I find it very interesting that surveillance is linked very closely to power. If a person knows he or she is being watched then they act very differently than they would if they knew they weren't. In our complicated world today, we are always being watched. From cameras to cop cars, there always seams to be an eye on us weather we want it or not. Many fight for this right to privacy, while attempting to still feel safe and avoid crime. We live in a world in which there must be a balance in this. We do not want our schools to be filled with cameras, yet we need enough surveillance to avoid certain situations. This is when things begin to get sticky. Many times the things used to spy are only in place so that we think someone is watching. We think that there is always someone in the cop car, or that the cameras are always working. This makes us always behave in a way that we are always being watched. It makes us act as though the law is always staring down on us, waiting for us to do something wrong.
This idea of a constant surveillance must make it hard for us to decipher between real actions, and those influenced by this notion. It fascinates me to think of a world in which there are no camera, no police, no prying eyes. How would this world be different? Would there be less crime and more trust? Would crime increase significantly, or would people give others the benefit of the doubt? The reality is that we will never be able to see that world in our environment. This notion of someone always watching us will forever be engrained in our society and the effects of it will last even if all the cameras are taken down.
No comments:
Post a Comment