IDENTITY VALLEY NEWSLETTER #8

Harry Potter and the Magical Tech of Always Knowing

How today’s tech turns a magical idea into a modern parenting dilemma.

by Ferdinand Ferroli

Long before smartphones, J.K. Rowling imagined a magical tracking device: the Weasley family clock. Instead of telling time, it shows where each family member is: home, school, travelling, even “mortal peril.” What once seemed fantastical now feels familiar. Today’s tracking apps offer parents a real-world version of that enchanted clock, promising reassurance in a single glance.

The idea is spreading fast and dividing opinions.

The Case For: Peace of Mind in Your Pocket

For many parents, tracking apps provide a quick way to separate real concern from simple delay. If a teen is out longer than expected or can’t be reached, a glance at the app can offer reassurance before worry takes over. Families say it also reduces everyday tension: instead of jumping to conclusions or starting arguments, everyone has the same basic information about where someone is and that they’re safe.

Supporters also note that today’s teens navigate more complex schedules and busier environments. Tracking isn’t about catching them lying; it’s about having a reliable backup when communication breaks down. And while emergencies are rare, they do happen: a wrong train stop, a medical issue, one drink too many. In those situations, accurate location data can make all the difference.

The Case Against: When Safety Becomes Surveillance

Critics warn that constant monitoring can undermine trust. Research suggests that high parental control is linked to greater anxiety, not only in parents who monitor obsessively but also in kids who internalise that the world is too dangerous to face on their own.

Psychologist Jonathan Haidt recently argued that today’s children already grow up in a hyper-anxious culture that treats them as fragile. Tracking can reinforce that message and shrink opportunities for teenagers to practice independence, make mistakes, and build confidence.

Privacy worries add to the concerns. “Family tech” apps have faced scrutiny for sharing or selling detailed location data to third parties. Even if companies claim it’s anonymised, some families find the idea unsettling.

Which "side" are you on? Let us know by clicking the respective link:

PRO 👍

OPPOSE 👎

­

Ideas worth sharing

A look at how location-sharing apps blur safety and surveillance, raising new questions about privacy, autonomy and control. This episode of BBC Tech Life also includes an interview with the CEO of Life360 on where these tools help and where they can go too far.

When “protecting kids” becomes surveilling families: the paper “Data‑Driven Parenting: Robust Research and Policy Needed to Ensure that Parental Digital Monitoring Promotes a Good Digital Society” examines how parental monitoring tech gives unprecedented oversight, but also risks undermining children’s autonomy.

In this online talk Jonathan Haidt traces the steep post-2012 decline in youth mental health, attention, social development and even spirituality, arguing that a rapid shift from play-based to phone-based childhood reshaped an entire generation across Western nations.

On a different note, this article argues that Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), still not realised, is being treated more like myth than science: prophesied as an unstoppable force, yet grounded in scant evidence, it is already shaping investments, geopolitics and safety debates.

­

Connect & Share

As we are always looking to find like-minded people and expand the responsible tech community subscribe to this newsletter if you want to stay connected or share if you think someone else might be interested.

­ Subscribe here ­

­

Hidden gem

"AI-Powered Toys Caught Telling 5-Year-Olds How to Find Knives and Start Fires With Matches - Just in time for Christmas."

- Headline of a news story in November

­

Some upcoming events

10 December 2025, Paris
European Resilience Summit
https://www.europeanresiliencesummit.com/paris/

11 December 2025, Brussels
The International AI Summit
https://global-aiconference.com/

11 December 2025, Online
Digital Humanism Symposium
https://eudhit.eu/event/symposium-in-ai-we-should-not-trust/

16–20 February 2026, New Delhi
India AI Impact Summit
https://impact.indiaai.gov.in/