Cell Phones and Privacy

I think one legitimate use of a prepaid cell phone is to simply remain anonymous. Some people do not like having their name/information "out there" and would rather prefer to stay unknown. I think that it is the right of every citizen in this country to remain that privacy until they are proven (by a court of law) that they can not be trusted with such privacy (i.e. breaking laws, committing crimes). I don't think prepaid phones should be banned or controlled by law. There is absolutely nothing wrong with paying for a phone with cash in advance. There will ALWAYS be criminals in this world regardless of whether or not prepaid phones are available. If prepaid phones are eliminated then these criminals will simply find other ways to operate, they will not just call it quits all of the sudden because prepaid cell phones got banned. Also, banning these phones would be doing an injustice to the vast majority of legitimate, non-criminals who use these phones on a regular basis. Whether it be you want to be anonymous, you don't want to be entangled into a contract, or any other reason, prepaid cell phones should not be banned or controlled by the government.

Location Tracking

Location tracking seems to be a very tricky subject. When I first read the question, I thought it was preposterous. Allowing someone to have 24/7 surveillance over you? No thanks. After further thought I realized that for certain perameters it might actually be beneficial. I don't think anyone over the age of 5 should have a tracker on them, period. But, I believe that I would support a bill requiring children under 5 to have one. I feel as though you hear far, far too often about stories of missing children, kidnapped children, etc. I feel as though this location tracker would help to significantly reduce that. I don't think the cons are worse than the pros because kids at that age have little concept of privacy, let alone care about their privacy. Most kids that age are under the supervision of their parents/gaurdians/teachers for 99% (if not 100%) of the time anyways so I feel as though this wouldn't be too much different than what they are used to other than the fact that they are able to be tracked in the event of an emergency. Having a tracker at any point beyond that age I feel is an invsion of privacy.  Once you are past that age you start to develop responsibility skills, independency, and develop a sense of privacy that would otherwise be impeded on by having a tracker.

Living In a Networked World: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

CS-408 is an interesting class that relates to almost every person's (especially young students') everyday life. The internet, social media, and advanced technology has connected everyone in a way that could never have been foreseen 50 years ago. That being said, there are always new elements being added to our networked world each and everyday which gives us the opportunity to continuously learn and adapt to the changing environment around us. This is the first blog I have ever made, so wish me luck.