Parental snooping 'paranoid'

A girl walking home from school texting her friends has probably never considered the idea that her parents, let alone someone else, could be reading every text message she is sending and receiving, or tracking her every move.

This may sound an absurd idea. But new software has been released that allows parents to monitor their children's text messages and calls and even track them with a GPS.

So that girl's parents could be doing just that.

A parent doesn't need, and really has no right, to know what their child is doing every second of the day.

They don't need to know what they are talking about with their friends or who they're calling, and it is really none of their business.

The parents who do this should sit down and ask themselves whether they have any right to.

The people who launched this software in New Zealand, Sally Rae and Steve Herstell, said the application was aimed at helping parents prevent their children becoming victims of bullying, sexting and grooming.

I can see how a parent would want their children to be protected from these situations, but I find that it is very much against a child's rights to have someone destroy their privacy to this extent.

Can you just imagine what would happen if this software got into the wrong hands? For instance, it would be a stalker's dream to have this type of technology.

They could not only see what their target was talking about and who they were calling, but they could track them to their exact location, provided they had their cellphone on them.

Women's Refuge acting chief executive Lynn Boyd explained how the technology could be misused: "It's extremely concerning. It could mean that an abusive partner could monitor their partner's calls to emergency services, help services or family members whom they turn to in their time of need."

I have always thought it is against human rights for a parent to read their kid's diary or to scan their text messages.

But I have never heard something that is such a breach of a child's privacy.

I can see how the parent may want this type of technology if they are worried that their child is getting into harmful and dangerous situations through their phone - and then this technology could have some benefits. But if it is just a normal situation and the parent has no suspicions that their child is being bullied or getting up to mischief, then the parent is really just being paranoid.

What they should be doing if they suspect their child is in danger is confront them and talk about it.

A girl walking home from school should have the freedom to communicate with her friends without having anyone looking in on her conversations. The relationship between a child and their parents should be open and trusting without any need for tracking and monitoring.

Isobel Dowell, Year 10, St Cuthbert's College