"A Spear and Shield Situation Between Us" Understanding Parent-Child Relational Tensions Shaped by Parental Control Apps Through Review Analysis

Abstract

Parents use parental control applications (PCAs) to manage their children’s smartphone use—setting screen time limits and monitoring device activity. However, as parents and children bring different needs to these tools, the tensions they raise for the parent–child relationship have only recently come into focus. Analyzing 734 reviews of Google Family Link, a popular PCA, written by both sides in South Korea, we examined how PCAs reshape parent–child dynamics. We found that PCAs affect parent–child relations—undermining trust, constraining agency, and resolving conflict away from direct conversation. Moreover, our findings reveal a developmental concern: a PCA that offers no space for negotiation can leave children in a passive role, accustoming them to a supervised relationship in which they feel they have little say. We propose design directions that support negotiation at each stage of app use—entry, ongoing use, and end—bringing both parents and children into the same space to make decisions together.