Big Brother: Panopticism

The idea of the Panopticon is fascinating as much as it is disturbing. From the perspective of a sane human being, being enclosed in such a structure would certainly challenge the person to maintain sanity. Constantly knowing that at any moment, someone could be watching you while you are unable to watch back. As terrible as this situation may seem, digital advancements have enabled high forces all over the world to engage in the practice of panopticism. "our society is one not of spectacle, but of surveillance" says Foucault. With closed circuit cameras being installed in major cities all over the world, how is this different from being subjected to the Panopticon? At any moment, an employee of the state could be watching every move you make. Some cities even have the ability to speak through a loud speaker by the camera to penalize wrong-doers. For many reasons, this sounds like a good idea. The only reason the FBI was able to track down the Times Square car bomber was through CCTV cameras installed on the street corner. But how far are we willing to let this kind of surveillance go to give up our right to privacy? These CCTV cameras do not extend behind closed doors, but there is still surveillance thanks to digital technology. Every time I go on the Internet, a record is made of where I went, what I did there, and how long I was there for. With all the social networking sites available, there is no reason that if the powers that be were so inclined, they could find out any little detail of my life. This type of tracking was no possible before our societies transition to a digital culture. People were so fast to embrace all these new technologies when they first came out, but now many are questioning whether or not this really was for the best. Digital culture has changed the way we live, but it has also taken away some of our privacy. Foucault says prisoners of the Panopticon were like actors constantly visible on a stage presented to the guard in the tower. A lot of similarities can be drawn between panopticism and our countries current surveillance capabilities. All of this surveillance is simply a means to ensure the hierarchy of power. One who does no wrong is still subject to abuses of this power, and as we have seen from instances like the school in Pennsylvania who gave out laptops installed with web cams to students and proceeded to watch the students at home, things can get ugly. Privacy is a basic right, and although digital culture has been a blessing, for the most part, privacy has been lost.