#bad texts

Hey so can I get a real big-person-adult-guy-gal-pal-person-thing to give me a real-grown-up-opinion-view-thing about parents surveillance on kids?

Like, I get that they want their kids to be safe online and in general, but to what extent do you guys believe that it’s okay to keep track of your kids? 

I personally know people who do crazy things to keep an eye on their kids– stuff that their kids have no idea about. Things like having cameras everywhere, having a tracker app on their phone, being able to access their texts and stuff. 

I understand the need to feel in control in your family and want to make sure your kid is safe but do you need to be reading their conversations? It made me feel like my parents didn’t trust me, and I don’t like that kind of dynamic/relationship.

Also, if you think your kid is a good kid, why would you feel the need to do something like install tracking apps or overload apps that allow you to watch them? Especially when they’re getting older. 

I know for a fact that when most of these parents were tens they were running around as they pleased, and there wasn’t really a way to track them down besides neighborhood mom watch. Like... you didn’t know what was going on between Billy and Troy unless Billy told you. And you didn’t know who Troy was unless Billy told you so you didn’t care.

But my parents were able to see that Megan was texting me– or George, or spam #1 and #2 and oh, who’s this new number? why are they sending you videos from youtube? why are they sending you curse words? When I was in high school. They didn’t like friends that I didn’t tell them about. They didn’t like when they didn’t know things about my life.

That’s... unsafe. Really! As a kid, I felt an invasion of privacy when my parents would ask me why I said this or that to one kid or the other and I would be shocked because I never mentioned that– how do they know?

Harpies v amenities date, everyone!