Editor's Corner

I received a press release this morning about wireless operators offering child-tracking capabilities via the mobile phone. For example, the second largest mobile operator, Verizon Wireless, offers Chaperone, which uses GPS capabilities to alert parents as to their child's location. Disney Mobile is right behind, readying to launch a similar service and Sprint Nextel has already put a personal tracking service on the product list.

The thing is, none of these services are really new. Big corporations have been using very similar GPS technologies for years to track product through development cycles, mobile employees on the road, the location of service trucks and actual worker productivity to ensure that every minute of the workday is being used for work.

What is new is that corporate enterprise computing is finding its way into the everyday life of the consumer. And yes, who doesn't want to know where their child is when they're out of sight? Yet, on the other hand, such technologies can have a boomerang impact--it can erode trust and it can undercut personal responsibility achievements, in both the work and the family scenario.

I know I don't want to be tracked like a piece of inventory moving through a warehouse, and I don't think my oldest daughter would want me to tag and track her every movement through her phone.

The idea of not having to learn personal responsibility and some of the hard lessons that come with making judgment mistakes is a bit scary in terms of a person's development. It's a slippery slope that I really hope we all take it very slowly. -Judy