Monitoring Text Messages
Would you monitor your kid's text messages?
"I would absolutely monitor them," said parent Kim Schaeffer.
"You don't know who is texting them. It could be a pedophile. It's a good idea. If we can monitor what they do on computers, then why not phones?" said parent Kristy Weiss.
And why not? Considering text messages are no longer an idle back and forth. A third of today's teens send or receive more than 100 texts a day - but to whom and from whom? That's the question.
So we wanted to know if you could monitor those texts to find out who's sending them, and what they say. We discovered a few ways to do it. The first - and the hardest way - is to get a court order.
This might be necessary if your child is the victim of a cyber bully.
"But I wish the situation would just be where the kid could just take the offending message to the parents. Then the parents wouldn't need the court orders to force info from the phone company," said Hermiston Municipal Judge Tom Creasing.
You'd have to tell the judge a good reason why you needed to spy, even if you own the account on the phone. A court order could take weeks, and phone companies can only trace texts back six months.
"They got a free reign of the whole world. They can contact anyone. It's messing up their minds and they aren't learning. It is insane," said Schaeffer.
We figured there *must be an easier way. KEPR researched online monitoring companies and uncovered one that uses an app for 10 bucks a month. It works by letting you set up a list of approved numbers. Any texts from a number that's unapproved, go right to mom and dad, too. But you can't be stealth. Your child has to sign off on it, otherwise you're breaking wiretapping laws in both Washington and Oregon. So we asked what the kids think.
"I'm for it because texting is too secretive. If kids want to keep secrets, they should write it in their diary instead of sending it to everyone and then not the parents," said teen David Ralph.
"Kids are old enough to make their own decisions. It is none of their business. Go find someone else because it is none of your business," said teen Tyrone Schilling.
Kim believes products like this may be an ounce of prevention.
"They definitely need to be monitored right up until they are 18," said Schaeffer.
"I would absolutely monitor them," said parent Kim Schaeffer.
"You don't know who is texting them. It could be a pedophile. It's a good idea. If we can monitor what they do on computers, then why not phones?" said parent Kristy Weiss.
And why not? Considering text messages are no longer an idle back and forth. A third of today's teens send or receive more than 100 texts a day - but to whom and from whom? That's the question.
So we wanted to know if you could monitor those texts to find out who's sending them, and what they say. We discovered a few ways to do it. The first - and the hardest way - is to get a court order.
This might be necessary if your child is the victim of a cyber bully.
"But I wish the situation would just be where the kid could just take the offending message to the parents. Then the parents wouldn't need the court orders to force info from the phone company," said Hermiston Municipal Judge Tom Creasing.
You'd have to tell the judge a good reason why you needed to spy, even if you own the account on the phone. A court order could take weeks, and phone companies can only trace texts back six months.
"They got a free reign of the whole world. They can contact anyone. It's messing up their minds and they aren't learning. It is insane," said Schaeffer.
We figured there *must be an easier way. KEPR researched online monitoring companies and uncovered one that uses an app for 10 bucks a month. It works by letting you set up a list of approved numbers. Any texts from a number that's unapproved, go right to mom and dad, too. But you can't be stealth. Your child has to sign off on it, otherwise you're breaking wiretapping laws in both Washington and Oregon. So we asked what the kids think.
"I'm for it because texting is too secretive. If kids want to keep secrets, they should write it in their diary instead of sending it to everyone and then not the parents," said teen David Ralph.
"Kids are old enough to make their own decisions. It is none of their business. Go find someone else because it is none of your business," said teen Tyrone Schilling.
Kim believes products like this may be an ounce of prevention.
"They definitely need to be monitored right up until they are 18," said Schaeffer.
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