It seems we are being spied on everywhere. When the world doesn't feel safe, schools and businesses revert to using electronic surveillance. Generally this consists of hidden cameras. Sometimes there are even hidden bathroom cameras. Schools are using surveillance more and more frequently. This is supposed to help keep students safe. It also helps to solve crimes that have already occurred. Knowing cameras are there causes students to think before engaging in misbehavior. Some parents also favor surveillance cameras in the schools. They think it keeps kids and teachers safer. Others view it as invasion of privacy. They are afraid that we will teach kids that monitoring their behavior is normal, that they should expect life to be like that. They think it adds a prison feel to the school. Bad behavior can happen anywhere, including bathrooms. If cameras are everywhere but bathrooms, then bathrooms can become an unsafe environment as those who want to cause trouble at school do it the only place they can. School officials who use hidden bathroom cameras say that they are not used in showers or stalls. Hidden bathroom cameras aim at places like sinks and entrances. They are not placed in more private areas. Surveillance is becoming common in other areas as well. Some businesses monitor their premises. Employees are left to wonder if the cameras are really intended to monitor them instead. Department stores use monitoring equipment to assist with shoplifting prosecution. Shoppers know that there may be cameras in stores and don't mind this because they are made aware of it. What is more disturbing is that hidden cameras have been found in dressing rooms. In many states stores can place them wherever they want, making hidden bathroom cameras legal. Perform an internet search for hidden bathroom cameras and you will find a number of pornography sites. These sites often claim to have hidden webcams in the bathrooms at various institutions. This means that your daughter, your wife, your mother, or even you could unknowingly appear on camera while in the bathroom stall while others online are watching. If you are inclined to patronize pornographic websites, remember that the ones offering hidden cameras could be hurting your loved ones. Hidden bathroom cameras can serve a purpose if they are not in stalls or showers. If a business or school that is relatively safe uses them, one must question why. In the quest for safety, we are headed for a world of surveillance in our most private moments. Somehow we must balance our need for safety with our right to privacy. In America, we still have that right. Let's strive to keep it. |
