CS408_02 Assignment 4

Location Tracking:

I think that it would be okay for children under 5 years old to have a tracking chip implanted in them. It would be an effective way to find out your child's whereabouts in the event they get lost or kidnapped. If criminals know that children under 5 all have tracking chips in them, then the amount of kidnappings would decrease. Parents would feel a lot better about their children's safety in the event of an emergency. Children 5 and under most likely have no idea what the concept of privacy is, so I don't think this would cause any privacy implications due to the fact it would be for their safety and well being. The risks might be that the location of your child gets into the wrong hands and they are stalked or taken from a specific location. But the chances of a random person picking your child to stalk and kidnapped are very low. Also parents might not feel the need to keep track of their kids as much and be more careless due the chip system. Despite these two risks, I  believe the benefits definitely outweigh the risks. If congress was to pass a bill that would require chips in children under 5 I would support it because it would be just a safety thing. I do not believe its okay in teenagers. By the time your a teenage you gain a lot of independence but its up to you to watch out for yourself. What are you going to do when your adult and aren't tracked anymore. You need to learn some things for yourself to succeed in the real world instead of being babied and over controlled by your parents. I also believe it would be okay to have tracking devices on senior citizens who suffer from Alzheimer's. I work at Shaw's Supermarket and a lady with Alzheimer's comes in a lot and wanders the store for a very long time. She wears a name tag with her street address and telephone number on it in the event that she gets lost. I think her family would feel a lot better about letting her go out on her own and be independent still if she had GPS tracking on her. If it took her a while to get home they could just check her GPS location and know that she is just taking a long time at the supermarket and is safe.

Cell Phones and Privacy:

There are definitely some legitimate uses for prepaid cell phones. My friend, who is 30 and lives on his own, uses a prepaid cell phone because its cheaper than having an actual plan. He lives on his own and doesn't need all the features a smart phone provides. I think it might have to do with his age, he just wants a regular flip phone that calls and texts and nothing else. Since people running from the law decide to use prepaid cell phones for the sole purpose of not being tracked by the law, then I would not have a problem with them being regulated by the government. I'm sure my friend would have no problem registering his prepaid phone since he only uses a prepaid phone because of the cost benefits.

CS408_02

Hi! My name is Laura Mills and I am making this blog for my Living in a Networked World Class and the University of New Hampshire!