Cell Phones and Privacy- Assignment 4

     I do not agree with the idea that prepaid cell phones should be banned or controlled by law because people have a right to communication with privacy. I think that prepaid cell phones and pay phones are inventions that are essentially the same concept, so why ban prepaid phones when phone booths were acceptable? Prepaid phones are convenient for people who do not own a credit card, such as a teenager or young adult, since they can easily pay with cash. Another reason why one may use a prepaid cell phone is because it is impossible for a customer to go over their minute plan and therefore pay extra money for a certain month. A prepaid cell phone already has one’s specific plan in place that they paid for and if they use up their minutes, the phone will just stop working and there is no need to pay extra money. Although many argue that these types of cell phones are sometimes used to carry out crimes, criminals have been successful way before this invention so I think the use of these phones for good reasons outweigh the bad in the long run.

Location Tracking- Assignment 4

     I would support the use of computer chips to a certain degree if they were sold on the market. I think that this technology should be taken advantage of in order to protect the ones we love; as long as they need our protection. Pets, Alzheimer’s patients and young children would be appropriate candidates for the product and promote success. These members of the family need assistance and I feel that a tracker chip would make family’s jobs in assisting them easier and create a lifestyle with safety for the chip’s users. Although I do support the chip in this aspect, I would not agree with a mandatory bill from congress requiring ID chips to be implemented in young children. Every parent style is unique and I think it should be a parent’s choice of whether or not to use the chip. Every parent has the right to set their own rules for their young children. When it comes to those who are more independent in the family, such as teens, I do not think that chips are necessary. Teens need to be able to learn how to navigate the world for their adult future and I think that computer tracking chips would hinder that developing process. Because teens are capable of making decisions on their own, I feel that ethics would be questioned if kids this age were required to have a tracking chip because it is essentially an invasion of privacy. 

First blog post

First blog post for Living in a Networked World  :)