Big Brother, smartphones and facebook

1984 is often brought up to demonstrate what a all knowing, all seeing Big Brother State would look like.

But I think Orwell had it wrong, so wrong in fact if he had lived to see what actually happened, he would have been very surprised.

People often think of big brother along these lines:



But I think what it actually became was this:



The proliferation of cell phones with video cameras has meant no matter where you are, you may very well be on candid camera.

Have a bad day at Mcdonalds?

You're gonna be the asshole to the entire world with a push of a button.



The Vancouver Riots is a great case study because the police openly called for any footage the public was willing to give the police in order to catch the worst offenders and they also studied youtube videos uploaded after the incident as well.





And facebook...

Orwell thought the government would control and monitor who we associate with, where we go, what we eat and how we think.

But what's so shocking is we have provided all the information voluntarily to the public eye, we put on facebook where we're from, what we think, what we like, who we associate with, where we go, what we eat etc.

Was in an odd mood this morning so I thought I'd highlight the incredible irony that Orwell was so sure we'd be forced to do all these things, but as a society, we actually did it all voluntarily.

Nah, you're wrong. You just interchanged the people with the camera posts in the photos. They're just holding the camera, govt can still access the camera.

I have pretty much been saying this exact thing forever. Even in the case of the conspiracy theory that is The Illuminati. People love to point out what they believe and who they think rules and members such a group, but they hate when you point out the obvious: We the people are the "Illuminati" We spend countless hours watching Music videos, movies, the news. Buying an artists clothing line, debating politics, giving movie and tv stars all the fame they want by constantly checking in on them or buying gossip magazines. We control everything; If a star says something we don't like we force them to apologize or they face no longer being famous and being dropped by their agents. If we don't like one politician we vote in another. If something isn't good we turn it away. Society dictates everything. No one forces people to watch, buy or like anything. We do it on our own. 1984 was bound to happen one way or another, but Orwell took the obvious route and gave society the benefit of the doubt. The book was published in '49. No one then could have predicted that we would love such a world. The fact that we allow the government to use us as they see fit shouldn't come as a shock. We love technology, even the bad parts about it. Look at the new Apple Watch coming out soon. Why do you need a high-tech gadget on your wrist? Because when it's in your pocket, they can't see you. Do we care though? Nope. It's a watch phone. How is that not cool?

People feeling a need to digital document their lives is not necessarily a bad thing. Those who want to share it are free to. Doesn't bother me in the least. The things that bother me are like TV's with the traps in them that transmit your viewing activities and such to third parties without your consent or knowledge are the things that bother me.

Jetboogieman said:

1984 is often brought up to demonstrate what a all knowing, all seeing Big Brother State would look like.

But I think Orwell had it wrong, so wrong in fact if he had lived to see what actually happened, he would have been very surprised.

People often think of big brother along these lines:

But I think what it actually became was this:

The proliferation of cell phones with video cameras has meant no matter where you are, you may very well be on candid camera.

Have a bad day at Mcdonalds?

You're gonna be the asshole to the entire world with a push of a button.



The Vancouver Riots is a great case study because the police openly called for any footage the public was willing to give the police in order to catch the worst offenders and they also studied youtube videos uploaded after the incident as well.

And facebook...

Orwell thought the government would control and monitor who we associate with, where we go, what we eat and how we think.

But what's so shocking is we have provided all the information voluntarily to the public eye, we put on facebook where we're from, what we think, what we like, who we associate with, where we go, what we eat etc.

Was in an odd mood this morning so I thought I'd highlight the incredible irony that Orwell was so sure we'd be forced to do all these things, but as a society, we actually did it all voluntarily.

Click to expand...

Well said Jetboogie. We are our own worst enemies in terms of providing the information that others need/want which according to Orwell was going to be provided by the government.

Like we were just posting about in the other thread, there was a time that you could get drunk and go pee in the bushes, and there wasn't a fear of everyone in the world knowing about it. Okay there may have been an exception here or there, but now anyone with a cell phone anywhere near you can capture your images, your words, and send them all over the world - without ever moving an inch to do it.

We control what we do, and we need to learn that anything we do, or words we post (Facebook, Tweeter, SnapChat, etc.) are captured in perpetuity. And it's because we ourselves allow it.

Damn weird when you think about it.

"I make more in a day than you make in a week."

LOL!