Surveillance From The Elf On The Shelf?

JH
John Honovich
Dec 23, 2013
IPVM

Have you seen this? I guess I am out of touch because I only heard about it recently.

Here's how The Elf on The Shelf is described:

"Christmas magic is very fragile and if an elf is touched it may lose that magic and be unable to fly back to the North Pole. Second, an elf cannot speak or move while anyone in the house is awake! An elf's job is to watch and listen."

I guess it teaches children the benefits of being constantly surveilled and reported on, which presumably is good for the security industry...

Weird deal though. Kids seem to get all worked about being good in front of the elf.

What do you think?

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Ari Erenthal
Dec 23, 2013
Chesapeake & Midlantic

I though that Santa Claus already watched everything kids did and reported it back. I recall a Calvin and Hobbes strip devoted to the implications of Santa's sophisticated global surveillance operation.

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Brian Rhodes
Dec 23, 2013
IPVMU Certified
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Ari Erenthal
Dec 23, 2013
Chesapeake & Midlantic

That's the one. There's a Calvin and Hobbes or an XKCD strip applicable to any situations.

Things are bad when there's a Dilbert or Peanuts strip applicable to your situation.

When all is lost, turn to Ziggy.

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Ethan Ace
Dec 23, 2013

When I first saw this topic, I thought it was going to be that had built a camera into the elf on the shelf. Which would, of course, be amazingly creepy.

I think people have a natural tendency to act better when watched, or when under the illusion of being watched. I've read a couple of studies where simply images of eyes improved behavior. So in general, I think the elf isn't a factor one way or the other.

It's still creepy, though.

HL
Horace Lasell
Dec 23, 2013

If it's just a cute stuffed toy, it's struggling for share in a saturated market.

In many ways, the modern multimedia world is not particularly conducive to developing good parenting skills. Even in the best of times, it can be a challenge to train the next generation to become productive and effective adults. Witness the proliferation of shows such as Nanny 911 which detail parents who have reached their wit's end because perhaps when they started parenting, they did not appreciate the benefits of clear values, firmness, and consistency.

In that context, couldn't this be a pretty effective sales ploy to sell yet another stuffed toy to parents who can sometimes be desperate enough to try almost anything? And to sweeten the pot, we're extending their exposure. Any coverage is good coverage, right?

CD
Chris Dearing
Dec 23, 2013

An elf's job is to watch and listen.

You may want to consider upgrading to a MegaPixie PTZ with POE (PowerOverEvergreen):

Christmas Tree Jank

Built-in edge analytics prevent inadvertent Santa recording or your money back!

C

JH
John Honovich
Dec 15, 2014
IPVM

Canadian professor wrote a paper criticizing Elf on the Shelf for socializing children to accept a surveillance state. I tend to agree. Just bizarre.

And, for Ethan, I give you an interview of Focault and the elf!

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Ethan Ace
Dec 19, 2014

Just spotted this:

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JH
John Honovich
Dec 23, 2014
IPVM

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Brian Rhodes
Dec 23, 2014
IPVMU Certified

Hahahaha

"Spies will be dealt with."

JH
John Honovich
Dec 01, 2017
IPVM

You're welcome:

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U
Undisclosed #1
Dec 01, 2017
IPVMU Certified

From Amazon, not

?

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MB
Matt Bischof
Dec 07, 2022

IPVM Image

The “realistic“ flashing LED makes it legit.

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UI
Undisclosed Integrator #2
Dec 09, 2022

It always cracks me up when I see movies or tv shows with cameras that have a flashing LED because we know this is never (rarely?) the case.

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U
Undisclosed #3
Dec 09, 2022

The Surveillance State Conditioning Starter Kit.

Act now and get government proxy software absolutely free!

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