Spyware on Children - Argumentative Essay Sample

The internet has proven to be the most important technology of these modern times; most people are using the internet not only for their personal needs but also for their professional development. The internet has drastically changed the computer and the entire communication world like nothing before. Internet development has enabled people to communicate and interact more efficiently. Despite the benefits that come along with the internet, it has also brought more harm to the society. This is an argumentative essay paper that will discuss on whether the idea of putting spyware on our children s computer is justifiable.

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The article by Halan Coben has been introduced by giving a good definition of what spyware is. The article has defined spyware as software that is installed on someone's computer to monitor his/her internet browsing activities and to collect the target computer information. It is entirely responsible for any parent to take an active role in the monitoring of a child's use of the internet. It is the parent responsibility to ensure that the activities taking place on the internet do not leave an open door for internet predators to take advantage of our child's naivety. There are a certain situations that our children get themselves into and if they fail to get the parent intervention, they may find themselves in big trouble. For, example, in the recent years the FBI has seen an increased of what is termed as " sextortion" cases. In this case, a child is persuaded to send explicit photos of themselves and usually threatened by the perpetrator to send more and more photos; failure to which, they are threatened that the explicit photos that they had sent earlier to be sent to their families and friends. It is of importance to note that the children that get themselves in this situation are not stupid or immature, nor do they lack the knowledge of the real danger of the internet. What our kids require is regular monitoring of their computer use by their parent.

Many parents think that their children have already grown old enough to know the danger of the internet. Some parent trusts their kids to the extent of forgetting their parental responsibility. They will go ahead and block some risky internet site and think that their children will not be able to access them but they are always wrong, the children nowadays know how to maneuver their way and will finally access to those sites (Coben, Harlan).

On the other hand, it is necessary to allow our kids to have their private life, it good to know as a parent that there are some issues that children may fear to tell you as a parent but opt to seek advice from their friends. When your children realize that you are monitoring them, they may fail to seek that advice and will end up frustrated. Moreover the kid of this generation no matter how you intently watch their online activities, they will always find ways around it. These children will always communicate with other people without your knowledge not unless you imprison them with absolutely no connection to the internet. It is also worth to know as a parent that there is a difference between responsible protective and overprotection.

Trust is one thing, but surrendering parental responsibility to a machine that allows the entire world access to your home borders on negligence, says Harlan Coben in his article (Coben, Harlan).

Furthermore, one can argue that by spying on what our children are doing, one can have sort of control, the opposite is true. Children who are kept on toes by their parent tend to rebel, they always grow sick having overprotective parent and no privacy. These children will be much more likely to attempt to do bad things outside their parents' watch.

In conclusion, sure there are probably instances where some spying on your children is warranted, especially with the huge part of technology in everyday life. But are there not other steps can be put into place rather that installing spyware to monitor our kids? As the wise saying by Anne Frank goes "Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands."

Works Cited

Coben, Harlan. "The Undercover Parent". Nytimes.Com, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/16/opinion/16coben.html.