It’s easier than ever to know the whereabouts of your family and friends. There are devices you can buy with wearable GPS systems. You can set your location to be discoverable on your phone and share that with people you approve of in advance so they can know where you are. You even text the exact location as a pin if needed. Effectively, you can be traced and tracked by loved ones.
This applies to the ways parents can keep tabs on their tweens and teens as they go back and forth from school and extracurriculars, of course, but I’m also talking about how kids are keeping track of where their parents are. We already know kids are using their phones for many aspects of their lives, so why not this too?
And, it turns out, it’s not just teens’ family members who have access to their location; it’s their friends too. Friends can see where someone else is at any time when given access. This openness isn’t seen as an infringement of trust, it seems, just a comfort thing. And consent comes first. There’s a practical side; they can see when each other are arriving soon for meet ups too. These are all private location sharing between individuals – public location sharing on social media apps like Snapchat and Instagram are another thing altogether. Location sharing should always be turned off when using apps and games to protect privacy.
As a parent, I love the location sharing feature as many others do. It’s not because I need to see where my sixteen-year-old is at all times, but it offers an extra bit of peace of mind when kids are out of the house. It also means that when the time drags on, I can see where she is without panic (teens sometimes don’t have actual plans. They go on ‘vibes’.)
But is my concern sending the wrong messages about privacy? Is this ability to find each other’s locations adding support for families, or causing more stress? I think there are a lot of benefits, including fewer arguments about ‘text me to tell me where you are’ and other typical teen conversations. It can reduce the number of texts parents get saying ‘have you left yet?’ as well.
The conversation is ongoing, even among Gen Z kids who are conflicted about their privacy being given away so freely.
Many of us remember our teenhood prior to the age of the smartphone when we would just leave and eventually come home after exploring a world that was, in general, actually more dangerous than the one our kids are living in.
I’m not saying that I want that for my family, but this offers the freedom our teens need, with the safety and comfort parents are craving.
I will say that before sharing her location, and before I shared mine, we did both agree to it, and we know the other can check. It’s not done in secret. These are the conversations you should be having openly. I’m honest about why I want it, and she likes to see how far away I am from picking her up.
Keep trust and honesty at the forefront.
Casually, when my daughter and I were standing at my mom’s house recently, waiting to see if she was home, my teen said to me, “Maybe nanny should let us see her location on her phone too.” I didn’t bother asking my mom for that access – some generation gaps are too far of a bridge to cross.
Want some support for starting these discussions? Check out MediaSmart’s Digital Citizen Guide for Parents.
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