Assembling parents: how digital parenting is changing in the age of datafication

This article examines digital parenting in the age of datafication. Based on in-depth interviews with 22 parents, the article explores the digital experiences of Australian families with at least one child aged eight years and under. Findings reveal that datafication has changed the way children experience digital technologies and how it is mediated by families. The article discusses the tensions parents must navigate, including providing digital opportunities while protecting their children from online harms, the lack of choice parents have regarding the digital platforms mandated by education and care providers, and the unsettling realisation that most digital experiences mean the erosion of their families’ privacy and the commodification of personal information. Given that parents are just one part of any data assemblage, their priorities must compete with an array of countervailing forces. The article explores how datafication is changing ‘digital parenting’ and how parents navigate these changes.