else tracked in some sort of big brotheresque manner..but something about being able to find my daughter quickly if something horrific were to happen to her is very tempting.

[zibblsnrt.livejournal.com]

If I considered such a thing I don't think I'd be fit to be a parent. Another fad du jour feeding off the rampant paranoia and distrust that society's supposed to live by? To say something of the fact that it's kind of dehumanizing the concept of parenting by placing them on 24/7 electronic surveillance.. I mean, surgically implanting a tracking device in a child? Give me a break, that's even more insulting to today's children than those plastic-and-rubber "playgrounds" that are replacing anything remotely fun or challenging.

I can't believe for a minute that any kid would ever forgive their parent for pulling something like that. I know I wouldn't. And don't get me started on when someone hit, say, 14 and wanted it removed.

</spaz> ;)

Re:

[kuangning]

Mmhmm. On the other hand , "safety and security! knowing where to find the bodies!" There are already devices that do this, one supposes that that means there's already a market for it. Personally, I liked it much better when it was a what-if in a made-up story.

[zibblsnrt.livejournal.com]

Pfft.. Illusory safety and security at best. If the things were any deeper than subcutaneous parents would be afraid to use them, and if they're "just" subcutaneous would-be kidnappers - and children - would be cutting them out on their own. If I'd gotten one I'd start seriously thinking about it around 13-14..

The fact that they're (I hope) never really going to be popular or successful still doesn't do much for my temptation to strangle any parents who force the things on their children...