Digital natives or digital victims? Children and the online world

Deborah Lupton, News & Media Research Centre, University of Canberra

‘Arguably, no one is monitored more closely in our society than children and young people.’

Surveillance Technologies and Children report, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, October 2012

Bringing interests together

digitised

children

parenting cultures

sociology of

pregnancy

surveillance studies

digital sociology

Ways to digitise children Pregnancy/childbirth/parenting websites Social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube ‘Mummy blogs’ Ultrasounds: 2D and 3/4D Digital photography/archives Baby monitors Nanny cams, webcams in daycare centres & schools Wearable devices & toys with GPS and bodymetrics trackers RFIDS CCTV cameras & fingerprint scanners Predictive analytics/big data on school performance Trace data from children’s online use Software for tracking children’s online use by parents

It begins with the positive pregnancy test …

Continues with the ultrasounds …

and pregnancy tracking devices …

Then childbirth …

Tracking infant development

and biometrics …

and all the milestones.

Keeping tabs in children’s health …

their location …

and trying to ensure their safety

Into the school years

RFIDs CCTV cameras (85% of UK schools) digitised fingerprint scanners digital tracking of school meals school tracking of children’s internet use predictive analytics educational data-mining parental monitoring of SMS messages

Digital educational tools valorised

Meanwhile, concern is growing

Childhood obesity Cyberbullying/trolling Paedophiles/stalkers Mental health concerns Social skills Loss of face-to-face contact Self-esteem Over-sharing

Discourses of contemporary parenting

Intensive parenting Parents as responsible for children’s

wellbeing and health The desire to manage risk/control fate

Discourses of childhood

The precious child The vulnerable child The uncivilized child The pure child

Discourses of digital technologies

Big data as key to information Tracking devices as accurate and

producing valuable data Children as digital natives Digital tech as saviour and threat

Things to think about

Children’s privacy, dignity and consent The over-monitored child Children’s capacity to develop digital

literacy Surveillance as a form of control How big data will be used How predictive analytics will shape

futures The permanence of digital data archives