License-plate camera networks are being pointed at kids' sports events and residential streets, a bad sign for anyone who assumed the cameras only watch roads.

• Flock cameras have turned up aimed at children's gymnastics events and at intersections facing people's homes.
• The bigger worry is what happens when that footage gets used, and most people have no plan for it.
• The deeper harm is dependence: handing daily judgment to technology leaves people less able to function without it.
• Google Maps is the example — use it long enough and you stop knowing where you are, following the line even when it makes no sense.
• Weak local ties make it worse, because self-reliance has been outsourced to systems nobody controls.

Outlook: Expect more pushback over where these cameras are placed and who gets to see the footage.