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With the rapid shift to remote learning in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, parents, teachers, and students had to quickly adapt to what scholars have called emergency remote learning (ERL). This transition required increased reliance on digital tools, exacerbating privacy and security threats associated with expanded data collection and new vulnerabilities. In this study, we adopt a sociotechnical and infrastructural perspective to understand how these threats emerged through breakdowns and tensions in elementary school ERL. Through interviews with 29 US-based teachers and parents of elementary school students (grades PreK-6), we identify two core findings related to privacy and security. First, we detail three breakdowns in the ERL sociotechnical infrastructure: (1) reduced attention to privacy and security issues as parents and teachers cobbled together a patchwork of tools needed to make ERL work; (2) privacy and security risks that emerged from ambiguous and shifting school policies; and (3) the failure to adapt standard authentication mechanisms (e.g., passwords) to be usable by young children. Second, we identify tensions between parents' and teachers' desire to help children advance in their education and their desire for children's privacy and security in ERL, as well as tensions resulting from the collapse of home and school contexts. These findings collectively suggest that ERL exacerbated existing--and created new--privacy and security challenges for young students, and we argue these challenges will carry beyond the pandemic due to the increasing use of technology to supplement traditional education. In light of these findings, we recommend researchers and educators use a framework of care to develop social and technical approaches to improving remote learning in order to protect children's privacy and security.
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This content will become publicly available on May 12, 2026
Security and Privacy Experiences of First- and Second-Generation Pakistani Immigrants to the US: Perceptions, Practices, Challenges, and Parent-Child Dynamics
—This work explores the security and privacy perceptions, practices, and challenges Pakistani immigrants face in the US. We also explore how parent-child dynamics affect immigrants’ learning about and adaptation to security and privacy practices in the US. Through 25 semi-structured interviews with Pakistani immigrants, we find that first-generation immigrants perceive heightened risks of discrimination, surveillance, and isolation due to their status as Muslim immigrants. They also report tensions regarding self-expression and self-censorship in online settings. In contrast, second-generation immigrants quickly adapt to life in the US and do not perceive most of these challenges. We find that first- and second-generation immigrants mutually support each other in learning to use technology and reacting to perceived threats. Our findings underscore an urgent need for tailored digital safety initiatives and designs that consider the unique needs of at-risk populations to ensure their security and privacy. Recognizing and addressing these challenges can foster more inclusive digital landscapes, empowering immigrant populations with resilience and agency.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2226404
- PAR ID:
- 10639122
- Publisher / Repository:
- IEEE
- Date Published:
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 2284 to 2302
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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