NEGOTIATING CARE AND CONTROL: A STUDY OF GENDERED DYNAMICS OF DIGITAL PARENTAL SURVEILLANCE IN CONTEMPORARY FAMILIES

Abstract

This study examined to explore the gender dynamics of digital parental surveillance in modern families and how parents address the balance of care, protection, and control in modern society. With the rise of smartphones, GPS tracking apps, parental monitoring software, and social media monitoring tools, parental monitoring of children now extends into their children’s virtual world. While these tools are commonly employed to ensure children’s security and protection against potential risks in the virtual world, they also pose some critical concerns in terms of children’s privacy, independence, and trust in family relationships. This study also aims to explore how gender stereotypes impact parental surveillance, where mothers are more likely to be involved in children’s daily monitoring and emotional care, while fathers are more likely to perceive surveillance in terms of authority, discipline, and control. Furthermore, this study also aims to explore how children and young people respond to their parents’ monitoring, where they also seek to establish their independence while still complying with their family’s expectations. By utilizing these different interactions in the context of family relationships, the goal of the current research is to prove that digital parental surveillance is not just a technical practice but also asocial practice in contemporary society.