Pam Wisniewski's own turbulent digital adolescence—escaping an abusive home at 14 and finding both community and danger online—informs her current research at the International Computer Science Institute. As digital harms dominate parental fears, with nearly half of teens reporting online harassment, parents increasingly rely on monitoring apps that scan texts, photos, and chats. The parental control software market reached $1.57 billion in 2025 and is projected to nearly triple by 2034. Bark Technologies leads the space, scanning 11 billion messages across 7.5 million children in 2025 alone.

These tools have real successes: intercepting predators, preventing suicide attempts, and alerting authorities to credible threats. However, they also generate false alarms, erode trust, and cause lasting anxiety. Reviews reveal that roughly one in five kids feel stripped of privacy, while one in ten report damaged parent-child relationships. Parents frequently cite reliability issues, with apps disconnecting or missing actual threats while flagging harmless content.

Experts like Wisniewski advocate for alternative approaches focused on resilience-building rather than surveillance. The 'duty of care' model—pushing platforms to implement built-in safety features—is gaining traction in the UK, Australia, and several US states. This shift emphasizes teaching children risk recognition and trust-building over aggressive monitoring, fundamentally changing how digital safety is conceptualized.