To what extent has Orwell’s vision of the telescreen, which invades Winston’s home, becomes a reality in our own homes? If you know your TV, your smartphone, and other devices were constantly watching and listening to you, how would you change your behavior? Consider news, social media, Google Home, etc. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this particular vision as it relates to today? Would you consider giving up your privacy for the security and safety of our country? Should we be constantly monitored to ensure our country’s safety?
Orwell’s vision of the telescreen seemed so farfetched when the book was written. Today, it is mostly a reality. With Amazon’s Alexa and other smart home assistants, it is constantly listening to us and maybe it is not to monitor us but to use our data and that information for the benefit of companies targetting us. Throughout time, people are being more aware of this, about our phones, computers and other smart devices constantly listening to us. I can see it around me with friends who used to joke about the devices listening and being careful with what you say, and now it is a reality. I love technology and I like using smart home devices like Alexa, but I think it might be an invasion of privacy. Currently, the data collected from these devices are being used for your benefit, to tailor your shopping experience and other things that benefit you. We are still not at the point where it is a threat to national security but I am also aware that for example Tik Tok, the social media platform is Chinese and owned partly by the government. This means the Chinese Government has access to much more information about its users than people think. A video went viral of a discussion in the senate where they tried passing a bill that seeks to ban TikTok from government work phones. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Senator Rick Scott (R-FL). They also wanted to ban the families of Government officials to not be able to download TikTok. The Trump administration also prepared a draft order back in March of this year to ban federal agencies from buying foreign-made drones. It has become a reality that data is more valuable than oil. This shows towards what type of world we are going to. Slowly, it will become more important for people to give up privacy for the safety of the country. The country will need to monitor the actions of people and online presence to keep it safe. I believe some things should be monitor, but they are also abusing on certain things which are not necessary.
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