Wristbands help keep tabs on teens

The Rage Connect wristband

The Rage Connect wristband

Published Nov 30, 2013

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Johannesburg - It’s that time of the year again when matrics all over the country descend on coastal and holiday towns for their end-of-the-year summer vacation. And with drinking and debauchery to celebrate the end of the school year expected, parents will no doubt welcome the invention of a new wristband which may help them keep tabs on their youngsters.

The Rage Connect wristband holds personal and medical information, but also updates Facebook statuses.

The wristband is a radio-frequency identification band - the first of its kind in the country, says Jonathan Tricker, Director of B1 Connect, a technology and innovations company specialising in Radio Frequency Identification and Near Field Communication technology.

The wristband, an initiative that was developed based on B1 Connect’s “experiences with medical incidents and feedback from the Red Frogs and ER24”, will be tested for the first time on Saturday at this year’s Matric 4URage Festival, commonly known as “Vac”.

Established in 2004, Vac is an event that sees legions of matriculants celebrate the end of their high-school career.

For anxious parents, the wristband may serve as a tool to keep tabs on their teens as well as notify them of any emergencies.

A Linden matriculant, who wants to remain anonymous, said Vac was too wild and it was difficult to keep the fun legal.

“There are injuries, drug addictions, alcohol abuse and car accidents.”

The 18-year-old said most parents were not aware of the things that happened there. Some kids told their parents what they wanted to hear and the parents believed it and gave their kids thousands of rand for Vac.

Holly Leventhorpe, 18, a Parktown Girls High School pupil, said she had heard stories about Vac, “girls being gang-raped, people going missing and dying in accidents from driving under the influence”. But this hasn’t dissuaded her from attending Vac.

“I want to celebrate with my friends.”

“You can’t control human behaviour,” said her mother, Lyn.

“If my child was wild and out of control, I wouldn’t let her go to Vac – it depends on the child.”

Tricker said festival-goers would be given wristbands at the event. But users would have to register on the Rage Connect site where they could enter a brief personal and medical profile. In case of emergencies, Red Frogs could then access the information securely.

“Users can also add contact details of friends and family should any of them need to be contacted.”

Asked how Rage Connect works, Tricker said it operated on two elements, data on the wristbands and platforms, the latter of which would be placed at key venues at Vac.

“Users can swipe the wristband on the platform and it updates their Facebook status, giving their whereabouts at Vac.”

Blake Rogers, 18, a matric pupil from De la Salle Holy Cross College in Randburg, said the Rage Connect was a brilliant idea that would let him stay connected with his friends at Vac.

“It (Rage Connect) can help alert people and let them know where I am in times of trouble, or when they can’t contact me, and also lets me show people what I am up to.”

Saturday Star

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