AfterDawn: News

Disney offers mobile teen-tracking service

Disney is launching a mobile phone service in the US which will allow parents monitor their children's communication and locate then through a global positioning system. Parents will be able to track SMS messages, multimedia messages, calls, video messages etc. and set limitations on their children's calls. Disney is looking to tap a growing market for mobile phone using children between 10 and 15 years old. The company hopes to lure the children to its service by offering the monitoring features.

According to research, about two thirds of U.S. parents pay for their teenagers mobile phones. 70% of U.S. population already own a phone. About 45% to 50% of 13 year olds have a mobile phone, according to Jupiter Research. Disney has not given any specific details as to how much it will charge for parents to add children to the service, but rivals charge around $10 a month for each new family member.



The phones will be sold over the Internet and are expected to be available around June. "There is certainly a big market for teenagers and parents adding them to their [mobile] phone plan," said Jupiter analyst Julie Ask. Teens would probably prefer not to be spied on by their parents, but I guess when it's the parents paying for their service, they have no choice.

Source:
BBC News

Written by: James Delahunty @ 5 Apr 2006 10:00

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• 28 comments

• MrToast

  Only a matter of time before you can chip your kid in the neck, imagine all the girls bouncing on their boyfriends laps getting caught cause of that stupid phone!

  5.4.2006 10:19 #1

• coolbrz

  I'm just glad I'm not a teenager anymore! HAHAHA!! Sucks to be young now. :)

  5.4.2006 10:34 #2

• mrbungle8

  The "Chip" isnt to far away man, its getting kinda scary...
  
  But yah... im just glad i got the good end of this stick.. its my turn to be daddy hahaha.. i dont have to worry for another 12 years but this will be very handy... but i dont like the idea of satilite location... that means anyone that knows what they are doing can find/spy/watch my daughter every step she takes... i dont like that.

  5.4.2006 12:43 #3

• dreamerrv

  talking about getting "chipped" go to infowars.com
  

  5.4.2006 18:17 #4

• borhan9

  Well sounds like a good idea.. but personally i dont think thats the answer.
  
  One thing i think is good if u want to keep track of your kids just give them a pre paid phone with a set of fixed numbers they can call and that how u can keep track of them...

  6.4.2006 02:21 #5

• Nick600

  What's next? A telescreen in my appartment?! Big brother is watching...
  
  ( 1984 reference, but I'm sure you guys got that ;-) )

  6.4.2006 04:22 #6

• ZippyDSM

  Mmmmm its not that bad an ieda but at the same time if you coinstanly track your kid..issues you have....

  6.4.2006 06:29 #7

• MightyOne

  I'm a Parent, i have a 12 and 14 year old.
  
  Its a crazy world out there. I think this is a good idea. I would like to know where they are at times because they lie.
  
  If your child goes missing...u have a place to start as well. Sure its an invasion of privacy, but a 15 year old should not have "too much" privacy in my opinion because most of them end up making the WRONG Decisions. Not all, but alot get lured into trouble with their friends.
  
  Its a good idea...its just that after 17 years old or so...the kids won't want it anymore (not they ever did want it...its only a good idea from the parents view)
  
  Wouldn't be to hard to find a LOST phone. Also be cheap way to track someone else if u can track the phones location wherever it goes...even when its not being used.
  
  time will tell....but i would buy it for my kids. Kids need to be controlled and monitored these days.
  
  My opinion only...of course

  6.4.2006 11:31 #8

• GrayArea

  Who ever thought Micky Mouse would turn out to be Big Brother? Wow...

  6.4.2006 11:40 #9

• bluetac

  Although i think it is a good idea (too many peodo's and nutters out there), how many kids will even if bought one will take it with them if they thought they was being tracked?
  How many will have a diferent phone for other use that the parents know nothing about?
  Good idea but i think it will flop , big shame imo
  nice try Micky

  6.4.2006 13:55 #10

• Auslander

  MightyOne: but then the kids get used to it, and they stop thinking about it. and the right to privacy becomes on more that they happily give up.
  
  it sounds cruel of me to say it, but the problem with this world seems to me to be that we want everyone to live on, full lives. that defies the laws of nature. for evolution to work, it's the strongest, smartest, and most adaptable of a species that must breed; with people, this hasn't been so for a while. some kids have to go. if by they time you're 12 you can't figure out that something has a good chance of getting you killed, i think you should quit denying everyone else a bit more clean are. flame me. :D

  6.4.2006 14:04 #11

• l34merik

  yea i'd use bluetac's idea. I could get a prepaid virgin mobile or some other phone and just use it and leave the other one at home or turn it off for privacy.
  
  @mightyone or auslander, hmm i forgot where that quote was from. Oh i know think about it like this. Did you like it when Bush made the law about police could tap our phones and internet usage to see if we're a terrorist?
  
  I do see it ur point of view too. If i had kids i would make them use it. Though there's always dumbass and smartpeople of every age group regradless. Teens get blame for so much stuff. Adults get in car accidents all the time, but when a teen gets in one the media just covers it like crazy.

  6.4.2006 15:20 #12

• vidsteve

  I'm a Parent, i have a 12 and 14 year old.
  
  Its a crazy world out there. I think this is a good idea. I would like to know where they are at times because they lie.
  
  If your child goes missing...u have a place to start as well. Sure its an invasion of privacy, but a 15 year old should not have "too much" privacy in my opinion because most of them end up making the WRONG Decisions. Not all, but alot get lured into trouble with their friends.
  
  Its a good idea...its just that after 17 years old or so...the kids won't want it anymore (not they ever did want it...its only a good idea from the parents view)
  
  Wouldn't be to hard to find a LOST phone. Also be cheap way to track someone else if u can track the phones location wherever it goes...even when its not being used.
  
  time will tell....but i would buy it for my kids. Kids need to be controlled and monitored these days.
  
  My opinion only...of course
  
  
  
  Just curious , will you be using this in lieu of paying attention and asking where and with who your kids your kids are going?
  
  
  It was a crazy world when I was a kid too and I knew someone who was abducted ...her parents were busy doing their own thing and at age 10 she was home alone quite often. Dont let Companies feed your paranoia just to sell you something ...having a good relationship with your child is free.

  6.4.2006 16:54 #13

• Nick600

  Quote:Just curious , will you be using this in lieu of paying attention and asking where and with who your kids your kids are going? ...
  
  ...Dont let Companies feed your paranoia just to sell you something ...having a good relationship with your child is free.I think you have a very positive attitude as this should be the main aspect of parenting.

  6.4.2006 20:54 #14

• darthnip

  it all started when we gave up spanking our children, those are the generations that need such montioring now. back when i was a kid as long as i was home by a certain time and my mom had a general idea where i was, i have the run of the town. knowing this was a freedom that most other kids didn't get, i didn't abuse it. i'd randomly call and check in just ot let her know i was alive or that plans had changed and i was going over to a different friends house. the point it, if the parent is truly involved with their kids lives, they dont need to be monitored. after all, who's job was it to teach them good judgement in the first place?? if you need to montior your kids every move 24/7, you've failed as a parent.

  6.4.2006 21:08 #15

• johnodd4

  has anyone heard of the invation of privacy act of 1995
  this says that we as parents are not allowed to keep track of are kids because it is concidered a invasion of privacy if we do if you kid is 13 years of age your child will just turn the stupid phone off and call you from a pay phone kids are not dumb stupid disney thinking they can control tommorrows youth by brain washing them think about what happened to the disney mp3 player that product failed withing 1 month of release because disney tried to control what kids listened to by exposing them to relegious freindly god loves you music that is not how the real world works
  but disney thinks parents are are stupid and will buy anything for there kids its like violent video games if your kids don't get it from you they will get it from there freinds or reletives
  
  so try again brainwashing disney idiots

  6.4.2006 22:00 #16

• FartDude

  I agree with darthnip on this one, when i was kid i always let my parents know where i was going, and if i didnt i was either grounded or spanked cause of it. This is just an excuse for bad parenting. i may not have children of my own yet, but i have several little cousins that i take care of and babysit on a regular basis, and when they do wrong they get punished for it.

  7.4.2006 00:08 #17

• wlenz

  Kids are an awesome responsibility and being a parent means you MUST know were they are and what they are doing. Kids will want to get away from control, but if they know that their parents care about them, they will accept being watched. Let kids run loose and they WILL get hurt. The Privacy Act does not mean letting your kids go wherever they want, do whatever they want. It is our job as parents to make certain that our kids make it to adults. Then they can have privacy and choose to be whatever they want to be.

  7.4.2006 04:53 #18

• snreu

  Just give them the phone and don't tell them why. The tracking devices you can install in vehicles are also a good idea. I remember being a kid and how I felt about speedlimits and such when I was out with friends or even alone. If these devices can save or might save my kids then privacy be dammed! Just another tool to help raise them till you can kick them out (lol). There are always gonna be those that see this as a babysitter but those parents (term used loosely) have other issues anyway. My kids are good kids but I have monitoring software on their PC's. The filth that they are exposed to on-line has nothing to do with "are they good kids" or not. I use it as a teaching tool when I need to and not as punishment. Kids need to know that their instincts can be trusted but their instincts need to be honed first. My opinion, but sometimes Big Brother isn't big enough!

  7.4.2006 06:40 #19

• Zeos

  Lying to your parents and going out and doing illegal stuff is what makes being young fun.. worst that can happen is juvee hall. Maybe if the tracking and monitoring could only be accessed after going to the police.. Children deserve a little privacy too. Besides if you know youre moms gonna listen to every word you say and track every move you make.. wouldnt you make it a point to lose that phone.. or leave it in a locker with no signal?

  7.4.2006 21:57 #20

• snreu

  Hate to dissagree Zeos, but the worse that can happen is death. The fact that you think that juvee hall is the worse, or lying and doing illegal stuff is fun, just reinforces the idea that you do not understand the real consequences of your actions. Don't worry, the learning and maturing process will hopefully open your eyes to the real world before something bad happens. In the mean time, we, the parents, still worry every time you, the kids, get behind the wheel, go to parties, ride in someone else's car, don't come home on time, go on dates, blah, blah, blah. Don't hate us for it, we do it 'cause we love you. And, we do it 'cause we were kids once and we remember, sometimes with a shudder, what youth is like, and we marvel that we made it.

  8.4.2006 04:12 #21

• Auslander

  it's survival of the fittest. and i know i'm still alive because my parents raised me right, not because i was rfid tagged on the ear like a cow. privacy is respected in my house, and everyone is happier because of it. it's a basic human right.

  8.4.2006 05:39 #22

• Fiji5555

  Snreu, you remind me of the mother in the movie Bubble Boy. Let your kids live free or they will die inside.

  8.4.2006 12:56 #23

• oracle

  I. Please forgive me in advance for the language used from my part.
  II. Are theese folks intend to fabricate a vaginal bluetooth in the future seeking to prevent unwanted invasion of human members? (Artificial are wellcome)
  III. If it's a jungle out there would be wiser to teach their children how to protect themselves and spend more time to exchange ideas and conslult with their experience?
  IV. Congratulation for the promotion from Big Brother to Big Father.
  V. Jesus, Allah, Jahoba, Buddha, Mithra,... what else shall we expect? The marc of the beast?

  9.4.2006 10:19 #24

• snreu

  My girls and us had a good discussion this weekend about this stuff. Far from being the mom on Bubble Boy, we strive to make our girls aware of the real world and whats out there. The NBC show last night on the Myspace.com chat rooms should open everyone's eyes. Being involved in our childrens lives and using whatever tools are available to us to prepare our kids should not be confused with invasion of privacy and such. Just saying not to talk to strangers is not enough anymore. The bad guys have these tools available to them as well. Nothing will replace a strong and loving set of family values, but untill kids understand that not everyone has their good intentions at heart, they will not be able to guard against it. We certainly "let our girls live free" and they have a wonderful life. It's not them we don't trust.

  10.4.2006 06:17 #25

• xskorpion

  I'm 13 and reading this.
  
  I'm not stupid enough to fall for that. Most kids my age know EVERYTHING thats happening around us. If I got this phone it would end up in a river.
  
  We need controlled freedome. Not slavery.
  
  How will we get any better without making mistakes?
  
  Everyone thinks kids are stupid dont they? just remember what you were like and how you were raised.

  10.4.2006 14:02 #26

• SwapKing

  lol, sorry teen girls, don't be ready to be caught anytime soon,lolol.

  11.4.2006 03:24 #27

• Chanta

  Ha ha it's funny that Disney would think that this will make them more popular with kids, and consequently their parents more popular with their kids. It's like after a certain age we forget how to think like a kid or maybe we block it out and don't remember that just beeng there at that age was fun but also difficult because of the learning curve. If we dont let kids develop the "learning curve of life" they are already damaged goods. And besides I agree with "xskorpion" what kid would be stupid enough not to know that they can simply turn it off or what technology to use to "bypass" this. C'mon please. I agree with the parents that say we have a right to know where our children are, point taken but if your kids are reluctant to tell you in the first place I doubt this is hardly a solution, a good talk or smackdown(if necessary)always worked with me and I only have minor issues (jaja)No seriously kids will rebell ALWAYS thats a fact it's how many liberties and how they use (or abuse) them makes or brakes the kid. just be a parent some times and a friend other times

  12.4.2006 10:40 #28