It's deja vu all over again. Disney (NYSE:DIS) hit the headlines Wednesday with the pending launch of its new cell phone for kids, though we've known this was coming since last summer. These phones sport a raft of parent-friendly features -- wisely catering to the folks holding teens' purse strings -- but I can't help questioning a few elements that grant parents ever-greater control over kids' activities.
The new Disney teen phone service, offered in conjunction with Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S), will launch in June; service-plan fees will be disclosed closer to the launch date. The handsets will set parents back $59.99 or $109.99, depending on features. Perks include text messaging, ringtones, and exclusive content. Parents may appreciate that the phones will allow them to control when and how often their kids use the phones. There's also one more feature that modern parents might want to make use of: GPS tracking.
The new Disney phone will let parents actually track their kids' coordinates, using their own cell phones or the Internet. It's a smart move, given parents' fears of child abductions -- not to mention the simple desire to ensure that kids aren't playing hooky or spending that "sleepover with a friend" at an all-night dance party instead. (Then again, if you remember your own teenage years, the thought of being tracked may make you shudder.)
Despite the "Big Brother" element, it's really not surprising that giving parents tighter control over their kids is becoming big business. For example, cable companies like Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) are increasingly highlighting parental controls as an important feature of their cable products. Last summer's hysteria over video games, drummed up by hackable content in Take-Two Interactive's (NASDAQ:TTWO) Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, also led to calls for more stringent guidelines on electronic content. The controversy kicked up yet another example of parents' fears over the influence of technological unknowns in their kids' lives.
As the many ways we communicate, work, and play change, it's no surprise that many parents have a healthy fear of some of the hazards facing their children. But I think the Disney phone's GPS features are a bit too "Big Brother." Should parents really put tracking devices on their kids, the same way they'd install a LoJack (NASDAQ:LOJN) on their precious autos? Hopefully, moms and dads will remember the old-fashioned methods of parenting, too: listening, paying attention, and setting parental limits that don't involve locks, blocks, or GPS tracking.
Alyce Lomax does not own shares of any of the companies mentioned.
