Harlan Coben The Undercover Parent

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Can the overprotection of parents cause the privacy of their children to be invaded? In his essay “The Undercover Parent,” Harlan Coben defends the fact that some parents who uses spyware to track their children’s online activities, is a great idea. He explained how a couple of his friends put spyware on their fifteen-year-old son’s computer so they could monitor all he did online (21). Coben also assumes that most parents won’t do it because of the word spyware. Most parents may think of the involvement with the government, but really it’s only for family use. Coben seems to make a great point when he stresses that parents should take action when they’re having concerns about their children. In my opinion, it’s best to be safe than sorry. Therefore, I agree that spyware will help discipline children from the dangers of the internet mentally, physically, and socially. One reason why I agree that parents should use spyware to track their children’s online activities is so the children can be disciplined mentally. Children, mainly teenagers, love to explore …show more content…
Regarding the last point, not only can children and teens become victims of pedophilia, but they also can become victims of cyberbullying. Social media is a big platform for freedom of speech. “Posting thoughts on the internet isn’t the same thing as hiding them under your mattress” (22). Many children and teens are constantly bullied online. It’s surprising how one child can make another child become distant towards others, or causing them to feel alone, based off of words typed behind a computer screen. Cyberbullying can even cause a child or teen to feel not wanted or loved. It can get to an extreme where the child or teen contemplates their worth and life itself. Installing spyware can influence parents to defend their children and even stand up to
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