Summary

Marie’s toddler daughter, Sara, wanders off while at the park. Thankfully, Sara is found with help from the community. The incident leads to Marie getting Sara an Arkangel implant, which is paired with a tablet app and relays Sara’s location, vitals, and video feed of what she sees. The implant can censor stressful things like violence, pain, blood, etc., making them appear blurred out for Sara while sending stress-related vitals to her mother.

As she grows up, the Arkangel censors life to prevent Sara from experiencing stress. She eventually discovers this and rebels against it, leading Marie to turn off Sara’s stress filter and put the tablet away after discussing with a therapist. However, on the first day an unmonitored Sara walks to school, Marie can’t help herself and turns the tablet back on before Sara can even get there, leaving the stress filter off. Sara begins to see stressful things, but grows into her teens without the burden of a censored and monitored life.

But one night when Sara (now 15) doesn’t answer her calls, Marie digs the tablet out of the attic, turns it on, and sees Sara having sex with her friend Ryan. This prompts Marie to monitor Sara on the tablet again full time — with the censor function toggled off — and without Sara’s knowledge. Marie then sees Sara in several other teen-typical sketchy situations, forcing Marie to take protective actions that irk Sara, like mixing an emergency contraceptive into her smoothie.

A fed-up Sara eventually searches for the tablet to see what her mom knows — which is everything based on the recordings it holds. Sara confronts her mom about it, then beats her in the face with the tablet and runs away.

Something disturbing: The nonchalant insertion of the Arkangel into Sara’s temple while she unflinchingly watched a cartoon was particularly disturbing.

Something entertaining: Marie catching Sara having sex and then having to pretend she didn’t know so Sara wouldn’t find out she was monitoring her again.

Overall Reaction to the Episode

Positive. This episode was incredibly disturbing, especially since I have a daughter about the same age as Sara was when the Arkangel was implanted. I can relate to wanting to know her whereabouts and safety, but monitoring every aspect of her life as she grows up — including everything she sees — is just creepy.

Most Relatable to our Societal Condition Today

Our recording and tracking of seemingly everything. Cameras on our phones, computers, doorbell, cars, indoors, etc. Watches recording our heart rate, oxygen, sleep, steps, etc. Devices tracking our kids’ location.

Element Connected With This Week’s Assigned Readings

Marie’s surveillance of Sara is connected to Stanley and Steinhardt’s discussion of “the growing surveillance monster” beginning on Page 23, although at the parent level rather than government. It’s also connected to the discussion on new data-gathering technologies beginning on Page 26 (which includes implantables). Arkangel is a data-gathering, surveillance-capable implantable device.

Discussion Question

Can we justify surveilling our children in the name of their safety and our love for them? If so, at what age should we begin surveillance and what age should we end it?