“It’s like removing the door in your bedroom [so] if you just want to … go out and take a walk, your parents [will] harass you, [and asks] ‘Why are you on B Street?’” said junior Dahlia Selig.
For millions of teens, parental monitoring through surveillance apps has become an inescapable part of everyday life. Apps like Life360 and Find My allow parents to track everything from their children’s locations to battery life. Leveraging GPS technology, these apps provide constant updates, ensuring that parents can access this data at any time. With this newfound usage, the apps’ popularity has also exploded, with Life360 gaining over 50 million active users.
For many parents, this kind of surveillance is a response to the potential dangers of today’s digital world.
“There can be a guy on Omegle and he can say ‘oh, I live near you, you’re so pretty and I think we should meet up’ and it turns out to be a human trafficker,” Selig said. “There are a lot [of] vulnerabilities that come with the Internet.”
In unfamiliar situations, these apps can bring peace of mind.
“I went to Europe this summer, and my brother wanted to go to this concert,” said junior Anna Gubman. “[My mom] was really paranoid … so she made [them] share their locations with me … Knowing where they were made me feel more at ease.”
However, the line between safety and invasion of privacy can often blur.
“If parents use the app too much and pressure their kid about it, it could be an invasion of privacy,” said freshman Piper Dodge. “But also, if there’s an emergency [at least] the parents have their location.”
For some, constant monitoring creates tension rather than security.
“My friend’s mom religiously checks her location,” said senior Allison Kim. “They have a bad relationship, and the tracking … doesn’t help.”
The presence of these apps can create a constant awareness of being watched, limiting their sense of independence. This can lead to self-censorship, where teens alter their behavior because they know they are being tracked.
“It’s always in the back of my mind, like ‘oh, [I can’t go some places] because I know my parents have my location,’” said sophomore Megan Hugo.
Surveillance apps can also limit personal autonomy. This can be socially isolating, making teens feel as though they lack control over even small aspects of their lives.
“If I’m [texting or] talking to someone and my phone locks, I have to ask my parents [to unlock it] and I look like a loser,” said junior Sam Stanley.
In response, some teens have developed strategies to evade constant surveillance.
“People turn on airplane mode or leave their phone at [a] friend’s house,” said senior Ria Vij. “Strict parents [raise] sneaky kids and if you … track their every move, they’ll find ways around it … If you really want to sneak out, if you want to be in an area that you’re not supposed to be in, if you want to bypass all the restrictions you’re put under, it’s very easy to do so.”
Due to the need for secrecy, teens shift who they choose to share their locations with.
“If you’re out … maybe your friends are gonna have more context on the situation,” Selig said. “They’ll have more trust in you instead of having that superiority that’s in parent-child relationships. Your friends aren’t going to abuse their ability to look at your location.”
With the increase of exposure to the internet, the rise of surveillance apps used by parents are on-growing to increase security, while teens highlight the importance of freedom and independence.
