The
information system StarSoft Wilma used to track and report on the adolescents’
behaviour at school can cause problematic situations. These problems manifest
themselves in various ways: many of the markings in the system are either
wholly unnecessary or at least questionable in nature. This is made the adolescents
(and some guardians/teachers) resent the system. In this paper these
side-effects are looked through and compared with an analysis of posts in the
Facebook-group ‘Wilma Ruined My Life’. As conclusions we claim that the system
can create an atmosphere of fear and suspicion amongst the students: resembling
an Orwellian or panopticon-like environment which might undermine the students’
ability to become full and capable members of an open democratic society.