Sat Nav – Kids 2.0

Annie Gregory reviews the new Sat Nav watch for kids

Most parents would roll their eyes at the idea of yet another batch of electronically tagged kids hitting our streets, but a recent invention of a locally based company suggests otherwise.

Worcester’s LOK8U have devised a GPS wristwatch aimed at helping parents track their child’s every move, ensuring they always remain safe.  Despite a litany of youngsters disappearing over the past two decades, Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in 2002, Sarah Payne in the mid 1990’s and the ongoing search for Madeline McCann, why weren’t these life-saving gadgets invented sooner?

With only 20% of children now being able to go out and play, the digital bracelet offers a parent or guardian the opportunity to put more trust in their child leaving the house and remaining safe. Parents will use a website to interact with the NUM8 watch, using satellite navigation, and receive a text message indicating a street name or postcode and a link to GOOGLE MAPS to establish the child’s whereabouts.

Ruling kids’ lives all over the world

As Chief Executive of LOK8U, Steven Salmon, describes, the tracker is essentially aimed at sub-teens, they will be oblivious to the trackers and under the impression that it is just a simple digital watch. Even if removed and put into a rucksack, the watch remains in the child’s proximity and can still be tracked. Taking into account all possibilities, he stated that even if removed from the child forcibly, parents can receive a notifying alert. 

Sounds flawless. Salmon further stated that ‘it would be nice if every child in the world wore one of these’, forcing us to consider that it is only a matter of time before every adult does too. Governments could keep an eye on those threatened by international conflict, overbearing mothers could force their gap year twenty-somethings to add one to their already overflowing backpack. Wives could track their husbands. But is this just another step forward into an over-controlled Big Brother society?

Is this product to become as essential as the mobile phone? There is a risk of becoming dependent and of course the debate over where parents are to draw the line. At what level does a child playing outside become unsafe? With teenagers becoming ever-more autonomous,  adults could feel the need to strap a NUM8 Child GPS tracker to their wrist too. For a parent who has relied on the device for the majority of their child’s life, at some point needs to consider that their teen will become an adult and can no longer be wrapped in cotton wool. 

There of course exists a niche market, the product could potentially only get purchased by those of a security conscious, middle-class background. Thus, there is a loophole in terms of how this will realistically serve to make our society become safer. Parents of more deprived areas are the ones who have children who could perhaps be in more danger, but who are not in the position to afford £149.99 for a plastic watch. With a further charge of £4.99 a month for the service, this idea could be a pipe dream for most.

Having nobly worked on the product, dedicating two years of his life to enabling children to go out and play safely, Steven Salmon believes that even if he can save one child, then his work has been worth it.

The ‘Special K’ diet.

Ketamine is becoming as popular as ecstasy

Annie Gregory realises that as drug prices get lower, ketamin abuse is getting much higher.

RANKED as a Class C drug in 2006 ketamine has, for the first time, featured in an annual survey by DRUGSCOPE as one of the most widely obtainable and moderately priced drugs in the UK. According to the research it is now labelled as ‘easily available’ in eight out of fifteen cities, including Birmingham.

Although official figures suggest that overall levels of ketamine use remain low in comparison to cannabis, ecstasy and cocaine, it is still a cause for concern as increased use (even by younger individuals) has been reported in the bigger cities such as our own. 

The horse-tranquiliser is used recreationally due to its ability to alter the user’s perceptions, leaving them feeling detached from themselves and others around them. The substance is legally produced as a liquid that can be injected. Its illegal production is that of a powder form, resembling cocaine. It can also be bought as a tablet. 

‘Special K’, as it is sometimes known, induces a state referred to as ‘dissociative anaesthesia’, which entails the loss of feeling or sensation but does not usually entail unconsciousness; it is a short-acting but powerful general anaesthetic. A user can feel a loss of body sensation and will usually experience slowed down psychedelic episodes.

Recent studies, however, have shown that many users are turning to higher doses that act as a stimulant in order to maintain a clubbing ‘high’. It is evident that the popularity of Ketamine has risen in conjunction with increased availability and falling prices, with one gram now costing between £10 and £20, depending on where it is sold. This is more than half the usual price of a gram of cocaine (around £50). Although not overtly branded as a ‘drug of choice’, the British Crime Survey has shown that use of the drug is up by 10 per cent since 2006/07.

A student from the University of Birmingham mentioned that, ‘I was at a festival last year and groups of fifteen year old kids were selling the stuff. I don’t mind what people do to get their kicks but that was just plain wrong.’

The price drop reflects falling drug costs across the UK; the potency of ecstasy pills has halved in the past year alone, with some even selling for just 50p in Portsmouth, compared with Birmingham’s cheapest average of £1.

Usually bought by those middle classes that want to party hard on the weekends, rather than hardened drug addicts, ketamine has become as popular as ecstasy. Although relatively safe in comparison to ecstasy, reported deaths are usually related to hallucinogenic caused accidents. The drug is dose-specific, meaning that its effects are strongly linked to the amount used. In small doses (usually 100mg) a user will feel euphoric and experience rushes or waves of energy. Higher doses (of around 200mg) usually entail hallucinations and ‘out-of-body’   experiences. As Birmingham City Council state, effects can be much more severe if mixed with alcohol or cocaine.

A user is likely to form a tolerance, meaning that increased amounts need to be consumed each time to achieve the same effect. The horse-tranquiliser poses risk of psychological addiction, rather than physical, due to its psychedelic qualities and medical opinion says a ketamine trance can resemble catatonic schizophrenia.

The increase in availability of drugs in Birmingham is essentially due to falling prices, which acts as yet another contribution to the amount of drug related deaths that occur in the UK each year.