Teens need their privacy too

Editor, The Times:

I think that teens need to have freedom over their technology use [“The tussle over teens’ tech time,” Business, Jan. 28]. Encouraging parents to closely monitor their teen’s technology use is encouraging a relationship with a low level of trust between parent and child, leading to conflict.

Reading your teen’s texts is unacceptable. Just as you need privacy, so do your children. They need to have their own personal life just as you (as a parent) have your own personal life. I think that as long as they are not hurting themselves or others, they should be allowed the same privacy that adults have.

If there ever is a situation where your teen inflicts hurt or gets hurt then you can have a calm, rational discussion about the issue. Teens need freedom to explore and grow without parents encroaching on that freedom, even if you as a parent don’t agree with all of their decisions.

I think that as long as your children are getting up in the morning, parents don’t get to control how much sleep they get. If the children are staying up all night texting or skyping with a friend, then they’re the ones who have to deal with the effects of that — not parents.

— Arianna Riley, Seattle