Privacy is becoming a bigger demand in our growing cyber society. How can we function knowing that there is someone watching our every move on our social media accounts? Ironically, that is what’s happening in most cases. A fair amount of school administrators around the world agree that monitoring student technology usage is exactly what needs to be done to solve problems such as cyberbullying or anything considered inappropriate. This is beyond unreasonable. If the situation has nothing to do with the school, the school has no right to monitor the student’s private online activity and attempt to discipline them; it violates the Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution.
When your guardians allow you to have technology and social media accounts, that shows that they believe you’re trustworthy and mature enough to use it. If your guardians think that you are ready for that type of responsibility, why can a school force you to reveal your information so that they can “keep an eye on you”? For instance, an Illinois school district passed a law which permits “schools demanding social media passwords, even if the posting was not done at school or on school computers (Illinois Law Allows)”. It’s easy to understand that they made an effort to find a solution to cyberbullying, however, the way they attempted was just irrational. It is my belief that the parents/guardians should decide on whether to monitor their child’s internet use. For example, statistics show that children receive some form of personal technology from their parents, averagely, at 12.1 years old, an age that most consider responsible. 84% of parents said that they closely or somewhat closely monitor their child’s phone use. “53% of parents use some sort of parental control feature to manage/monitor their child’s Internet use. 86% of parents feel their children are safe online” (Kids Wireless Use Facts). Obviously, the majority of parents/guardians think that their children are safe online and with their technology or are monitoring them already, so why do the schools try to do this job too?
“Neither the Fourteenth Amendment nor the Bill of Rights is for adults alone (In re Gault)”. This undoubtedly means that students/children of the U.S. cannot be denied their Constitutional rights. Furthermore, two of these rights defend the private usage of the internet for students, without fear of repercussion. Those are the 1st Amendment, the freedom of speech, and 4th Amendments, freedom against unreasonable searches. “Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech (The Bill of Rights)”. If the government isn’t allowed to limit what you say, why are schools attempting to? That’s beyond necessary and very uncalled for. Besides, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated (The Bill of Rights)”. This says that unreasonable searches are not allowed, which can easily reflect back onto the Illinois school law that was mentioned earlier. Forcing children to give up their passwords for possible cyber bullying is as unreasonable as it is inefficient, which is to say that it’s tremendously unfair. On the whole, students are protected by their national right to be able to use the internet without being watched by a school.
In conclusion, schools have no right, both figuratively and literally, to monitor the student’s private online usage and attempt to discipline them. It’s in parental control and the United States government openly forbids them to. Whether school administrators agree or not, this fact should be indisputable and respected. In other words, privacy is a demand that will always be required and students are entitled to it as much as any adult.