The disturbing truth about tracking kids online

“I'm shocked... it's crazy!”

Image: TikTok @7newsaustralia / iStock.

Tracking devices and apps on phones and watches are often regarded as great inventions for worried parents

Knowing where your kids are located gives many parents a sense of security, especially if they must use public transport or travel between co-parent households.

But new reports however are warning parents against overusing tracking apps, with experts saying it can be damaging for the child's development and for parents' mental health.

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"I was really shocked"

Mum-of-three Carrie* told Kidspot that while she is not tracking her teen and tweenage kids, she recently discovered that her 16 year old son Tom* is being tracked by his girlfriend. 

“Tom’s in a pretty new relationship with a girl from his school and I was really surprised to find out early on that his location was being tracked,” the concerned mum said.

“She had installed Life360 on his phone and I was really shocked by this as they had only recently started dating.

“To me it seems like such an invasion of privacy. When I asked him about it and said I was uncomfortable with it, he said that it is totally normal and that is what everyone does now.”

Carrie says that her son reassured her he is okay with it, and yet she still has concerns about the "controlling" behaviour. 

“I don’t like the idea that tracking your partner is being normalised. They are already so connected through social media and it just seems like another barrier to ‘switching off’ and having time to themselves. It's crazy.”

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"Only unhealthy if used in a toxic way"

With tracking apps like Life360 becoming increasingly common, families like Carrie’s are having trouble navigating so many new boundaries. While teenagers and young adults find the apps to be part of normal life, psychologists and experts are worried. 

According to Seven News, psychologists are concerned it could make location monitoring normal, with a large percentage of people susceptible to tracking and coercive control in their adult relationships. 

For the parent and child relationship, where parents are tracking a child’s location, experts are concerned this is likely to create a sense of distrust within the family. 

But for some people, Life 360 which grew 36 percent in Australia last year to now reach nearly two million users, a tracking app represents a lifeline.

“It’s only unhealthy if they are used in a toxic way,” comments one user under the Seven News report.

“Life360 saved my brother's life. My mother was able to find him when he was in a serious car accident.”

Another added: “I actually like it[Life360], I can see if my parents are on their way or if they are stuck in traffic, and my parents can see if I’m safely at my destination.”

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"Made me paranoid and more secretive"

For others like Carrie and her son Tom however, the tracking apps feel controlling.

Mum Nicola* told Kidspot that while she used to track her two kids she has recently stopped.

"I tracked my teenage son in the early days [of his phone ownership] but it made me more anxious as the accuracy was always off.

"I don't track him or his sister now but I just get them to check in when they can."

A TikTok user and child of a parent who liked to track them wrote: “Even the smallest amount of monitoring in my teen years made me extremely paranoid and more secretive.

“This surveillance, whilst often well intentioned, is more likely to breed distrust between kids and their parents.”

With a second user adding: “... If I turn off my location on Life360 my mum calls me immediately and tells me to turn it back on. I have never had freedom to go where I want.”

With experts and users divided, open communication and healthy boundaries are recommended if digital tracking is being considered.

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"Consent is required"

Parenting expert, Genevieve Muir, told Channel Nine’s Today Extra that a key element in the issue with tracking devices is whether or not consent has been given beforehand.

"If we're tracking a young child and that allows them to have more freedom than they'd normally have, that's a great thing," she said in the interview.

"But I think tracking teenagers against their will without having a really clear contract or agreement in place, this is about keeping them safe and it's something you've both got to agree on.

"I don't think it's ever good to be tracking kids without their knowledge."

*While the interviewees are known to Kidspot, names have been changed for privacy reasons. 

Originally published as The disturbing truth about tracking kids online