Children experience vulnerability at various stages of their lives, and as parents, it’s natural to have concerns about their well-being and safety.
What are the benefits and challenges of parental supervision?
The growing surveillance of children. Due to the migration of people from villages to big cities, from small communes where everyone knows each other to large communes with new neighbours, a new online community has emerged, voicing the parent’s growing concerns for safety, both physical and online, of the children. If we look at Western countries or even at the middle or upper classes of less economically developed countries, we will see that children and young people are more closely watched than ever. Surveillance begins at 0 months of age with video cameras and continues as they grow with more sophisticated applications using GPS and other technology.
Children surveillance industry. The media hype on child abduction cases or children going missing has increased parental anxieties about this matter. Tech companies have noticed a potential in developing applications that would reduce parents’ worries, especially since many of them are ready to pay for such services. As proof, we have a market valued at over 1 billion dollars globally. The app Life 360 alone is worth over 1 billion dollars and is downloaded in over 140 countries. Most apps allow tracking online activities and geolocation of their children.
A 2019 UK survey states that 40% of parents/guardians used a GPS tracking app daily. Other apps take a more holistic approach – Acaza has implemented digital tracing technology to provide insurance instead of surveillance.
Use of RFID technology. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology uses radio waves to identify people or objects. Schools in Japan and the UK have experimented with RFID technology to track students. This system allows the monitoring and keeping track of student attendance.
Privacy and Ethics Debate: The growing number of such apps raises legitimate questions among some parents and researchers about not only the privacy and ethics of using surveillance technology on children but also its long-term effects on children (how will they perceive the notion of “confidentiality” in the future if they were exposed from birth to all kind of surveillance (video, online, etc.).
There are risks to be also considered, like abuses that governments can commit (use this data for various purposes, better or worse), corporations (that use information about personal online behaviour and interests for marketing purposes) and criminals (that can hack databases and steal personal data).
In 2010, the Wall Street Journal reported that the most popular websites for children had more tracking software installed than websites for adults.
Parents’ motivation for surveillance. Parents are motivated to use these technologies for the safety of their children. Monitoring can provide a sense of safety and peace of mind to parents, especially when children are young and are more vulnerable in risky situations because they do not yet have the necessary experience to make the right decisions.
Online surveillance of children. Some parents tend to fully monitor their children’s online activities as well. They install applications in children’s phones, usually without their consent, and have access to children’s conversations on WhatsApp, Viber, Instagram, FB, and SMS, and can record audio conversations, etc.
Effects on parent-child relations. Research proves that excessive supervision can lead to strained relationships between parents and children (starting in the pre-adolescent period), and trust between them is severely damaged.
The results of a study conducted in 2012 by Media Smarts entitled ”Young Canadians in a Wired World, Phase III: Talking to Youth and Parents about Life Online”, revealed the fact that parental supervision can lead to changes in the parent-child relationship in terms of trust. If the 11-12-year-old participants agreed with this monitoring because, they say, the Internet is a dangerous place and some people there can harm them, the teenage participants are against such surveillance. Many change privacy settings and find other methods to block nosy relatives.
In another study, researchers analysed 736 online reviews left by parents and children (ages 8-19) on 37 parental control apps on Google Play. Parents were generally happy with the apps, but two-thirds of kids gave them one-star reviews and said the apps negatively affected their relationship with their parents.
Variations in the age at which the surveillance begins. The age of children at which parents begin their surveillance often depends on its purpose and the age at which the child is given a phone or tablet. If GPS monitoring is desired, it can be 5 years old. If parents wish to monitor the video games the child plays or the videos he watches online, it can be 6-7 years.
Source: https://www.malwarebytes.com/
Source: https://www.malwarebytes.com/
Debate on the right to privacy. Each parent decides for himself the extent to which he can invade his children’s privacy. He decides when and how much information on this child’s physical and online activities can be accessed and how to educate the child to build a relationship of trust with him.
Conclusion on technological surveillance.
What would you choose between insurance (tracing) and surveillance (tracking)?
In a world of urbanisation and technology, parents’ enduring concern remains their children’s safety and well-being. As close-knit communities give way to sprawling urban landscapes, technology, evidenced by the rise of surveillance giants, presents a promising remedy to these concerns. However, this tech-driven vigilance is double-edged. While aiming to shield the young, it also stirs debates over privacy, ethics, and its potential to warp children’s understanding of trust and boundaries. Coupled with the looming threats of data misuse by corporations, governments, and cybercriminals, and the evident strains it places on parent-child relationships, the issue demands a nuanced consideration of its benefits and pitfalls.
So, the crux of the matter isn’t just about tools and apps. It’s about a deeper introspection on what’s best for our children in this digital age. Are we leaning towards a safe but potentially over-monitored world, or can we find a middle ground? Each parent faces this pivotal decision: to what extent do they merge technology with trust? The world may have changed, but the essence of parenting remains – guiding our children with love, wisdom, and, sometimes, a touch of modern technology.