Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Cell Phones and Privacy



Having prepaid cellphones is not as terrible of a thing as people claim it to be.  One personal experience came to mind when I read this:

Three summers ago I went to Nashville with 2 of my friends and our teacher to compete in a academic competition.  While inside the airport before we left, he realized he forgot his phone in the car.  He then had to buy a prepaid phone and we used that to contact that him throughout the week if we weren't together.  As a 16 year old in Nashville for the first time with 8,000 other people, I would have felt lost without being able to contact my teacher, especially if there was an emergency.  I think that is a legitimate use for having a prepaid cell phone.  

I don't think they should be banned but people can give their name when they purchase one.  The phone calls and texts wouldn't be monitored, but there would be a record of everyone that purchased one.  They would also have to show a form of ID to prove that the name they give is their own.  

Location Tracking

Implanting computer chips into children is a ridiculous idea.  Some may argue that when children are young, they are more likely to be kidnapped and that a computer chip would help locate them if that were to happen.  While sometimes that case is unavoidable, most times a child is taken just because the parent is not paying attention to what their child is doing.  Implanting a chip reminded me of child leashes, which I hate.  If you can't keep an eye on your child without always having a hand on them, then you should not be a parent.  

A young child does not have enough knowledge to make this kind of decision at such a young age.  They do not realize what could happen in the future if they agree to have it put inside of them.  Not only that, but there could be medical problems afterwards, whether it be an infection or just pain of it being entered.  That being said, I would not support a bill trying to force children under the age of 5 to have a computer chip in them.  

Teenage children should not have them implanted inside of them either.  Parents just have to be trusting of what their teenagers are doing and teenagers have to conscious and smart about the decisions that they are making. 


If a senior citizen needs to be monitored because they have Alzheimer's or another disease, then someone should be watching them.  They are not stable enough to be alone and should have others help them. 


I feel like this post was just a big rampage I went on, but I do not agree with implanting the computer tracking chips into anyone. 

Monday, September 17, 2012

"Did you see what she put online!?"

I have a FaceBook account.  I have a Twitter account.  And now I have a blog.  If there is something I don't want people knowing, then I shouldn't put it here or anywhere online.  My mom reads my tweets.  My old teachers read my status updates.  My future employer could read this.  There is no privacy anymore.

But is that true?  Is there really no privacy or are people just easily upset when things they put online are actually viewed and judged by others?  You choose what you post.  You make the decision to talk about how you cheated on a test or stole from a store.  Then you get caught.  Is the person that found out to blame for you getting caught or are you?  Both of those things are wrong to do to begin with, but putting that in the public eye is just plain stupid and will lead to negative consequences.

Everyone needs to be smart about what they put online.  We live in a social media dominated world and anything you type can and (quite possibly) will be used against you.