Having my teenage son, Seth, diagnosed with Epilepsy the summer prior to his Freshman year was an event we could not have seen coming. He had a seizure while at a friends house. Getting a frantic call that my son had gone by ambulance to our local hospital was surreal. As I look back now, just 14 months after that incident I think, as a family, we have managed it well.
In Born Digital on Pages 64-65, Palfrey and Gasser tell the imagined story of Natalie and her parents. Natalie has Epilepsy, she does not always wear her medical bracelet that would stand to warn medical personal of her condition. As a safety precaution her parents decide to have her implanted with an RFID chip. Oh how this scenario resonated with me. In the book, I believe the authors to be trying to show how parents unwittingly expose their children's privacy. The privacy issue was not an issue at all with me. The RFID chip however was. I found it deeply troubling that any parent would have such a devise implanted in their child. Even the authors seem to take issue with these devices as they refer to them as "draconian" on page 48.
To be honest, my fears of such things are most likely rooted in my faith. Having any computer implantation device, in any of my children, would never be an option for me. This is a belief that was taught to me by my Christian parents. And while I've come to know my own understanding and translation of the book of Revelations I cannot help but hear the words "Mark of the Beast" in my head relating to such things as implantation devices.
Now my more rational, analytical self can see the logic and even benefit of such a device. I can understand the fictional parents worry and concern for their daughter’s condition. The importance of medical personal knowing her condition, and medication to treat said condition, is not lost on me. With all that said, for my child, I will continue to rely on a medical alert band, as well as a well informed circle that includes school officials, family, and friends to communicate Seth’s condition those necessary.
The idea of implanting my child with a microchip -- even in the name of protection -- is pretty repugnant to me, too. While I am a person of faith, it is not the 'mark of the beast' that troubles me as much as the ability of RFID readers to pick up info they should not have about me or my family.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I am inclined to use the ICE app for my cell phone. And before I had a phone that would use that app, I had an ICE contact stored with critical contact and health info. What teen is going to let a cell phone repose at home while he's out and about? ;)
None that I know of. I will have to check into that app. Thank you!
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