B.B. & The Internet

     A lot of people have mentioned the similarity between Big Brother and technology today. Although I agree that it seems like companies today have a lot more data than I'd like to admit, and they could probably be capable of tracking people in the same way that Big Brother does, their motivation feels fundamentally different. The spying in 1984, in my opinion, isn't bad just by nature, but because it's used to stifle any dissent - whether in the form of spoken word or even just thought. The worry today is that many companies provide free services in exchange for people's data. As far as I understand this data is used to target people with ads as well as study & profit off of social trends. This seems benevolent - it's used for the companies benefit and has nothing to do with controlling people. They profit off of people's viewing patterns sure but they don't change them.

    At the same time, I understand that a lot of people's criticisms with this data collection is that even if companies aren't using this data in the ways we see it being used in 1984 now, they could potentially do so in the future. It seems like the government and public opinion in the US is adamant on freedom of speech, press, etc., and it's hard to imagine that changing to allow even a small fraction of what we see in 1984. It's possible, but it seems unlikely to happen without some big revolution or dramatic shift in the way we live our lives - which could render current forms of technology like Facebook or Google or whatever companies people are afraid of unusable anyway. 

    Overall, while I understand some of the worries 1984 inspires in people to see within our society right now, I just don't think Orwell got as much right about our future as so many people give him credit for. But maybe I'm just not versed enough in how companies right now (and in the US) use our data in malicious ways, who knows. What do you guys think?

Comments

  1. rakeFebruary 9, 2021 at 7:34 AM

    I think that we should always WORRY about technology companies getting too much control over us so that we ensure that they don't ACTUALLY assume a scary amount of control over us. In other words, when we are adamant about protecting our privacy, assuming there isn't a governmental collapse (insert some cynical political joke here), we can pass laws restricting overreach of technology companies. The issue is if the lawmaking body itself decides to overreach.... but it's less easy for that to happen in a government where power is spread around lots of people.

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  2. Olivia TaylorFebruary 9, 2021 at 7:49 AM

    I agree that 1984 is very different from our current world, and that the motivation behind taking/using our information is (as far as we know), less evil in tech companies than in the government of 1984. I also think that in 1984, the characters have their privacy taken away, while we have a little bit more of a choice, and give our privacy away. I think it's very possible that we will continue to grow in our dependence on technology and the amount of information we give it, but it would take a lot to get us to a point where our society resembles 1984, and I don't believe that will happen anytime soon.

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  3. L. MoffittFebruary 9, 2021 at 7:51 AM

    Good question. There is clearly a difference between government monitoring and online cookies. I think the comment above makes a good point; regardless of who is doing the surveillance, if we allow too much invasion of privacy, it may not matter whether it's currently being done for non-malevolent purposes -- the structures are in place and we've become complacent.

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