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by liedra 5791 days ago
The problem is that you're talking to customers, not the general public, not the children. Of course your clients are going to love your product. That's why they're buying it. It doesn't mean they're right, however.

The other problem is that social acceptance (i.e. your anecdotes about your clients) != social acceptability. Society can agree on some really terrible things to do to people, as history can attest.

Another problem is the fact that you're potentially dealing with minors here who are being coerced (through being given an iPhone) into using this system. Even if it's by their parents, this raises serious alarms, since it's a severe power imbalance against kids who can't necessarily think through the consequences of accepting it in a rational manner like adults can (or should be able to).

The other other problems are related to the information the app generates, the potential misuse of that information, and what other commenters before have said about phones being mislaid, hijacked, etc.

Did you actually talk to kids at all? Or just their parents? If not, why not? They're as big a stakeholder, if not bigger, than the parents involved!

I'm not trying to say you're not a great company or good people. I'm just trying to point out some of the serious ethical issues with the product you've put out.
1 comments
mickdj 5791 days ago
Yes we spoke to the kids and the parents. Can I ask how many 12 year-old kids you've asked about this?

I try to spend several hours a week on the phone doing exactly that - talking to all the users of the service.

We agree that they're just as big a stakeholder as the parents.

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liedra 5791 days ago
OK that's fine, but how about the other issues? :)

It's not my job to ask 12 year old kids, it's yours :) But I'm curious, what sorts of questions do you ask them? You say you are on the phone talking to them, do you actually show them how it works in practice? Have you used well-known HCI techniques and vulnerable persons focus groups, etc. (1)? Have you approached children's groups for advice on children's rights and parental responsibility?

These are just a few things off the top of my head, too, that a responsible company should go through before developing anything to do with children.

BTW if you've done all this, put it on your website! Reassure the people who might want to use (or critique) your application! :)

(1)http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=HCI+techniques+children&... is a great place to start if you're interested in doing this.

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