In this Papers Podcast, Professor Andra Siibak, Professor of Media Studies at the Institute of Social Studies at the University of Tartu in Estonia, and Kristjan Kikerpill, lecturer in Information Law and Digital Sociology of the same institution, discuss their co-authored Child & Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH) journal Special Issue paper, ‘Schools engaged in doom-monitoring students’ online interactions and content creation: an analysis of dominant media discourses’ (doi.org/10.1111/camh.12621). There is an overview of the paper, methodology, key findings, and implications for practice.
Discussion points include;
- The types of activities that are monitored by schools using student activity monitoring software.
- The global nature of online monitoring of students’ online interactions and content creation in schools.
- What does the phrase ‘doom-monitoring’ mean and how it came about.
- The implications of the inaccuracy of the technology on students being monitored.
- The impact of this kind of monitoring on marginalised children
- The difference in opinions of teachers and parents and students regarding the use of online monitoring.
- How might this type of technology be improved to better support young people.
In this series, we speak to authors of papers published in one of ACAMH’s three journals. These are The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry (JCPP); The Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH) journal; and JCPP Advances.
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I am a lecturer in Information Law and Digital Sociology. In my everyday teaching assignments, I teach freedom of expression, and privacy law, to upcoming journalists and communication students. The other side of my research activities, often carried out together with Andra, are multifaceted because I study online scams but also the datafication of education, in particular issues with surveillance and the use of artificial intelligence in carrying out surveillance.
Andra Siibak is a Professor of Media Studies and Program Director of the Media and Communication doctoral program at the Institute of Social Studies, University of Tartu, Estonia. Her main field of research has to do with the opportunities and risks surrounding internet use, datafication of childhood, new media audiences and privacy. Together with Giovanna Mascheroni, she co-authored a monograph “Datafied Childhoods: Data Practices and Imaginaries in Children’s Lives” (2021) published by Peter Lang. Andra is a member of the Estonian Young Academy of Sciences, and a member of Film, Media and Visual Studies section of Academia Europaea. (Bio and image from Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child)
