Why schools should abandon biometrics

Many people, including the not-so-young, frequently upload personal data which they might later find embarrassing - or even damaging to their job prospects. In doing so, they also unwittingly open themselves to very personalised and intrusive online advertising.

Though it carries benefits, digital identity also carries a sometimes heavy price tag.

For example, cyber-bullying is a growing problem in many countries within the developed world. In the UK, says the NSPCC, 38 percent of young people have been affected by cyber-bullying. In the US, 52 percent of teens say that they've experienced cyber-bullying; in Australia, the figure is 25 percent.

Cyber-bullying is particularly insidious because it circumvents the normal protections children might expect when they come home and close the front door. In the age of fully wired homes and 3G and 4G mobile technologies, cyber-bullies can seem ubiquitous.

Cyber-bullying can also involve more than one perpetrator, taking on a viral impact, as young copy-cats - who may not even know the victim - jump on the bandwagon. To make matters worse, cyber-bullies often hide their identities behind fake social networking avatars.

Meanwhile, paedophiles and child-pornographers use social networking sites to trawl for potential victims. They prey upon young people who have not yet learned that naiveté is unhelpful online or that privacy is a currency which must be dispensed very sparingly.

Schools will, of course, want to do all in their power to protect their students from bullying, pornography, paedophilia and the like. But encouraging a low respect for personal privacy among young people is in itself, if not dangerous, at least troublesome.

As human beings, our respect for privacy is in many ways a reflection of the esteem in which we hold our own individuality. The exceptionality of a human fingerprint or iris print represents a powerful symbol of the uniqueness of the person to whom they belong.

We should guard jealously what privacy is left us - and encourage the young to do likewise. Fingerprinting and the use of biometrics generally in schools should be abandoned. There are other options for streamlining their processes. Swipe or RFID cards would be cheaper and represent far less of a threat to young minds and their attitudes to privacy.

True friends of children will recognise that Stephen King is right and behave accordingly.