Saoirse Hanley: Although location sharing with family and friends has its benefits, the Big Brother and control element is cause for concern

When I was a teenager, I arrived at a friend’s house and she accidentally texted me instead of her then boyfriend. “Saoirse is here,” she wrote, “we’re heading to the shop, OK?” You can imagine my bewilderment when I received the text, and again when I asked if she had meant to send it to her dad or something, and was told that no, her boyfriend just likes to know where she is to make sure she’s safe.