I guess the argument would be technology enables children to do secret stuff without any of the obvious signs, like sneaking out in the middle of the night?
> I guess the argument would be technology enables children to do secret stuff without any of the obvious signs, like sneaking out in the middle of the night?
Yes, it was rather obvious when a teen was behaving secretive, or there were middle of the night calls.
Privacy is important, but if your teen was suddenly displaying secretive behavior you could tell.
They also lost some control, if you lived in ideologically segregated community, kids had no way to learn about ideas from outside. That was destroyed by internet. Your Utah Mormon kid can read pre LBGT materials now.
Try it if you don't believe me. You can't even ride the bus without a phone because bus stops no longer display schedules and routes.
Want to go trampoline jumping? It's impossible without a phone because they want you to sign a waver in advance using your phone.
Pay Phones are no longer a thing. The "phone behind the counter" in restaurants and shops is no longer a thing.
Even grade school children are staring to have trouble navigating the world without a phone.
What else do you expect? When tech companies make phones secure enough for the NSA, every app has passwords, and most apps have disappearing messages, how exactly do you expect parents to monitor what their kids are doing?
All the "parental monitoring" apps do is check how much time kids are using the phone. They give zero info on what the kids are actually doing.
So tell me, you want to put the onus on the parents? OK, then require any app used by kids to make all messages available to parents, and forbid disappearing messages.
You don't want to do that? Well, then don't say: "parents you watch them".
You can't simultaneously make something someone else's responsibility, and also make it impossible for them to do it.