[joe_hoyle]

I recently had a child, and being a very tech savvy person, I'm mostly dreading the need to govern what they have access and do on their smartphones, internet, websites etc.

My gut reaction is that parents looking through their children's phones, apps, messages and photos is a huge invasion of privacy. As the article suggests though, there's also the need to protect and manage what our children are involved in, just like offline activities.

There's something about smartphones that is so personal, that there doesn't quite seem to be a good comparison for pre-technology privacy. I don't think I'd have a problem with dictating what my child watches on television, eats, drinks, or otherwise consumes - but controlling smartphones seems something more akin to thoughtcrime.

I was lucky enough to grow up when technology and connectivity was so new that apparently it wasn't used in such a mainstream sinister way as it appears to be now. Going through puberty seems like an even more harrowing experience (ala the move Eighth Grade) with the internet, that seems to go quite unnoticed.

[Sendotsh]

I have 2 girls, one of which has an iPhone (with parental controls), and I completely agree that the snooping/askingforpasswords/etc is really full-on and crosses a boundary.

My girls are a bit too young for me to worry about parties/drugs just yet, so I don't have the answer to what the best approach is, but I truly hope I never have to resort to spying on my kids. My parents were incredibly open with everything (60s hippies) and we were taught that we could always talk to them about anything we were curious about.. sex, drugs, whatever.. and they'd help us navigate it and educate us. I think that worked out quite well, and I figure my job is to try replicate that level of love/trust/openness but taking technology and digitally-connection into account. It's bloody hard though!

[simongray]

> There's something about smartphones that is so personal, that there doesn't quite seem to be a good comparison for pre-technology privacy.

Maybe reading another person's diary?

[_nalply]

No, because the diary is not going to do something illegal online. It's private, yes, but doesn't need the same attention like smartphones.

[mirimir]

I sympathize.

But as a former child, I also appreciate that kids want privacy too. And if your kid is at all technical, they'll find workarounds.

Given that, the best strategy seems like openness and acceptance. So there's nothing that they can't share with you.

But then, I didn't raise kids. So what do I know?

Edit: I need a new keyboard. Or new fingers.