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Is Location Sharing Good or Bad?

Illustration by Hattie Clark

Do you know where your friends are right now? No matter what time you ask that question—day or night—for most teens, the answer is yes. According to a 2023 survey, more than 75 percent of teens use apps to share their real-time locations with friends. These apps—such as Find Me and Snap Map—allow people to track one another’s whereabouts 24/7, using each phone’s GPS device.

Many teens say that location sharing helps them feel safe and connected with friends. On the other hand, some people think that knowing where your friends are all the time is not necessary. They think it can contribute to social comparison that makes people feel left out. What do you think? Is location sharing among teens good or bad?

Good

Location sharing between friends is a good thing, because it can improve safety. My friends and I feel safer knowing we are keeping tabs on each other. Some people share their location if they’ll be in a potentially dangerous situation, like walking home late at night. Especially in those cases, trusting a friend to know where you are isn’t a bad idea.

People argue that location sharing encourages teens to fixate on each other’s lives. But tracking my friends has never made me feel left out. Most teens have enough self-control to not check friends’ locations repeatedly. If someone is checking their friends’ locations so often that it causes a problem, the issue is likely the obsessive behavior rather than the location sharing.

—Ren Lin, 10th-grader from California

Bad

While location sharing may increase safety in some cases, there are some major disadvantages. For example, it can cause issues among friends. You might find out a group of your friends are hanging out without you through a tracking app. Experiences like that can be extremely detrimental to your mental health and your relationships.

Not only can location sharing be harmful emotionally, it also has the potential to put you in physical danger. If a friend’s account were to be compromised and that information fell into the wrong hands, you could be tracked by a stalker or another stranger who wanted to commit a crime.

Even though location sharing has become more popular in recent years, it comes with unnecessary risks and drama.

—Evelyn Peng, 8th-grader from New York

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