Big Brother

By Anonymous - 11/02/2022 16:00

Today, and lately, my dad has an annoying habit of knowing where I’ve been, even though I never go anywhere worth mentioning. On a hunch, I checked my phone and it turns out he’s been tracking my location. I’ve literally done nothing to deserve this lack of trust, and now I think I hate him. FML
I agree, your life sucks 1 168
You deserved it 188

Same thing different taste

Top comments

Send your phone on adventure and then walk into the house to gauge his reaction. Call him out on that crap.

It's not you, it's likely someone else's kid or something he saw on TV or on social media. Parents have lots of dilemmas when it comes to protecting their kids. You may be offended by his invasion of your privacy, but you need to mitigate that with the fact that he cares about you.

Comments

Michael Sawyer 11

How old are you, under 18? does he pay your phone bill? if you answered yes to either of these questions..he has a right to know where you are. On a side note, how did you not know he was tracking the phone? "Find my phone" tracking is a common feature on most phones now.

wtf? seriously, it does not give parents permission to spy on their kids. that's harassment even coming from a parent.

kitten79TX 5

1. No, it's not harassment. I can assure you it doesn't fit the legal definition. 2. Yes. a parent ABSOLUTELY has a right to keep tabs on their kids. 3. If there's an emergency, the parent knows where the kid is. Heaven forbid they're in danger and you need to find them.

NO and NO. A minor has a right to intimacy. Especially when he is old enough to be on his own. And paying does not entitle at all to anything, but a « thank you ». Tracking your child and worst tracking your child without telling him is parenting at its worst.

wysegirl 24

I agree. I'll do the same thing when my kids get phones. If I pay the bill I will know the locations of my property. plus it's a way to make sure my kids are safe.

Send your phone on adventure and then walk into the house to gauge his reaction. Call him out on that crap.

It's not you, it's likely someone else's kid or something he saw on TV or on social media. Parents have lots of dilemmas when it comes to protecting their kids. You may be offended by his invasion of your privacy, but you need to mitigate that with the fact that he cares about you.

You know man, I love your humorous replies, but i gotta give you credit. when you give advice/insight, you absolutely rock it.

He doesn’t care about his kid, otherwise he would have told him or he wouldn’t have teased him about it and would have kept it quite. Yes life can be dangerous, but if you can’t trust your own children you’re just making it worst. And if you are really scared about the outside or don’t trust your child, seek counseling or go see a psychiatrist.

In practice you have two choices: (1) Talk to Dad about why he did that. The most likely reason is that he cares about you. The teenage years tend to be when we start creating an independent identity to a significant degree. Sometimes that results in less honest communication. If you tell you parents a bit more of what is going on in your life, it might make Dad feel less obligated to track you. And if Dad pays for the phone and you are under 18 he has a legal right to do this. (2) Use the information to your advantage but pretend you don’t know what’s going on. Remember you are where you phone is on or in standby. You are not where your phone isn’t or is powered completely down or wrapped up in aluminum foil. If you have genuine need to be out of touch that’s the way to do it. Personally I feel the first option is best.

kitten79TX 5

if I found out my kids were purposely hiding their phone location from me.... not good. they'd be in so much trouble and I'd lock it down to where they could oy call me and 911.

The only good thing in the first solution is the « talk to your dad » part. The rest... It is not less honest communication. It is just not having to share everything with one’s parents. One has a right to an intimate life in order to develop one’s personality. There is NO obligation to track his children! Especially if you don’t say you’re doing it. Good parenting 101 is having faith and trust in our children. And NO it is not legal. Being a parent or paying a bill don’t grant you unlimited powers.

What kind of parents are you not trusting your children and not letting them discovering life?! Remember your childhood, did you really tell your parents every place you went to?

kitten79TX 5

or he did it tso he can know where you are in case of an emergency. Yeah, terrible father for caring about you enough to know where you are. Just horrible.

In that case he wouldn’t act the way he does tracking on a daily basis his son’s whereabouts. And he would tell that he has a way to track in case of emergency. And it is wrong to believe that caring about someone is following someone’s every move. That’s stalking. Caring goes with trust. There is no trust here.

It is frightening that all of the comments but one find normal that invasion of privacy, that lack of trust. It says a lot about how devious has become our society, rejecting the value of freedom. Op, I understand your anger. Hope you’ll be able to forgive your father and that you’ll be able to have an honest and fair discussion with him. But before that I’d have fun with him like putting your phone in his car or in your mother’s, turning it off, going to weird places (but don’t take any risks). Or following his phone. But beware you could learn things you didn’t want to know. Yeah a bit like putting the phone in your mom’s car. Anyhow you have a right to privacy and do not belong to your father.

wysegirl 24

Think of how the world is turning. Kids are getting snatched more and more. in the last week I've had 3 Amber alerts. By him knowing your routine he can figure if something happens to you fast. While I think you should have been aware of him tracking he may have had other fears preventing him. My children are young and I am terrified for when they become teenagers after how I'm seeing the world going. Will I track them? If I pay the bill, you bet.