C‘Once upon a time it was love as waiting: the heartbeat in front of a phone (fixed), or in front of a cinema or a bar. “Will it come? Why doesn’t it come? ». Once upon a time there were parents waiting for their children. And the children who led: “I was from Sara, all right.” Today there is no longer waiting, there is no more possibility of a lie. In the name of safety or comfort, we are traced and trace. Parents and children, wives and husbands, boyfriends and friends. The possibility of share your position on your mobile phone It has become a common, increasingly widespread way, to keep us mutually an eye on, always. And often coincides with a upgrade of the report: When he is serious, geolocation is triggered. But what happens If I ask to turn it off?
If I turn it off, my girlfriend might think I betray her is the title of a recent article of Guardian on the rise of sharing the position between couples. What ithe New York Times (I Love You, Let’s Stalk Each Other), he defined “The last frontier of the digital expressions of the couple “. In short, the new frontier of romanticism.
All Geolocalized? The position shared in the couple
According to a survey conducted by the sharing app Life360 «What has started as a simple way to control or make sure that a dear person is safe has turned into a turning point, that is The more in vogue to formalize a relationship». In other words, the sharing of the position such as … proof of love.
From the trendsetter of the Z generation to baby boomers, couples are poured to (hundreds of) million on apps like Life360 to remain connected, safe and perfectly synchronized. «Our survey found that 95% of American adults In a relationship he uses some form of position sharing technology checking the app on average seven times a day».
Digital surveillance or symbol of trust
The study is also dedicated to the theme Digital Surveillance and Relational Uncertainy: The Role of Geolocation Tracking in Romantic Relationshipspublished on Social Science Computer Review. The results question the hypothesis that the tracing of geolocation reduces the component of uncertainty of the relationship: indeed it often increases the share of ambiguity. The tracking appears connected to jealousy, reflecting the models observed regarding surveillance on social media. Geolocation is therefore a form of socially accepted monitoring but for the very complex relationship.
Among friends: can sharing sharing be stopped without breaking the bond?
The question is particularly hot for the young people of the Gen Z who share their position with their friends practically always, and “therefore removing one sounds terrible”, explains the Councilor Kim Rippy in an article on theIndependent. The tracking app is usually consulted several times a day, like a daily ritual, after the email and before the weather.
«The emotional bond authorizes access to others’ life at all times. AND Generation Z does not consider it a violation of privacy, but a need for trust and a reflection of what the relationship appreciate». Can sharing be stopped without breaking the bond? (Can’t I trace you? Then we have to close It is the title of an article on the Wall Street Journal).
In the family: the parental control and the need for parents control
In Italy to share the position in real time is a widespread habit between younger friends and partners but also, a lot, in the family. Often parents ask the children to get geolocated from the moment in which he is given The first phonewhich tends to be around nine or ten years old. It is the easiest answer to the desire to have everything under control.
As he explains A study by the University of Paris Nanterre described in the magazine The Conversation Sharing the position satisfies the psychological need to reduce the unpredictability of events. Allowing you to know where to reach the child – or the loved one – in case of danger or necessity.
But, as the Professor of Pedagogy at the University of Florence explains Cosimo di Bari in the magazine Uppaspecialized in the issues of parenting and childhood, cannot become a “espionage system”. To feel more confident as parents you risk increasing fragility, taking confidence, children. Sharing the position risks replacing a task that would instead be up to dialogue. Not only does not help children to face the risks of life alone but she gets used to the idea that controlling each other between people who want to be normal.
Love, control and geolocation
Sharing the position in a solid couple relationship can be very useful. But it often happens that they use it also abusing partners: victims of domestic violence They are often geolocated by the partner. And frequently they do not even consider the fact as particularly serious. In other words, it is normalized behavior: sharing everything means trusting.