If a "personal" GPS were available for a cheap price, is there anything or anybody you would put it on to keep track of their whereabouts?

In Mexico, rich families are having gps tags injected under their skin because of how bad the kidnapping problem is.

I wouldn’t want to put a gps tag on someone (other than for the previously stated reason) because if they wanted me to know where they were going, they’d tell me. Also, I’d be afraid that someone else would be able to link onto that gps and track the person too.

Nope I wouldn’t use it to track anyone. That’s a massive invasion of privacy. I prefer we don’t treat humans as inanimate objects that need to be constantly under surveillance. More importantly, I wouldn’t do it to others because I wouldn’t want it done to me. Sure there are cases like Eambos mentioned, where people already do this to prevent the kidnapping problems. Those cases are different IMO, since if both people involved are willing and want to track/get tracked, then there really isn’t much of an ethical dilemma.

@PnL I agree that Eambos’ example is different. I don’t think I would be opposed to gps tags in things that need to be tracked in emergency cases…. Supposing I had a young daughter, I might give her a gps bracelet or something that could be used in case she got kidnapped or lost or something, but not to track her during normal days.

Perchik, I agree that it’s a different scenario when it comes to little children, little as in under 10 I guess. Since at that age, they don’t really care about or need privacy anyway. By “young” daughter, how young are we talking? And If she was a teen, would you tell her that the bracelet has a GPS in it? If you would, and she agrees, then I see no problem. Personally, I wouldn’t mind being tracked on certain nights since it’s so much better than having to field constant phone calls on where I am now and who I am with etc. But on normal days, even though I don’t really have anything to hide, I find the thought that some person is sitting in a basement looking @ a GPS radar and observing my every move very Big Brother-like. okay, so I exaggerate

As an aside: It WOULD be very helpful to use on roommates though haha. Ex: Roomy A is out for the night but then you see they are going in the direction of Taco Bell/Chipotle. Perfect time to call and say “hiiiii did you know I am starving? :D” mmm fourthmeal ftw

We lost my dad in the airport yesterday for a little while.
I was definitely thinking about as I walked the concourse.

My boss perhaps. He’s always around when I wish he wasn’t and nowhere to be found when I need to find him…..

Half the time I think I would need it for me. I’m so busy and scatter brained lately, I don’t know if I’m coming or going. ;~)

I think with expensive items like cars and computers then it would be an excellent idea. Also for important items that get lost really easily (cell phones and PDAs for example). For very young children, I’m talking no older than 7 or 8, I think it could be a good idea. However, this could cause a problem too. If it was a situation with joint custody, how would that go over with the non-custodial parent? It could cause some trouble if one parent doesn’t trust the other.

Children and seniors would be the obvious choice, I don’t think I’d use it for anything else.

Then again, a lot of people would use it to track spouses.

I think if you’re going to track your spouse, you have some serious trust issues…

It might come on handy if you happen to like a particular hooker and don’t want to search for which corner she is hanging out on that night… just a thought

If I were being tracked by someone (partner, parents) without my consent, I would rip that person a new one quite literally and litigate them into further decimation. I would never track a person without their consent and knowledge. People aren’t objects that someone owns and should never be treated like one

Now, I would love to install a GPS beacon into my car in case it was stolen. I would put one on a bike for the same reason. And putting one on an outdoor cat seems like a good idea, if not just to see where they wander around for the night!

Whatever children are in my care.

@perchik/dynamicduo: What about in the case of seniors with mental problems who may be prone to wander? I think in certain cases it would be a valid option. What are your thoughts?

In a case like that, so long as the elderly person was proven to be incapable of maintaining their own safety (most likely through establishing a legal conservatorship), this would be a great way to monitor them. Or if they agreed to it, by all means go ahead. If they were mentally hindered and could/would not agree but continued to pose harm to themselves or others, then I would turn to the law and try to establish a conservatorship followed by using a GPS device. But I would never just do it “for grandma’s sake” without her knowing. Many seniors have enough problems with being treated differently, and I don’t want to contribute to more of that.

GA!

I was just thinking about this tonight (saw the commercial approximately 50 million times during ‘The Stand’). As the mother of a daughter who is 2 years away from getting her driver’s license, I kind of like the idea of having one in her/our car. She’d know it was there, I’d never lie to her about it. I admit I’m way over-protective, and I’ll probably be talked out of this idea, but I can’t say it’s entirely unappealing to me!

@Augustlan: I’d do it. If she’s a good kid, and has nothing to hide, at worst it’s for her own protection. No big waste of time or money if you ask me.

Augustian, I think that’s a perfect example of a good and fair usage, and if my parents had made that a condition of me using their car I would have accepted with no issues, so long as I knew they weren’t going to be sitting in front of the computer refreshing my location every 5 minutes! I think it would be even better to have an actual GPS in the car as well as one that broadcasts its location back to you, so that she always had a map of the area in case she got lost. Maybe there’s one unit that acts as both…

@dynamic: It’d be much safer if they were separate units, the one broadcasting location should be hidden in the body of the car.

If I were to kidnap someone and I knew GPS units could be located, which, I think they already can be with the serial number, the first thing I would do is chuck the GPS. Preferably in a different direction than I intend to go.