Would You Microchip Your Kids To Keep Them Safe?

Prying parents turning to Big Brother


Article heading image for Would You Microchip Your Kids To Keep Them Safe?

Netflix

If you're a parent who has seen the latest season of Black Mirror, you're probably still feeling triggered by the episode where a mother decides to microchip her daughter after she goes missing, and of course like every Black Mirror episode, it has horrifically negative consequences.

Well it seems many Aussie parents are putting their confidence in 'Big Brother' style technology. A study of 1,000 parents by Real Insurance has found just over a third are currently monitoring their children using GPS tracking apps, 40 per cent of those people believing it is their 'parental right' to use such surveillance methods.

One in ten parents would seriously consider implanting their children with a microchip to keep tabs on them at all times, while three in ten believe the concept is interesting and they would like to know more.

Almost 60 per cent also admitted to using social media platforms to keep track of their children's lives, but half of respondents say they are aware their children are more likely to share parent-friendly content and post more personal information on the platforms where parents aren't connected.

One Sydney-based microchip company, Chip My Life, claim they've been flooded with calls from parents wanting to get their kids implanted despite the technology not actually being available or approved yet.

Some experts though, aren't too fond of the technology citing many moral and health issues. Child psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Gregg has compared microchipping children to "tagging a dog".

"They have to understand the greatest protection is in fact what's between the ears of their children," Carr-Gregg told The Daily Telegraph.

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23 March 2018




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