Harlan Coben The Undercover Parent Summary

In the modern world, technology makes everything easier. They make finding information easy to meeting new people. This is great for those wanting new adventures, but unfortunate to those who come across false information. Teens are most susceptible to such information, and adults are trying to combat this. Parents, have gone from asking their children, to instead monitoring or “spying” on their children. In the article, “the undercover parent”, by harlan coben, coben states how parents must monitor their children in order for them to have a healthy childhood. I disagree with his statements as it is only an invasion of privacy. It can also be a sign of bad parenting and can show an unhealthy relationship between parent and child. Not to mention

In his article he states “but there's a moment when the two way tools of communication turn into the one way tools of surveillance” (Goodman 15). This is a clear example of how simple monitoring can turn into an invasion of privacy. However, monitoring can also invade privacy. There's a common misconception that whatever is kept private, is bad. People tend to forget, that everyone is entitled to their own privacy. Adults are guilty of doing this to their children, especially if they monitor their child's phones. Parents like to assume the worst for their children, and in response, turn to monitoring. Parents, need to understand that not everything a person does on a phone is bad. Most teens know common sense and stay away from the negative side of the

Most times when a parent is overseeing their child's usage, the child is unaware. This can be considered many things, ranging from stalking to lying. The article also references these points in the words” ...if you are ot monitoring, you are a bad parent. Apparently were supposed to be stalking our kids” (Goodman 11). Stalking has negative connotations and it should stay that way. Many7 would try and argue that it's not stalking if they're your child, however it stays the same as they are watching over, their presence unaware. Once the child finds out, whether they did something bad or not, they may begin to suspect other forms of how their parent may monitor. It could also break the trust the child had with their parent. Many teens who found out their parent was monitoring them, often state how the paranoia has stayed with them well into their adult