Seniors in English class are currently learning about Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. This work is mainly about a possibly crazy young prince trying to avenge his father’s death. In one scene the King’s friend Polonius was speaking to another character about his son in college. Polonius told him to go and spy on his son while he was away, to try and find out what kind of person he truly is when his father is not around.

Honors English IV teacher Mrs. Stacy Peretti handed her students a paper that posed an interesting question on it. :

“Does a parent have the right to check up on their teenager at parties, college, etc…”

After reading this question she asked the students about their parents and how they monitor their cell phones. She mentioned how she personally has come across a conflict in her own life when it comes to whether or not to look at her daughter’s phone out of curiosity or to respect her privacy and/or trust her.

Many teens have their phones on their person 24/7. But what happens when you leave it laying around the house. Do your parents look through it out of curiosity? And if they did, how would you feel about it?

Many people have their whole lives on their phone, they hold personal pictures, conversations, ect. In society it is said to be rude to listen to other people’s conversations, so what is different between ease-dropping and reading text messages?

People have cell-phone passwords for a reason, personal lives should be just that, personal. If a child has done nothing for their parents to suspect suspicious behavior then there is no reason for the parents to go through personal devices.

Parents should trust their kids. If they have done next to nothing to hint to their parents they are doing something wrong, parents should trust them. What parents do not realize is by looking through their child’s phone they are taking advantage of their trust.

If they believe they believe their child has done something wrong they should confront their child first before spying on them and violating personal property. Looking through a phone out of curiosity is wrong. If a parent wants to know something about their child then they should talk to them instead of violating trust.

If you were Polonius’s son, how would you feel if you knew what your father was doing? Privacy and trust are important for teens, with their cell phones they can feel both. Especially when their parents respect their privacy and trust their kids.