Streams of images sent to parents not only threaten children’s privacy – they can damage their sense of self

At 7am on a Wednesday I drop my child off for a two-night school camp. The first big school camp. Children carry their pillows under their arms and drag behind them suitcases whose wheels and weight they can barely manage. They’re nervous. Excited. Some cry. By 7.45am they have loaded their bags. Through the coach’s tinted windows I can see that my daughter has settled in next to her friend so I wave goodbye and head to work.

Before 10am my phone pings. Parents had been asked to download an app so the school can communicate during the days away. There are 10 pictures of the class packed on a ferry and arriving at camp in a post on the app. I feel relief. I had been anxious about the bus arriving safely – even though I knew it to be irrational – and it is comforting to see my child buffeted by friends, smiling at the camera.

Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads