A Different Kind of Halloween Safety Briefing: A Peek into the Effects Tracking Applications Can Have on Parent-Child Relationships
As October is nearing an end, there is a chill (metaphorically, we do live in Texas) in the air as we prepare for tonight, a night filled with mischief and mayhem, Halloween. Famous for trick-or-treating and staying out after dark, Halloween is a night that children can’t wait for and many parents dread. Why, you ask? On a night when thousands of children are running around and begging for candy, their parents often only have one thing on their mind—ensuring their child is safe.
In today’s society, many parents have taken to ensuring this safety through the use of applications like Life360 and Find My Friends. Apps such as these allow parents to track their child’s cellphone location. As this technology continues to evolve and parents know things now that they didn’t in the past, it begs the question: how does parental tracking impact the parent-child relationship?
Mickey Langlais, PhD, CFLE, Assistant Professor of Child and Family Studies in the Department of Human Sciences and Design (HSD), has posed this question in an exploratory examination, specifically focused on Life360 and the effects it can have on a family’s interpersonal and relational well-being.
“Assuming that individuals become parents and track their children, when their children become teenagers and adults, they are going to form their own opinion on parental use of a tracking app,” he explains. “Some might be supportive, believing their parents are simply making sure they are safe. Whereas, others might feel their parents don’t trust them and that they are violating their independence.”
Ensuring your child is safe surely couldn’t cause any harm. Right? Wrong. In his study, Langlais addressed that while the act of tracking itself may not be detrimental to family relationships, a lack of healthy boundaries and communication coupled with knowing your child’s every move, can be. In his study, mental well-being, self-esteem, and parent-child rapport were all monitored to gain a better understanding of the effects that parental use of Life360 can have on a parent-child relationship.
“As our society evolves and technology becomes more ingrained into the day-to-day behaviors of individuals and specifically families, we need to be more cognizant of the consequences of mobile media, specifically on those family processes,” he says. “I think we need to do a better job of educating families about safe use of technology with those apps. Hopefully the results of this study can guide that conversation a bit, saying, that tracking apps for the most part are not bad, but if parents are abusing them, it's hurting those relationships and it's disrupting trust. Teenagers need to be given some trust to develop.”
As night draws near, and candy is being prepared, parents everywhere are doing what they can to ensure the safety of their children—no matter their age. Trick-or-treaters are getting ready to depart their houses and parents are ready to follow. Adolescents are preparing to attend their friend’s party and parents are ensuring they get to and remain there safely. So, to the parents who are tracking your children tonight, please keep in mind the findings of Dr. Langlais’ study—encourage independence, while monitoring for safety—to ensure that you and your child make it through this bone-chilling night (again, metaphorically) unscathed.