Harlan Coben argues in his op-ed, “The Undercover Parent” (2008) that parents should use spyware to monitor their children’s online without being an invasion of their privacy, though it may be uncomfortable for them to do so. He writes in an informal tone for parents of teens who use the Internet at home for his purpose to inform parents of the dangers of the Internet in order to increase their children’s protection online. I disagree with Coben’s case about how parents should monitor their children’s Internet at home. Coben claims that parents who have Internet access at home and do not use spyware are negligent of their children’s safety online. However, spyware isn’t the only option to keeping your children safe when browsing the Internet
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He states that it is negligent for parents to not use spyware, but he disregards the other efforts that parents use to protect their children. Parents having or developing a strong bond with their children is more effective. Children with those parents can understand what they want for them in their lives so using spyware is not necessary to protect their children online. If the parents step in before their child uses the Internet and shows them what the Internet is capable of, the child would not even have an opportunity to be negatively affected by their online use. The parents’ warning prior of getting Internet access in their hands would steer them away from the dangers more effectively than using spyware. Even though I agree with Coben that parents should protect their children and have conversations them about being safe on the Internet, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is always a good idea to put spyware on their Internet …show more content…
In a CNN article I’ve read discussing whether or not it is ok to spy on your kids, Lori Day, an educational psychologist and a mother of a daughter in graduate school, views using spyware as “an invasion of privacy and a violation of trust” and says, “It's a good way of sabotaging your relationship with your child if you get caught." The risk of not ever having a strong relationship with your child isn’t worth monitoring him or her, especially if it is that bond that would protect your child from the dangers of the Internet in the first place. My parents warned me about the dangers of the Internet even before I even typed my way into the online world. They taught me how to block and avoid sites dangerous to me, my family, or anyone else using our home computer, so they wouldn’t have to resort to using spyware on all our computers at home. Before children go online and use the Internet, responsible parents should already know to tell their children what they could and shouldn’t do online that would negatively impact their life so there would be no need for any spyware or other monitoring systems to be in use on their
He states that it is negligent for parents to not use spyware, but he disregards the other efforts that parents use to protect their children. Parents having or developing a strong bond with their children is more effective. Children with those parents can understand what they want for them in their lives so using spyware is not necessary to protect their children online. If the parents step in before their child uses the Internet and shows them what the Internet is capable of, the child would not even have an opportunity to be negatively affected by their online use. The parents’ warning prior of getting Internet access in their hands would steer them away from the dangers more effectively than using spyware. Even though I agree with Coben that parents should protect their children and have conversations them about being safe on the Internet, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is always a good idea to put spyware on their Internet …show more content…
In a CNN article I’ve read discussing whether or not it is ok to spy on your kids, Lori Day, an educational psychologist and a mother of a daughter in graduate school, views using spyware as “an invasion of privacy and a violation of trust” and says, “It's a good way of sabotaging your relationship with your child if you get caught." The risk of not ever having a strong relationship with your child isn’t worth monitoring him or her, especially if it is that bond that would protect your child from the dangers of the Internet in the first place. My parents warned me about the dangers of the Internet even before I even typed my way into the online world. They taught me how to block and avoid sites dangerous to me, my family, or anyone else using our home computer, so they wouldn’t have to resort to using spyware on all our computers at home. Before children go online and use the Internet, responsible parents should already know to tell their children what they could and shouldn’t do online that would negatively impact their life so there would be no need for any spyware or other monitoring systems to be in use on their