Babies & Parents

Child Tracking Tools (June 21, 2005)

Child tracking tools have become increasingly popular in the last few years, but many seem misguided, and likely to have unintended consequences. One new solution, however, tries to take a more passive route to solving the real problem: helping kids out in emergency situations.

One of the interesting things about new technologies that allow people to collect data, is that it makes it so tempting to collect and store every bit of data possible. This leads to things like data retention laws that sound good in theory, but don't work well in practice. The problem, beyond the cost of collecting and storing all that data, is that sifting through all of it is difficult. If anything, it makes you lose the more important data, by burying it deeper in a huge haystack of useless data.

It also leads to other unintended consequences, as people learn ways to get around any such tracking system. For example, it's been quite tempting recently to build new systems for tracking childrens' every move. The temptation for a nervous parent is obvious. Knowing where their child is can be a big relief. However, the unintended consequences can actually make the situation worse. Rather than teaching kids to be street smart and careful not to go places they don't belong, parents may simply rely on the tracking capabilities as a "parent stand-in" while they're not around. At the same time, it makes the kids uncomfortable by transmitting the message loud and clear that their parents don't trust them at all. It leads to situations where the kids learn to ditch the "tracking" device, even to the point of using an alternative phone and hiding the tracked phone. Finally, the biggest issue is that it's unclear how much of a real benefit such systems are in cases where a child is abducted (which is what they're often marketed for). In those situations, the abductors know to get rid of the phone right away.

However, perhaps there's a way to still take advantage of some of the tracking benefits, without causing all of those unintended consequences. Russell Buckley discusses a somewhat different take on child tracking that is much less intrusive, and much more focused on allowing the children to be in control. The system includes three options. Each involves a "quick dial" by the child in question. The first lets them quickly send out a pre-recorded alert to five separate phone numbers in case of a problem. The location of the alert is also noted. The second option lets the kid reassure a nervous parent, by hitting a quick dial number that let's parents know that things are fine and they shouldn't worry. The final option is a timer feature that sends out an alarm message at a certain time, if the child doesn't first deactivate it, letting everyone know he or she is okay. It's sort of an automated way of saying, "if you don't hear from me by 11pm, send help."

The solution obviously isn't perfect and still does raise some questions about misuse and mistrust. Also, there are still some of the unintended consequences of a more traditional "always-on" tracking system. However, it is a more creative solution that tries to alleviate at least the worst of these problems. Over time, these more reasonable solutions will become more common, as people begin to look at the overall consequences of solutions, rather than just creating applications and solutions "because they can."

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