The wanderlust which eventually led to my life of travel first raised its head when I was quite young.
I grew up in a suburban community in the foothills and on long summer days I would wander through backyards, strange neighborhoods, flood control basins, mountain trails, and wherever else perked my interest.
Although this was not so long ago, times have changed. Parents no longer let their kids out of their sight, much less out of their neighborhood. Kids, on the other hand, are always thinking of ways to do sneak away and explore the outside world.
Until recently, most kids would simply tell their parents they were over at a friend’s house when in fact they were out looking for a dead body (ala Stand by Me) or up to some other adventure. And, it usually always worked. This time-tested game of cat and mouse, however, is about to come to an end.
Enter the Verizon Chaperone. This wicked little service allows parents to track their child’s every move via the GPS in their cell phones. For $15 a month, a parent can activate the GPS signal and sign on to a computer to get a real-time location of exactly where their child is at any given moment. The map will also display the direction the child is heading and how fast they are moving.
Even creepier, a parent can activate “geofencing.” This service sends a text message the moment a child’s cell leaves a pre-designated area. Want to sneak off campus at lunch at do a Tommy Burger run? You ain’t getting away with it, Bucko!
This really bothers me. I suppose I understand the safety concerns involved here, but I wish that kids could just be kids these days. It’s become a sad world indeed when we have to treat them like criminals with ankle bracelets under house arrest.