by Stan Dyer

Created on: January 07, 2010   Last Updated: January 09, 2010

Using a variety of modern electronic devices and specialty services, today’s parents are monitoring their children like never before; some with an intensity usually reserved for stalkers.  Despite a lack of evidence that this “spying” actually produces any positive result, parents continue their surveillance and may actually cause more harm than good.  When parents go too far, is it time to call off the dogs? 

In her article, “Big Brother meets Big Mother,” Ellen Goodman questions this use of technology to monitor children, supports her argument with an ample body of evidence, and suggests that parents consider easing up on the reins.  With no bibliography or links to check her supportive evidence, it is easy for readers to be led down the Yellow Brick Road all the way to OZ.  If, however, the curious reader takes the time to investigate Ms. Goodman’s claims, the trip to the Emerald City may be postponed.  

To show how “Big Mother” is becoming “Big Brother,” Ms. Goodman lists and describes a number of devices and services today’s parents use for “stalking” their children.  There’s a jacket with GPS sewn into the lining, cell phones with GPS, and services that do everything from telling us what our children eat in the cafeteria to how well they do in Math class.  She explains this use, (or overuse), by quoting Danah Boyd who claims, “The culture of fear says that if you are not monitoring, you are a bad parent.  Apparently, we are supposed to be stalking our kids.”  Since I knew nothing of the culture of fear, I did some research on the subject, and I uncovered an apparent contradiction.  

The concept of the culture of fear I uncovered is decidedly different from Boyd’s quote as used by Goodman.  Goodman claims Boyd says, “We are supposed to be stalking our kids,” but Barry Glassner, who wrote about the theory says, “We compound our worries beyond all reason,” which suggests stalking is excessive.  Despite only having limited knowledge of either opinion, it seems to me the two interpretations are virtually opposite.  Consider that Barry Glassner’s book is entitled, “The Culture of Fear: Why Americans are afraid of the wrong things,” and, in it, he asserts that the phenomenon of misplaced fear is not uncommon in America.  That means he

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