Ethical issues concerning the use of commercially available wearables in children: Informed consent, living in the spotlight, and the right to an open future

Wearable and mobile technology has advanced in leaps and bounds in the last decade with technological advances creating a role from enhancing healthy living to monitoring and treating disease. However, the discussion about the ethical use of such commercial technology in the community, especially in minors, is lacking behind. In this paper, we first summarize the major ethical concerns that arise from the usage of commercially available wearable technology in children, with a focus on smart watches, highlighting issues around the consent process, mitigation of risk and potential confidentiality and privacy issues, as well as the potential for therapeutic misconceptions when used without medical advice. Then through a relevant thought experiment we move on to outline some further ethical concerns that are connected to the use of wearables by minors, to wit the issue of informed consent in the case of minors, forcing them to live in the spotlight, and compromising their right to an open future. We conclude with the view that mitigating potential pitfalls and enhancing the benefits of wearable technology especially for minors requires brave and comprehensive moral debates. Nosiva i mobilna tehnologija značajno su napredovale tijekom proteklog desetljeća i dobile su novu ulogu - više ne unaprjeđuju zdrave životne navike, već nadgledavaju i liječe bolesti. S druge strane, rasprava o etičkom korištenju takvih komercijalnih tehnologija među populacijom, posebice maloljetnicima, značajno kaska. U ovom ćemo radu najprije sažeti glavna etička pitanja koja se pojavljuju kad djeca koriste komercijalno dostupnu nosivu tehnologiju s naglaskom na pametne satove. Istaknut ćemo probleme vezane uz proces davanja pristanka, smanjivanje rizika te moguće probleme vezane uz povjerljivost i privatnost, kao i moguće terapeutske zablude kad se uređaji koriste bez liječničkog savjetovanja. Zatim ćemo kroz značajan misaoni pokus navesti daljnja etička pitanja vezana uz maloljetničko korištenje nosivih uređaja. Primarno se to odnosi na pitanje informiranog pristanka kod maloljetnika, toga da ih se prisiljava da žive u centru pažnje, i ugrožavanje njihova prava na otvorenu budućnost. Zaključit ćemo rad mišljenjem da ublažavanje mogućih zamki i unaprjeđivanje prednosti nosive tehnologije, posebno za maloljetnike, zahtijeva hrabre i iscrpne moralne rasprave.