They don’t want you to control them online and offline; they get anxious when you say “no” to extra Internet time and they might run up impressive bills while playing games on your tablet or smartphone. It’s your children vs. technology.

Snooping on your child

It’s never been easier to track your children. With all that smartphone technology you will know exactly where your teen is in a matter of seconds.

The free tracking Life360 app has jumped from just one million users back in 2010 to 26 million today. A research company called Berg Insight predicts that nearly 70 million Americans and Europeans will be tracking their family members by 2016. As of now, US mobile subscribers can buy location-tracking services for all users of a family phone plan.

Some say that parents who know they can easily find their children may be happier to let them roam; and teens are spared annoying phone calls. However it’s doubtful if it can actually protect your child.

And what about your child’s privacy? There are fears that children who submit to tracking in schools will more readily accept state surveillance in adulthood.

There’s got to be some room for a compromise on both sides? Maybe an app called WalkMeHome is the answer? It lets you share your whereabouts with trusted contacts only when you feel unsafe.

Once upon a milkshake

It turns out that being overprotective and excessively micro-managing might turn your children against you, as in the case of two California teenagers who gave drugged milkshakes to parents to bypass a 10 p.m. Internet cut-off time.

A study by AWeber shows that teens highly value being able to use the internet and the social media sites. 90% of them are on Facebook, and a whopping 93% of teenagers use mobile phones to keep up with others. The survey suggests that 18% of teens would stop communicating with their friends if social media didn’t exist.

The age and technological gaps between parents and their children have even prompted the Hollywood to react. The recent flick ‘Parental Guidance’ monetises on the disconnect that some parents and grandparents have with the internet and social media.

So next time you are offered a milkshake by your loving children, think back to the moment you were explaining to them why the parental settings for your family tablet or house network were so strict.

Golden apps

Mobile apps for children cost you nothing to download, they are fun and they will keep your kids busy for hours. But they may cost you dearly if left unmonitored.

Parenting sites are reporting greater numbers of parents being billed hundreds of dollars after their children have made “in-app purchases” (IAPs) while playing games.

For example, such games as Angry Birds, Zombie Takeover, Playmobil Pirates, and Racing Penguin are offered on tablets and smartphones as free downloads.

However, once children are playing with them, they are hit with pop-up advertisements offering to explore new areas of a game or obtain better weapons for their character. Often buying these is as simple as clicking on them. These payments are taken automatically from their parents’ credit cards.

According to reports the IAPs will be used increasingly and will drive 41% of app store revenues by 2016 (which is now only at 10%).

But parents are not alone. Reportedly US mobile companies will soon release a system able to solve this problem. Developed by the self-regulatory organization, Entertainment Software Rating Board (or ESRB), the system will create categories of apps and warn consumers when apps are violent or have some kind of paid or adult content.

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Let us know your ideas about the future of parental control as technologies evolve.

In the meantime watch this insightful ABC Lateline story about an unfortunate Aussie family having to face the bills for in-app purchases:

 

 

 

 

 

By Vlad andrianov, ADMA