The Undercover Parent free essay sample

The Undercover Parent To Spy or not to Spy†¦. That is the Question! â€Å"The Undercover Parent† an article written by Harlan Coben. It was published on March 16, 2008 in The New York Times. This article talks about Parents installing spyware on their computers at home. The author tries to convince readers that monitoring children on the computer helps to protect them against danger and it is not an invasion of their privacy. The true definition of spyware is a kind of malicious software that gathers private information from a personal computer and sends to another computer. This program logs every keystroke so that parents will be able to receive reports weekly, daily or whenever they like that shows everything their child is doing on the computer. The essay begins with Coben showing his initial uneasiness towards the use of spyware. He first states that it’s an â€Å"invasion of privacy. † He also mentions that his, as well as many other parents, reluctance may have started from the word; spyware. We will write a custom essay sample on The Undercover Parent or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It is a scary but good idea that some parents won’t even consider. Cobin points out that the word Spyware brings up associations of Dick Cheney sitting in a dark room, rubbing his hands together and reading your most private thoughts. Loving parents already monitor their children by watching over their home and school environment. Some overprotective parents fight their kid’s battles on the playground and criticize coaches about playing time; however, when it comes to chatting with pedophiles, or watching beheadings or gambling away the family’s entire life savings then their children deserve independence. here are many examples of unsafe environments on the internet that a child might face. For instance, some of the examples are when a young boy chats unknowingly with a pedophile, or the girl that was cyberbullied to the extent that she committed suicide, or the author friend daughter who was a Straight-A college bound daughter of the author friend who chatted online with her drug dealer and slept with him.