Ashley Smith
Ms. Arcangelo
English 1
September 28, 2015
Spyware: Right or Wrong?
“The Undercover Parent,” a persuasive article written by Harlan Coben in March 2008, claims that parents should use spyware to monitor their kids internet use. Coben’s purpose of the article is to convince parents to use spyware, and his intended audience is clearly for parents. Parents using spyware is wrong; using spyware with create trust issues between the parents and child, gives the child no privacy, and will result in the child rebelling.
Spying on kids may sound like a good idea. Parents think they are protecting their kids safety, and their child will understand. This is wrong. Spying on kids is not worth years of trust issues. Trust is the key to a good bond between parent and child. Once that bond is broken, a parent will run the risk of their child never trusting them again. As a writer from chicagotribune.com put it, “without trust and mutual respect, things get a lot more difficult.” A child without trust to his/her parents might have trust issues in the future. “It sends the message that nothing and no one is to be trusted: not them, not us, and especially not the rest of the world,” (Judith Shulevitz) This is not the message adults should be sending to teens and children. Spying on kids will break their trust.
Privacy: We all love it. Some things are just meant to be kept to ourselves. But when a parent spys on their kid, privacy is a mystery to them. In today’s modern age, the internet is the way of communicating to the outside world for most teens and children. A child that’s being spied on will not want to go on the internet at all anymore. They will have little communication with their friends and be far more anti-social. They will gain little social skills and this can greatly affect what jobs and friends they have later in life. Everyone needs privacy, including teens and children.
A child will naturally want to rebel against their parent, and will ignore them and listen to their friends. Parents are constantly worrying about their kids getting in trouble. But if a teen can’t talk to their friends online, they will find other ways to communicate. They are far more likely to sneak out, and not to mention the constant fighting with parents. A parent using spyware will really damage their relationship, and their kid will not want to be around the parent anymore.
Some people still might disagree. People think that if they break their kids trust, they’ll get over it quick enough. But it will never really go away. The kid will never want to trust them with anything again. Others might argue that privacy shouldn’t matter if the child has nothing to hide. But sometimes, it’s not the child, perhaps a friend sharing a secret. Also, giving someone privacy is basic respect, and if a parent respects their child at all, they would let them have some privacy. Parents also think that their child would never rebel. But if you push someone to far, they will. No matter the argument, spyware is wrong.
Parents using spyware on their children is not okay. It will break their trust, they will have no privacy, and will make them rebel. A parent should never use spyware.
Ms. Arcangelo
English 1
September 28, 2015
Spyware: Right or Wrong?
“The Undercover Parent,” a persuasive article written by Harlan Coben in March 2008, claims that parents should use spyware to monitor their kids internet use. Coben’s purpose of the article is to convince parents to use spyware, and his intended audience is clearly for parents. Parents using spyware is wrong; using spyware with create trust issues between the parents and child, gives the child no privacy, and will result in the child rebelling.
Spying on kids may sound like a good idea. Parents think they are protecting their kids safety, and their child will understand. This is wrong. Spying on kids is not worth years of trust issues. Trust is the key to a good bond between parent and child. Once that bond is broken, a parent will run the risk of their child never trusting them again. As a writer from chicagotribune.com put it, “without trust and mutual respect, things get a lot more difficult.” A child without trust to his/her parents might have trust issues in the future. “It sends the message that nothing and no one is to be trusted: not them, not us, and especially not the rest of the world,” (Judith Shulevitz) This is not the message adults should be sending to teens and children. Spying on kids will break their trust.
Privacy: We all love it. Some things are just meant to be kept to ourselves. But when a parent spys on their kid, privacy is a mystery to them. In today’s modern age, the internet is the way of communicating to the outside world for most teens and children. A child that’s being spied on will not want to go on the internet at all anymore. They will have little communication with their friends and be far more anti-social. They will gain little social skills and this can greatly affect what jobs and friends they have later in life. Everyone needs privacy, including teens and children.
A child will naturally want to rebel against their parent, and will ignore them and listen to their friends. Parents are constantly worrying about their kids getting in trouble. But if a teen can’t talk to their friends online, they will find other ways to communicate. They are far more likely to sneak out, and not to mention the constant fighting with parents. A parent using spyware will really damage their relationship, and their kid will not want to be around the parent anymore.
Some people still might disagree. People think that if they break their kids trust, they’ll get over it quick enough. But it will never really go away. The kid will never want to trust them with anything again. Others might argue that privacy shouldn’t matter if the child has nothing to hide. But sometimes, it’s not the child, perhaps a friend sharing a secret. Also, giving someone privacy is basic respect, and if a parent respects their child at all, they would let them have some privacy. Parents also think that their child would never rebel. But if you push someone to far, they will. No matter the argument, spyware is wrong.
Parents using spyware on their children is not okay. It will break their trust, they will have no privacy, and will make them rebel. A parent should never use spyware.