I was going to post this in another thread but it would have taken it away from the OPs query, decided to start a new one. This is genuinely not trying to be offensive to that post, nor is it intended to be an attack, I'm actually curious. This seems like a decent place to get a broad cross section given that many of us putatively headed to this platform for privacy reasons.
Why precisely locate your family? Personally I'm not keen on the idea even at an age when they're autonomous, but surely before the age of 8 they are never actually out of supervision anyway, certainly not off your property. I can understand a local presence sensor for automation purposes and to enable automatons for a consenting individual (for example, heating on as you leave work, etc) but to actively track whereabouts for information purposes seems a tad Orwellian, particularly when you are dealing with something like a teenager. You're removing all trust from the equation, surely that's not a healthy place to be? Sure, you're legally responsible for a minor in your care, but that minor is not your possession - it's another human being. Agreement and consent is one thing, but coercing an individual to submit to constant monitoring seems to a little distasteful.
It's a difficult topic to discuss, very emotive. This isn't an attack or "I think you're wrong/bad", it's something that I have considered before given my interest in automation and the technologies surrounding it. Particularly having spent time around Prof. Warwick in Reading uni in the early nineties, just before his now infamous "I'm a cyborg" phase. However we're now getting to the point where concealed geolocation tracking is now realistically affordable and implanted options are probably approaching, at what point does the individual have the right to privacy and who in your opinion gets to override that? The parent? The state? An employer?
For our home automation, all we need to know is if we are home or not.
Other than that, my retired father and I both share our locations. I will sometimes want to to know if he is home before I contact him, but very rarely look up his location.
He does sometimes like to know where I am and will check my location (I know because he will usually tell me when he does). It makes no difference to me if he, my family and friends know where I am. (I will also typically let my family know where Iām going when I leave the house.)
I think the key for us is that we trust each other and never use this information to try to exert control over the other.
My husband, adult daughter, an online friend I have met once, and an online friend I have never met at all are all happy to do location sharing with me. But my best friend who I have known for 55 years and went to school with finds the idea too creepy!
Yep that's basically what I am using it for - setting certain Smart Home conditions about our arrival or departure.
The tracking stuff is really not necessary but is just another tool in the modern parenting arsenal to try and afford our loved ones some measure of safety/security while giving them room to be as independent as possible. A tool that has to be used very judiciously and with full knowledge of everyone involved.
I suppose that's the underlying issue for me, consent. Informed consent at that. While I respect the desire to keep one's loved ones safe it is something of an anathema to have that constant string tied to an individual.
To be honest I'm just a crotchetty old bloke with a deep mistrust of altruism and far too little respect for authority, this probably shows.
I guess in a world where your country's national security services know the location of your teenager(s) at all times, its not so bad that the parents know as well.
For me, it's purely a precaution. My 5 year old is far too young to be left unattended. We also have a 1 year old baby who, as I write this at 2am here in the UK, is managing to slowly tear apart the fabric of my being by screaming periodically because he wants to come in our bed.
Sleep training is challenging to say the least.
For this reason I find my concentration levels aren't where I'd like them to be. If we're out and about it's easy to have a "blink and you'll miss it" moment.
For some time now, my little girl has had a small device in her backback. Mainly designed for holidays and days out rather than daily activities. This device is a small 12v relay connected to an rf receiver/siren. I can quickly press/hold a keyfob which'll create a satisfying "woo woo!" if the little sod accidentally wanders out of sight in a shop or crowded street. Doddle.
Then comes the "what ifs". I'm a firm believer in taking precautions. I'd hate myself to ever find us in the situation whereby for whatever reason, my child wandered out of sight and I missed it, and couldn't solve the problem with a keyfob. Hence the addition of the android phone/Life360 in her backback too.
This would be a different conversation if we were talking about a 15 year old! =p
That being said, both the wife and I have Life360 for a bit of peace of mind and automation. Here's my cheap and nasty part of a dash. Helps to control central heating and a cool little blinky light at home if my mobiles ringing and I can't see/hear it. Etc.
Definitley an interesting moral discussion though.
While it was originally intended for automations,, my wife and I wife both use it primarily to keep tabs on each other and make sure each is safe. Particularly with the horrible traffic situations in the DFW area (why have only one major arterial under heavy construction at any given time when you can have ALL of them). That primarily affects me as I have to actually leave the house, and our small town to go to work. But we both know the app is there, it has even come in handy to get her unlost a few times. She likes to know when I've left work, especially after working overnights and I'm usually a basket case driving. It even lets the dogs know when either of us is about to get home. Yep the dogs know that notification sound and go nuts when they hear it until someone comes home. Given it takes me 30 -45 min to get home she listens to a lot or barking and whining.
It's great because of the heavy traffic in our area too. Some of our family thinks it's creepy but we also consider it a safety tool and after 30+ years of marriage, have nothing to hide from each other anyway.
I don't track the kids unless I need to figure out where they are when picking them up from somewhere like the mall, or from a school activity like a football game, or help them track down their phone when they lose it. They aren't the best at communicating where to pick them up from. I sat them down and talked to them about it beforehand and explained how I would be using it. I also showed them how to disable location services if they really wanted privacy. They like how the house unlocks for them and disarms the alarm when they come home.
