This is good for everyone, but I worry more about our kids. They see the power draining out of their phone or tablet, spot a public charging station, and say “why not?”
The reason “why not” is that hackers are getting into those stations and waiting for someone to use them. At that point, they hack into the phone or tablet and install malware or suck up all the data contained on it. Despite what we’d like, kids store pictures nobody else should see, personal data that can be used to open a credit account, family information that could make it easy for buglers to visit our home while we’re on vacation, passwords and security codes, even show a pattern of behavior that gives potential evil-doers more opportunities to abduct our child.
Using any charging station should be safe IF the phone is turned off while charging. That’s a big IF with kids, though, who don’t want to miss a single tweet. Consider protecting your kids (and your family) with an inexpensive USB cord that allows charging but not data-transfer, and make sure they carry it with them and leave their other cord home.
Yes, parenting is getting harder and harder. Our kids are sure worth the effort, though, aren’t they?