Terra Cognita: Surveillance of Young Peoples’ Favourite Websites
36 Pages Posted: 14 Jan 2023
Date Written: 2016
Abstract
A growing number of academics have called for a reinvigorated debate around the effect of commercial surveillance in children’s networked spaces (Buckleitner, 2008; Grimes, 2008, 2015b; Grimes and Shade, 2005; Hasebrink et. al., 2007; Montgomery, 2007, 2015; Nairn, 2008; Steeves, 2006, 2007). This chapter seeks to contribute to that debate by providing a snapshot of surveillance practices used on popular web sites. It also presents quantitative findings regarding young people’s attitudes towards this surveillance. I argue that, contrary to popular conceptions, many young people have outgrown their early infatuation with online commercial content; they are both increasingly skeptical about commercial surveillance and dissatisfied with the kinds of privacy protections that were intended to protect them from commercial manipulation.
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