GPS technology can be a wonderful thing -- especially when you're driving around in a new city trying to figure out where you're going. The soothing female voice gently reminds you to "make a right turn" after 500 feet. With technology and gadgets being made and marketed for younger and younger teens or "tweens," GPS tracking has become an option on cell phones. In Totally Wired, I write about how GPS technology is also being marketed to parents of teen drivers so they can track where their teen is and how fast they're driving.

David Pogue wrote a column in this week's New York Times, registration required, outlining all of the new phones and plans that include GPS tracking capabilities -- in a nutshell, they are all much more expensive than your typical phone plan. But what I found most interesting was the question Pogue posed at the very end of his column:

"It's also worth pondering the moral implications of this technical advance. What these companies are selling you is, in effect, a spying tool. How comfortable are you playing Big Brother -- or, rather, Big Momma or Big Daddy?

Only Sprint informs your youngster, by text message, each time you perform a location check, so you can't snoop around undetected. The other companies permit spying with total stealth. "

My take on this is that technology can never replace good parenting, and that part of being a teenager is learning responsibility and earning trust. If your teen is consistently violating that trust and you feel like they are never where they say they are, you could try to use this type of technology, but my hunch is that if they are already lying, they will come up with some way to beat the system (call forwarding, leaving their phone at a friend's or even at school while heading off to make mischief somewhere else).

If you're the type of parent who will just feel better being able to log on and see where your child or teen is, try having an open dialogue with your teen about why you're doing this (out of concern for their safety, so you can reach them quickly if they're in trouble, etc.). Your teen may tell you, "Trust me. If I'm in trouble I'll call." And in order for them to learn to be responsible adults, you might have to do just that.

Salon.com published a great article expanding on Pogue's big question last year.