The rise of digital monitoring apps: the first BBC Ideas film for 2024 is out today

"The rise of digital parenting (and how it’s changing our lives)" is the first of four new short films produced as part of a partnership between the Social Sciences Division and BBC Ideas.

Now in its second year, the partnership harnesses Oxford’s academic research excellence to explore ideas that challenge and inform viewers, engaging new audiences with Social Sciences research in the process. 

Three more five-minute films will be released over the next few weeks covering interdisciplinary topics that range from anthropology and technology to international development and economics. They all bring academic research to life and provide key facts and takeaways with particular focus on mental health for this year.

The rise of digital parenting (and how it’s changing our lives)

What impact is monitoring our kids’ locations and online activity having on their childhoods? The use of digital monitoring apps, deployed both to supervise online behaviour and to track children’s location, is becoming very widespread among parents. Ekaterina Hertog, Associate Professor of AI and Society at the Oxford Internet Institute and Institute for Ethics and AI, and Netta Weinstein, Professor of Clinical and Social Psychology at the University of Reading, share some insight of the potentially profound effects of these apps on modern parenting, children’s autonomy and development, intra-family relations and trust. 

BBC Ideas produces a variety of thought-provoking short films and videos aimed at a general audience of under-35s that are designed to offer a fresh perspective across a broad range of topics and issues. All the films (including previous ones) can be viewed on the Expand your mind with the University of Oxford playlist on BBC Ideas website.